Nevertheless

Appears 97 times in Scripture
Think about the word ‘nevertheless’ meaning ‘but, regardless.’
No matter what you are going through, what you have been through, or what the future holds for you. You were made with free choice in your reactions to your circumstances. Nevertheless will you choose to stand and be counted among the faithful?
Nevertheless will you continue walking towards the mark, even if you must walk alone?
Jer. 28:7 Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears,
Open your ears to hear the Father speaking to you, for He wishes to sup with you.
2 Chron. 19:3 Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, and hast prepared thine heart to seek G-d.
No one else may see good in you, but I assure you that the Father has place good things in all His children and is preparing your heart to continually seek Him. Grow in intimacy with the Creator of the world!
Ez. 16:60 Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
Imagine even in your youth, He had made a covenant with you and called you His own.
No matter were you have walked, but remembers the everlasting covenant between you.
Ps. 73:23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden Me by My right hand.
He has never left you nor forsaken you, man sees the outside but He sees what you have in your heart and in your time of need you have and can grab a hold of His hand.
2 Tim. 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
The adversary is there to steal, rob, and destroy. He has caused you to suffer by bring up things that have been covered by the blood. But stand firm for you know that your sins are as far as the east is from the west, and you need not be ashamed for He is able to keep that which you have committed unto Him.
Heb. 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
The Father does castes His own, and Rev. 2:17 And He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers. It can be painful as He peals things off of you but nevertheless you will bring forth good fruit of righteousness.
Jug. 2: 16 Nevertheless the L-RD raised up judges
We are to be ‘fruit inspecters’, to help us stay on the straight and narrow. Are you reading the Laws He has set down for you to follow – if not you will not be able to judge the fruit of others until you understand what is required. And it is not only the Laws of His Word but the Laws of the Spirit found in Galatians.
Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Messiah: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Messiah liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of G-d, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
Matt. 26:39: Mk. 13:36 & Lk. 5:5; 22:42 nevertheless at Thy Word I will, not what I will, but what Thou wilt.
Tired of going in circles, then position yourself to be close to the Word, the Spirit, and the Anointing. Pay attention to were you stand or sit – how close do you want to get is all up to you.
You must have passion for the L-rd is you are to be the bride.
Choose words spoken wisely, for you may have to eat them one day, and remember whom you represent.
Turn a negative into a positive, what the evil one meant for bad – G-d will turn for good.
Nevertheless can be:
The ending a season
The separation from the past
The close of the chapter
Nevertheless!! It is up to you.

7 Angels

[Rev. 8:2] And I saw the seven angels which stood before G-d; and to them were given seven trumpets.
[These are announced by the blowing of seven trumpets in turn. The trumpets more or less repeat the revelation of the seven seals, though they present it more from G-d’s standpoint.
These seven angels are identified as the seven angels who stand before G-d. By this is meant not merely the angels who happened to be standing before the throne, but the seven who, according to Jewish tradition, formed a special group and were distinguished above the rest. This differentiation of the seven appears clearly in the apocryphal book of Tobit 12:15, written during the intertestamental period, “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the L-rd. The names of the other six, according to the Greek text of the book of Enoch chapter 20, are Uriel, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel, and Remiel. These are the angels that John sees being given trumpets that will figure in the following series of judgments.]
[7] The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
[Forty years after the words of Y’Shua in Lk. 13: 1-3, many of His followers including His mother and brothers are living in Jerusalem. As Galilee lies in flames, compare John’s writings and the predictions of the Dead Sea Scrolls: “The torrents of Satan shall reach to all side of the world (the known world). In all their channels a consuming fire shall destroy every green tree, green and barren, on their banks; unto the end of their courses it shall scourge with flames of fire, and shall consume the foundations of the earth and the expanse of the dry land. The bases of the mountains shall blaze and the roots of the rocks shall turn to torrent of pitch; it shall devour as far as the great Abyss.”(Psalm Scroll).
The last of the four horsemen had authority to harm a fourth of the earth in 6:8. At the sound of the first trumpet the destruction becomes more pervasive, for now one-third is affected. ]
[8] And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
[With the second, third, and fourth trumpets there is a continuation of the affliction of the earth in terms of one-third: sea, sea creatures, ships, rivers, sun, moon, stars, fountains of water. At each of the four trumpets, three things have been touched after their sounding between 7-12.
The judgments that follow each of the first four trumpets are elemental forces of nature, which are directed against the cosmos and which affect humanity indirectly.
John finds some significance in the numbers three, four, and twelve.
3 = G-d head, the strongest form of union. Rev. 20:10; 1 Jn. 5:7; Eccl. 4:12
4 = Reference to the earthly creation;
four regions ( north, south, east, west),
four seasons ( winter, spring, summer, fall)
four horns on the altar
four winds. Matt. 24:31; Rev. 7:1
four world empires Dan. 2
12 = Israel is represented by the number 12.
Twelve tribes
Twelve apostles
The woman of Rev. 12 represents Israel wearing a crown with 12 stars
Twelve thrones
The tabernacle was twelve cubits wide
Twelve months
Twelve minor prophets
Twelve sons of Jacob
The imagery that John uses to described his visions may have been in part suggested by storms, earthquakes, and eclipses of the first century. Rev. was written after A.D. 79, when the sudden eruption of Vesuvius completely engulfed the city of Pompeii with molten lava and destroyed ships in the Gulf of Naples, than John’s readers, from reports they had heard of the catastrophe, would have had no difficulty picturing something like a great mountain, burning with fire, being thrown into the sea.]
[9] And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
[Vespasian sends a force against the port city of Joppa on the Mediterranean coast. Josephus describes these events by saying: “The inhabitants fled in terror to their ships, where they passed the night beyond reach of the enemy’s missiles. But Joppa has no safe harbor, only a crescent-shaped roadstead with two stony reefs. The next morning, a fierce wind called by sailors the black northern dashed the ships against each other or into the rocks. They could neither escape to the open sea, nor make for land, on account of the Romans, and so they foundered among the billows or were shattered on the shoals. Anyone swept to shore was immediately massacred by the Romans, and the blood of 4,200 corpses turned the sea red.” Another confirmation of John’s account of the sea turning to blood happened near Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, at a place called Magdala, the home of the woman, who in the New Testament, is known as Mary Magdalene. According to Josephus: “Vespasian then advanced upon Magdala, where many insurgents had fled…The Romans pursued them to their ships, but the revels sailed out only far enough to leave the Romans in range and attacked them by sea…when his rafts were ready, Vespasian embarked his troops and ordered them to attack the fugitives. In their small skiffs, the Jews could not cope with the well-armed Romans on the rafts, and merely threw stones at them from a distance, which rattled off their armor. The Romans boarded their vessels, or killed them from the rafts with arrows or long lances. If any clung to the side of a raft, their hands or their heads were cut off. The survivors were driven to the shore, where the Romans lining the beaches killed them, so that not a man escaped. The dead totaled 6,700. The shores were strewn with wrecks and swollen carcasses, which, in the following days, polluted the district with a horrible stench. The lake (Sea of Galilee) was red with blood.” Soon after this event Vespasian had the survivors rounded up in the stadium at Tiberias, where 1200 of the old and infirm were put to death. Vespasian declared: “Execute them! All but 6000 or the strongest and healthiest…send those to Nero, for gladiatorial combat.” Vespasian then sold another 30,400 as slaves, of which most were worked to death. The last holdout in northern Galilee was a rocky precipice east of the Sea of Galilee known as Gamala because it is shaped like the hump of a great camel, which in Hebrew is called a gamal. Gamala was an almost impregnable fortress in which the Jewish defenders heroically fought against the Romans. As Vespasian attacked Gamala, many of his men took refuge on the roofs of the houses, which lined the steep slopes of the city. But the houses collapsed under the weight and great numbers were buried in the rubble as the Romans continued their assaults. Josephus describes it by saying: “To seal their destruction, a storm arose that blew in the faces of the Jews, and accelerated the Roman arrows while rendering their harmless. The Romans mounted the crag and quickly surrounded and slaughtered them. Savage because of their former defeat, they spared not one, not even infants, whom they flung from the citadel. Multitudes threw themselves headlong down the precipices, and their despair was even more fatal than the rage of the Romans, since the Romans killed 4,000 while over 5,000 hurled themselves over the cliffs. No one escaped except two women who had hidden themselves. Thus Gamala fell.”]
[12] And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
[See Lk. 21:26. To understand these apocalyptic Jewish symbols remember that these powers in the heavens, as Y’Shua said, that are turning dark, falling and are being shaken, have a symbolic meaning representing the Aristocrats or the worthies of Jerusalem. One example of this in Jewish literature is seen in the book of Gen. Concerning the dream of Joseph, in which the sun, moon, and stars fall down before him. In Joseph’s dream these heavenly powers represent his mother, father and brothers. This is the same Jewish reasoning used in this story of the dignitaries of Jerusalem seen as the sun, moon and stars or powers of heaven. They became dark and fell, as these aristocrats were murders by the Zealot bandits. Josephus tells us that things got worse in Jerusalem as: “A turbulent and chaotic people, the Idumeans, mustered their forces and marched to Jerusalem, with and army of 20,000. Ananus, the high priest, who heard of their coming, closed the gated..and Y’Shua (a different one), the chief priest, next in age to Ananus, addressed the people from an adjacent tower.” The name Y’Shua was a popular name in Jerusalem and this was not Y’Shua of Nazareth. Y’Shua, the priest declared to the Idumeans: “We have not negotiated with the Romans…but we seek moderation. We ask you either to enter the city without weapons or depart.” Josephus tells us that the Idumeans did not listen to these two peacemakers and spared none, slaughtering all the guards. The next day dawned on 8,500 corpses. The invaders then rushed on the city looting all the houses and killing any who came in their way. The chief priest Ananus and Y’Shua were killed and their bodies thrown out without burial, although the Jews are usually so careful about funeral rites that even felons who have been crucified are taken down and buried before sunset. The capture of the city (by the Romans) virtually began with the death of Ananus. ]
[9:3] And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
[When the fifth angel blows his trumpet, a plague of demonic locusts is released from the bottomless pit. The leader of these demonic hordes is Abaddon, the destroyer.]
[14] Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
[Just as ancient Babylon swallowed up Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in the sixth century 586 B.E., so Roman stands poised as the New Babylon, ready to devour Judea in the first Century. To draw a closer illustration of Ancient Babylon, Rome had forged a harlotrous alliance with four kingdoms from the east from the area of the Euphrates River in Babylon.]
[15] And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
[The Euphrates is significant as the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire, beyond which lay the Parthian menace. These demon-horsemen with their mounts, hitherto held in leash, are now let loose like avenging furies upon the Roman provinces at the hour, the day, the month, and the year appointed.]
[10:1] And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
[Rainbow was upon his head means that the angel is clothed with G-d’s power and mercy.]
[10] And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
[The angel is holding a little book in his hand, and John is told to take it, and eat – a way of saying that he is to read, learn, mark, and inwardly digest, even as we still speak of devouring a book, meaning that we read it with eagerness. This scroll, which is not the sealed scroll of chapter 5, is a special message from G-d to John.
In his mouth the scroll is sweet as honey, but in his stomach it is bitter, signifying that it is sweet to him to receive G-d’s message, but that its wrath and judgment fill him with sorrow. ]

7 Seals

[Rev. 6:1] And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
[The first four seals will be opened at once, and will together make up one picture.
The Jews and believers of Judea during the first century knew well the predictions of the approaching hoof beats of this battle as detailed in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which sounded the alarm. Revelation listed the mysterious seven seals to look for as this battle; of good and evil began, known as the Armageddon in Megiddo. The four horsemen were symbols of conquest, war, famine and death killing 1/3 of the earth’s (Israel’s world) population during this tribulation. John does not actually mention this battle, but considers it already over since Y’Shua obtained victory over evil by His death. The word Megiddo in Hebrew is called Har Megiddo and means the hill or mountain of Megiddo known as Armageddon. The Scriptures never actually mentions a battle at Megiddo, but rather describes it as the meeting place of the armies for the final battle as they march to Jerusalem just before the coming of Y’Shua. By the time John in 68 A.D. wrote of Megiddo it had already been in existence some 4000 years as a major crossroad of ancient armies and trade routes. Pharoah Thutmose III (1468
AD.) Declared that whoever captured Megiddo would control a 1000 towns, Megiddo by then had already been destroyed and rebuilt 11 times. When Megiddo was finally abandoned in the fourth century it had already been inhabited some 3000 years and had been rebuilt 20 times. The Essens at Qumran looked for and prepared to fight the evil rulers of the earth (Jerusalem), in this final battle, to save the Temple. The War Scroll, a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, gives great details of this battle plans; they were the ones who wrote the Scrolls. They believed that through supernatural agency they would come out victors. Y’Shua told the Messianic Believers to flee when these signs were heard (Matt. 24:16). A similar concept to that held by the ancient Essens is seen in the Messiahian belief of what would happen at the end of time when the L-rd would return on a white horse in victory with the redeem.]
[Rev. 6:2] And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
[The breaking of the first seal involved the white horse, a picture of the Roman Empire, that was going forth conquering and to conquer.
A career of conquest, the key to the meaning of this lies in the bow. It was the characteristic weapon of mounted Parthian warriors, to whom also white was a sacred color. Parthia was a formidable neighbor on the eastern border of the Roman Empire. What is suggested here is a Parthian invasion that meets with success.]
[3] And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
[4] And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
[The breaking of the second seal spoke of the red horse released, indicating the familiar concept of red as the color of the plant Mars, the idol of war and bloodshed. In the year 66-73 A.D. the wicked Roman procurators proved to be a disaster in Judea showing little mercy for the Jewish way of life or beliefs. In Galilee and Judea a radical arose known as the Ziolest freedom fighters arose whose ideas were to serve G-d only and remove their Roman over L-rds. With underground guerrilla resistance they started a problem greater than they were able to handle. Josephus tells that the Roman procurator Florus, determined to drive the Jewish people to revolt, extracted seventeen talents from the Temple Treasury, claiming he had a government necessity. The Jewish people rebelled and stormed the Temple shouting their contempt for Florus with such actions as holding out beggar cups and saying “coppers for the poor Florus, coppers for poor Florus”. In response, Florus marched on Jerusalem with the intent to pillage the city. Florus shouted to his soldiers: “plunder the upper market and kill anyone you meet”, the troops massacred the occupants and the city ran with blood and 3600 men, women and children were cruelly slaughtered and crucified. The dead Sea Scrolls had predicted: “the Romans shall cause many to perish by the sword, youths, grown men, the aged women, and children…and they shall take no pity on the fruit of the womb (Hab. Com.) “The infantry are armed with breastplate, helmet bearing horse hair tails, a sword on the left, and a long dagger on the right. The cavalry all carries a pike as well as a quiver full of arrows, called scorpions. With their perfect discipline and order they cause fear to arise at the sight of them.” (Psalm Scroll). Josephus gives us some details of the Jewish reaction against Florus: “The people now pressured King Agrippa (great grandson of Herod the Great) to send ambassadors to accuse Florus before Nero. Agrippa (1/2 Jew, Acts 12), wanting to discourage the people from war did not encourage this action.”]
[5] And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
[As Vespasian became emperor, he left his son Titus in Jerusalem to continue the siege of Jerusalem. There were other problems besides the Romans for those defending Jerusalem including at least three Zealots groups battling each other within the walls. Josephus describes it: “The missiles shot by catapults, stone towers, and quick-fires flew all over the Temple, killing priests and worshippers at the very altar itself. For despite war, the sacrifices went on, and those who journeyed from all over the world to worship there sprinkled the altar with their own blood. The three warring camps (Zealots) regularly rushed out and burned each other’s food supplies. This area around the Temple became a mass of ruins, and great stores of grain, which would supply the besieged for years, were destroyed, and the city would fall to self-imposed famine. The black horse is often an image of famine, hunger and deprivation, as these conditions befell Jerusalem, symbolizing death, perhaps because of the darkness of the underworld. The different Zealots groups fighting against each other constantly weakened their forces until the arrival of the Romans at their door dashed the last hope. Josephus comments: “Day after day the factions fought, each party devising new ways to destroy the other (then suddenly) the Romans appeared at the walls of Jerusalem.” As this famine and torture continued, Josephus writes about many deserters who fled from the city in search of scraps of food and: “When caught (some 500 were captured daily) they were tortured and crucified before the walls as a terrible warning to the people within. Out of rage and hatred, the soldiers nailed their prisoners in different postures, and so great was their number that space could not be found for the crosses - all hope of escape and all food supplies were cut off from the Jews, and famine devoured thousands upon thousands. The alleys were choked with bodies, the survivors not having enough strength to bury the dead and even falling into the graves with them. No mourning was heard in Jerusalem, for famine stifled all emotions, and an awful silence shrouded the city.]
[6] And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
[A penny was the customary wage of a laborer for one day. Usually a penny could purchase eight to sixteen times more grain than the amounts mentioned here. In other words, warfare is followed by inflation and famine.
Josephus said that “one refugee, who had been in charge of a single gate, reported to Titus that 15,880 corpses had been carried out in an eleven week period, while other leaders reported that 6000,000 bodies of the lover classes had been thrown out, and it was impossible to number the rest. A measure of wheat was sold for a talent, and when it was not longer possible to gather herbs after the city was walled in, some searched the sewers for offal (animal waste) or ate old cow dung. Yet the rebels were relentless.” Josephus reports “thousands of Jews died of hunger. In every house where there was the least morsel of food, relatives fought over it. Gaping with hunger, the outlaws prowled around like mad dogs, gnawing at anything: belts, shoes, and even the leather from their shields. Others devoured wisps of hay, and then there was the incredible sorrow of Mary of Bethezuba - madding by hunger, she seized the infant at her breast and said, poor baby, why should I preserve you for war, famine, and rebellion? Come, be my food - vengeance against the rebels, and the climax of Jewish tragedy for the world. With that, she killed her infant son, roasted his body, and devoured half of it, hiding the remainder - the whole city rocked with this abomination.” See 8:13. This concern for oil and wine had to do with the fact that the Temple sacrifices were continuing and this oil and wine were necessary libations for the Temple ritual. This also dates these events to before 70 A.D. and the destruction of the Temple. Josephus tells us that the Zealots lost control and one Zealot leader named John of Gischala, began to plunder the Temple itself “taking its golden vessels, bowls, tables, and even the sacred wine and oil and gave them to his followers to use. As things reached its worst part, the Romans set fire to the gates of the Temple court and rushed onto the broad plateau on which the Temple stood. There they had hand-to-hand fighting in the holy courts, as thousands more fell by the sword. On August 6, in 70 A.D., the sacrifices ceased in the Temple and Josephus reported that: “Around the altar were heaps of corpses, while streams of blood flowed down the steps of the sanctuary.]
[7] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
[8] And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
[The fourth horseman is death, riding a horse the color of decaying flesh. Hades, the ruler of the dead, follows close behind. We have here all the appalling aftermath of war – famine, pestilence, and the final devastation when wild animals overrun what was once the habitat of people.
What is the consequence of ignoring physical laws, like stepping off a cliff, and disaster follows. Neglect moral laws, and disaster ensures just as surely. The woes described here are the result of not taking seriously G-d’s command to achieve community and justice. G-d does not will the woes, but as long as we are free agents G-d allows them.
Sword - showing it was the first century.
1-8 are the first four seals which are unified by their common image, the vision of the four horsemen of Apocalypse. The description of this vision has features borrowed from Zech. 6:1-5, which also involves horses and their colors, and instead of yoking the horses to chariots he sets on each of them a rider in whom the interest of the vision is centered.
The vision of the four horsemen begins when the Lamb, who has already taken the scroll from the right hand of the one seated on the throne, begins to open the seven seals one by one. Common features mark the first four openings. Each is preceded by an utterance from one of the four living creatures, and followed by the appearance of a horse and its rider, whose significance is partly explained.
None of the four horsemen days a single word, each rides forth in silence. We do not know in which direction they ride, because the Greek word that has been traditionally translated ‘come’ may also be translated ‘go.’
John begins with the belief that all power comes from G-d. G-d is the absolute ruler of the world. But because G-d gave humankind free will, there is always the possibility that we might misuse the portion of power entrusted to us.
The way that G-d’s power is manifested in the world is that the misuse of power brings on suffering and disaster. Wars, starvation, and devastation – these are the means by which it is made plain that power abused is still under G-d’s control. These are the ‘judgments’ of G-d, being worked out on the plane of history.]
[9] And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of G-d, and for the testimony which they held:
[The fifth and sixth seals will be opened, together making one picture, and the action shifts from earth to heaven.]
[10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O L-rd, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
[11] And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
[Wait until G-d’s appointed time; persecution must first run its course. Then all those who have suffered on the Messiah’s account will be vindicated together. Meanwhile the martyrs can already enjoy their rightful place in heaven; they were each given their white robe of purity, victory, and service.]
[12] And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
[Revelation as well as the words of Y’Shua in Matthew 24:29-34 predicted supernatural portents or signs that the end was near. 12-14.
With the breaking of the sixth seal by the Lamb, G-d’s punishments of the wicked are resumed. In his description of these John makes use of symbolism drawn from many parts of the OT: the earthquake from Hag. 2:6, the sun turned black and the moon turned to blood from Joel 2:31, the stars fallen from heaven like figs from a fig tree in Isa. 34:4, and the sky rolled up like a scroll in Isa. 34:4. the use of cosmic convulsions to describe social and political upheaval is well established in biblical prophecy.]
[8:1] And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
[The seventh seal is really the introduction to a new series of visions.
Silence it is like the solemn hush before the bursting of a hurricane. The effect of the pause is to heighten the horror of the next series of G-d’s judgments, each to be announced by the sounding of a trumpet. However, this silence in heaven may be more than merely a dramatic interlude, for John notices that the prayers of the saints are about to ascend to G-d. Everything is heaven halts so that the prayers of the saints may be heard.]

Overcomer's Promises

[Rev. 2:7] 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 tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of G-d.
[Each church is promised that Y’Shua will reward everyone who conquers. The word conquer or overcometh is a military term. It suggests that the Believers life, involves a struggle against anyone and anything that saps the Believers life of all that gives it strength and power.
Encouragement to those who were over comers, and refused to involve themselves with the pagan meals and practices, by telling them that they shall eat of the tree of life in paradise.]
[2:11] 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.
[The second death - "the lake of fire," the death in life of the lost, as contrasted with the life in death of the saved. Our first death happens when we take our last breath on earth. The second death comes to impenitent sinners at the Final Judgment.]
[2:17] 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.
[To eat - omitted in the three oldest manuscripts. The hidden manna - the heavenly food of Israel, in contrast to the idol-meats (v. 14). To those who stand firm against both persecution and false teachings the L-rd promise to give some of the hidden manna.
A pot of manna was laid up in the Holy Place "before the testimony." The allusion is here to this: probably also to the L-rd's discourse (John 6:31-35). Translate, "the manna which is hidden." As the manna hidden in the sanctuary was by divine power preserved from corruption, so Messiah in His incorruptible body has passed into the heavens, and is hidden there until the time of His appearing. Messiah Himself is the manna "hidden" from the world, but revealed to the believer, so that he has already a foretaste of His preciousness. Compare as to Messiah's own hidden food on earth, John 4:32, 34, and Job 23:12. The full manifestation shall be at His coming. Believers are now hidden, even as their meat is hidden. As the manna in the sanctuary, unlike the other manna, was incorruptible, so the spiritual feast offered to all who reject the world's dainties for Messiah is everlasting: an incorruptible body and life for ever in Messiah at the resurrection. White stone - White is the color and livery of heaven. In ancient times a white stone was greatly prized, either as an amulet, especially if the name of some deity was engraved upon it, or as a mark of membership in a special group. The white stone is a glistening diamond, the Urim borne by the high priest within the choschen or breastplate of judgment, with the twelve tribes' names on the twelve precious stones, next the heart. The word Urim means "light," answering to the color white. None but the high priest knew the name written upon it, probably the beyond description name of G-d, "Jehovah." The high priest consulted it in some divinely appointed way to get direction from G-d when needful.
"New" implies something altogether renewed and heavenly. The "new name" is Messiah's (compare 3:12, "I will write upon him My new name"): some new revelation of Himself which shall hereafter be imparted to His people, and which they alone are capable of receiving. The connection with the "hidden manna" will thus be clear; as none save the high priest had access to the "manna hidden" in the sanctuary. Believers, as spiritual priests unto G-d, shall enjoy the heavenly antitypes to the hidden manna and the Urim stone. What they had peculiarly to contend against at Pergamos was the temptation to idol-meats, and fornication, put in their way by Balaamites. As Phinehas was rewarded with "an everlasting priesthood" for his zeal against these very sins to which the Old Testament Balaam seduced Israel; so the heavenly high priesthood is the reward promised here to those zealous against the New Testament Balaamites tempting Messiah's people to the same sins. Receiveth it - namely, "the stone"; not "the new name"; see above. The "name that no man knew but Messiah Himself," He shall hereafter reveal to His people.]
[2:24] But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
[You . . . and . . . the rest - The three oldest manuscripts omit "and"; translate then, "Unto you, the rest." As many as have not - not only do not hold, but are free from contact with.
And which - The oldest manuscripts omit "and"; translate, "whosoever." The depths - These false prophets boasted peculiarly of their knowledge of mysteries and the deep things of G-d; pretensions then expressed by their arrogant title, Gnostics ("full of knowledge"). The Spirit here declares their so-called "depths," (namely, of knowledge of divine things) to be really "depths of Satan"; just as in Revelation 2:9, He says, instead of "the synagogue of G-d," "the synagogue of Satan." They who thus think to fight Satan with his own weapons always find him more than a match for them. The words, "as they speak," that is, "as they call them," coming after not only "depths," but "depths of Satan," seem to favor this latter view; otherwise I should prefer the former, in which case, "as they speak," or "call them," must refer to "depths" only, not also "depths of Satan." The original sin of Adam was a desire to know EVIL as well as good, so in those who professed to know "the depths of Satan." It is the prerogative of G-d alone to know evil fully, without being hurt or defiled by it. I will put - Two oldest manuscripts have "I put," or "cast." One oldest manuscript reads as English Version. None other burden - save abstinence from, and protestation against, these abominations; no "depths" beyond your reach, such as they teach, no new doctrine, but the old faith and rule of practice once for all delivered to the saints. Exaggerating and perfecting Paul's doctrine of grace without the law as the source of justification and sanctification, these false prophets rejected the law as a rule of life, as though it were an intolerable "burden." But it is a "light" burden. In Acts 15:28,29, the very term "burden," as here, is used of abstinence from fornication and idol-meats; to this the L-rd here refers.]
[26] And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
[And - implying the close connection of the promise to the conqueror that follows, with the preceding exhortation.
Overcometh – two rewards are promised to those who conquer: they will share in Y’Shua’s messianic rule over the nations, and to them Y’Shua will give the morning star. The expression is a metaphor announcing the dawn of a new day and the fulfillment of hope after the night of longing and expectation. John’s symbolism of mourning star is indicated at the very end of his book where the L-rd describes Himself as the bright morning star. In pledging to give this star to the conqueror, Y’Shua is pledging to give Himself.
Over the nations - at Y’Shua’s coming the saints shall possess the kingdom "under the whole heaven"; therefore over this earth; compare Luke 19:17, "have thou authority the same word as here over ten cities."]
[2:27] And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
[From Psalms 2:8, 9. Rule - literally, "rule as a shepherd." In Psalms 2:9 it is, "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron." The Septuagint, pointing the Hebrew word differently, read as Revelation here. The Spirit in this case sanctions the additional thought as true, that the L-rd shall mingle mercy to some, with judgment on others; beginning by destroying His Anti-Messiahian foes, He shall reign in love over the rest. "Y’Shua shall rule them with a scepter of iron, to make them capable of being ruled with a scepter of gold; severity first, that grace may come after "Shepherd" is used in Jeremiah 6:3, of hostile rulers; so also in Zechariah 11:16. As severity here is the primary thought, "rule as a shepherd" seems to me to be used thus: He who would have shepherded them with a pastoral rod, shall, because of their hardened unbelief, shepherd them with a rod of iron.
Even as I - "as I also have received of from My Father," namely, in Psalms 2:7-9. Y’Shua had refused to receive the kingdom without the cross at Satan's hands; He would receive it from none but the Father, who had appointed the cross as the path to the crown. As the Father has given the authority to Me over the heathen and uttermost parts of the earth, so I impart a share of it to My victorious disciple.]
[2:28] And I will give him the morning star.
[The morning star - that is, I will give unto him Myself, who am "the morning star" (22:16); so that reflecting My perfect brightness, he shall shine like Me, the morning star, and share My kingly glory (of which a star is the symbol, Numbers 21:17, Matthew 2:2). Compare Revelation 2:17, "I will give him . . . the hidden manna," that is, Myself, who am that manna (John 6:31-33).]
[3:5] He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
[Overcometh - all the symbols are included here with the emphasis on victory: If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes.
White – it is not a dull white, but glittering, dazzling white. Compare Matthew 13:43. The body transfigured into the likeness of Messiah's body, and emitting beams of light reflected from Him, is probably the "white raiment" promised here. Raiment - Greek, "garments." "He that overcometh" shall receive the same reward as they who "have not defiled their garments" (Revelation 3:4); therefore the two are identical. Blot out . . . name out of . . . book of life - of the heavenly city. A register was kept in ancient cities of their citizens: and were erased upon death or the commission of a treasonous act. So those who have a name that they live and are dead (Revelation 3:1), are blotted out of G-d's roll of the heavenly citizens and heirs of eternal life; not that in G-d's electing decree they ever were in His book of life. But, according to human conceptions, those who had a high name for piety would be supposed to be in it, and were, in respect to privileges, actually among those in the way of salvation; but these privileges, and the fact that they once might have been saved, shall be of no avail to them. As to the book of life, compare Revelation 13:8, 17:8, 20:12,15, 21:27, Exodus 32:32, Psalms 69:28, Daniel 12:1. In the sense of the "call," many are enrolled among the called to salvation, who shall not be found among the chosen at last. The pale of salvation is wider than that of election. Election is fixed. Salvation is open to all and is pending (humanly speaking) in the case of those mentioned here. But Revelation 20:15, 21:27, exhibits the book of the elect alone in the narrower sense, after the erasure of the others.
By the time of Daniel 7:10; 12:1, the theme had developed to include the idea of books being opened on the Day of Judgment. The idea of a divine register is found frequently in the NT; it is referred to by Y’Shua (Lk. 10:20), Paul in Phil. 4:3, and especially John, who often refers to such records, but says nothing about the manner in which they are kept.
I will confess his name – is a repletion of Y’Shua’s’ pronouncement in the Gospels that He would acknowledge those who acknowledge Him before others in Matt. 10:32; Lk. 12:8. The concluding words of the letter are thus a challenge to the readers to be faithful.]
[3:12] Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my G-d, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my G-d, and the name of the city of my G-d, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my G-d: and I will write upon him my new name.
[The special reward promised to the one who conquers is addressed to the individual members of the church; I will make you a pillar in the temple – the idea of making the victor a pillar in His temple is clearly symbolic, for later in the book John will insist that there is no need for a temple in G-d’s city in 21:22. John is not in the slightest concerned to keep the details of one vision consistent with those of another. In each he is making a point with emphasis, and we should not try to dovetail one vision into the details of another. Apocalyptic imagery is sufficiently fluid to allow the figure of a temple in one vision and to dismiss it in another.
In one sense there shall be "no temple" in the heavenly city because there shall be no distinction of things into sacred and secular, for all things and persons shall be holy to the L-rd. The city shall be all one great temple, in which the saints shall be not merely stones, as is the spiritual temple now on earth, but all well-known as pillars: immovably firm
Go no more out - The Greek is stronger, never more at all. As the elect angels are beyond the possibility of falling, being now under "the blessed necessity of goodness," so shall the saints be. The door shall be once for all shut, as well to shut safely in forever the elect, as to shut out the lost (Matthew 25:10, John 8:35; compare Isaiah 22:23, the type, Eliakim). They shall be priests forever unto G-d (Revelation 1:6). Write upon him the name of my G-d - as belonging to G-d in a peculiar sense (Revelation 7:3, 9:4, 14:1; and especially Revelation 22:4), therefore secure. As the name of Jehovah ("Holiness to the L-rd") was on the golden plate on the high priest's forehead (Exodus 28:36-38); so the saints in their heavenly royal priesthood shall bear His name openly, as consecrated to Him. Compare the caricature of this in the brand on the forehead of the beast's followers (Revelation 13:16, 17), and on the harlot (Revelation 17:5; compare Revelation 20:4). Name of the city of my G-d - as one of its citizens (Revelation 21:2, 3, 10, which is briefly alluded to by anticipation here). The full description of the city forms the appropriate close of the book. The saint's citizenship is now hidden, but then it shall be manifested: he shall have the right to enter in through the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14). This was the city, which Abraham looked for. New Jerusalem - The Hebrew name is the original and holier one: the Greek, the recent and more secular and political one". My new name - at present incommunicable and only known to G-d: to be hereafter revealed and made the believer's own in union with G-d in Messiah. Messiah's name written on him denotes he shall be wholly Messiah's. New also relates to Messiah, who shall assume a new character (answering to His "new name") entering with His saints on a kingdom - not that which He had with the Father before the worlds, but that earned by His humiliation as Son of man.]
[3:21] To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
[Sit with me in my throne – The concluding promise belongs to the coming age and is limited to those who conquer, that is, to those who win in the struggle against self-indulgence, self-confidence, and self-satisfaction. The highest place is within reach of the lowest; the faintest spark of grace may be fanned into the mightiest flame of love.
Throne - symbolism signifies royal honor – and a place with Y’Shua is the highest honor conceivable for a Believer.Even as I also - Two thrones are here mentioned:
1. His Father's, upon which He now sits, and has sat since His ascension, after His victory over death, sin, the world; upon this none can sit save G-d, and the G-d-man Messiah Y’Shua, for it is the incommunicable prerogative of G-d alone;
2. The throne which shall be peculiarly His as the once humbled and then glorified Son of man, to be set up over the whole earth (heretofore usurped by Satan) at His coming again; in this the victorious saints shall share (1 Corinthians 6:2).
The transfigured elect Church shall with Messiah judge and reign over the nations in the flesh, and Israel the foremost of them; ministering blessings to them as angels were the
L-rd's mediators of blessing and administrators of His government in setting up His throne in Israel at Sinai.]
[3:22] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
[In the final verse we hear for the seventh and last time the exhortation: hear what the Spirit saith. The message to each church is at the same time a message to all churches. The seven churches provide examples of the kind of things that can go wrong in any church. These are the danger of losing the love that one had at first (Ephesus), fear of suffering (Smyra), doctrinal compromise (Pergamum), moral compromise (Thyatira), spiritual deadness (Sardis), failure to hold fast (Philadelphia), and lukewarmness (Laodicea).]

Laodiceans

[Rev. 3:14] And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of G-d; [Laodiceans completed the semicircle of cities to which, starting at Ephesus, a person would have traveled in order to deliver the seven messages. It was about one hundred miles east of Ephesus and about forty miles southwest of Phrygia, on the river Lycus, not far from Colossi, and lying between it and Philadelphia. The city was founded about the middle of the third century B.E. by Antiochus II of Syria and named in honor of his wife Laodice.
Laodicea was one of the richest commercial centers of Asia Minor. A severe earthquake devastated the city in A.D. 61, but so rich and independent were its citizens that they refused financial assistance from the Roman government, and out of their own resources and by their own efforts they eventually rebuilt their city. The city was noted for its textile products: the local wool, said to be even softer than that of Miletus, was raven-black in color. Laodicea was also the chief medical center of Phrygia, and was famous for its eye salve, which was exported far and wide.
By the 90s of the first century the spiritual condition of the church had deteriorated sadly. The decline of the church may have been due in part to the material wealth of its members and to the luxury of their life-style. In any case, this church receives the severest condemnation of the seven to which John is bidden to write.
The Church in latter times was apparently flourishing; for one of the councils at which the canon of Scripture was determined was held in Laodicea in A.D. 361. Hardly a Messiahian is now to be found on or near its site. The Amen - (Isaiah 65:16, Hebrew, "Bless Himself in the G-d of Amen . . . swear by the G-d of Amen," 2 Corinthians 1:20). He who not only says, but is, the Truth. The saints used Amen at the end of prayer, or in assenting to the word of G-d; but none, save the Son of G-d, ever said, "Amen, I say unto you," for it is the language peculiar to G-d, who avers by Himself. The New Testament formula, "Amen. I say unto you," is equivalent to the Old Testament formula, "as I live, saith Jehovah." In John's Gospel alone He uses (in the Greek) the double "Amen," John 1:51, 3:3; in English Version," Verily, verily." The title happily harmonizes with the address. His unchanging faithfulness as "the Amen" contrasts with Laodicea's wavering of purpose, "neither hot nor cold" (Revelation 3:16). The angel of Laodicea has with some probability been conjectured to be Archippus, to whom, thirty years previously, Paul had already given a monition, as needing to be stirred up to diligence in his ministry. So the Apostolic Constitutions, [8.46], name him as the first bishop of Laodicea: supposed to be the son of Philemon (Philemon 1:2).
But its meaning here, somewhat different from the liturgical use, is brought out by the words that immediately follow, the faithful and true witness. The title may have been suggested by Isaiah 65:16, where G-d of faithfulness would be literally translated G-d of Amen. Y’Shua HaMashiach is the perfect Amen of G-d, whose words and promises are true beyond all doubt. Y’Shua is further identified as the beginning of the creation of G-d. He is not part of the creation, but is the moving cause behind all creation (John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:15, 18).Faithful and true witness - As "the Amen" expresses the unchangeable truth of His promises; so "the faithful the true witness," the truth of His revelations as to the heavenly things, which He has seen and testifies. "Faithful," that is, trustworthy (2 Timothy 2:11,13). "True" is here (Greek, "alethinos") not truth speaking (Greek, "alethes"), but "perfectly realizing all that is comprehended in the name Witness" (1 Timothy 6:13). Three things are necessary for this: (1) to have seen with His own eyes what He attests; (2) to be competent to relate it for others; (3) to be willing truthfully to do so. In Messiah all these conditions meet. Beginning of the creation of G-d - not he whom G-d created first, but as in Colossians 1:15-18 the Beginner of all creation, its originating instrument. All creation would not be represented adoring Him, if He were but one of themselves. His being the Creator is a strong guarantee for His faithfulness as "the Witness and Amen."]
[15] I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
[Neither cold - The antithesis to "hot," literally, "boiling" ("fervent," Acts 18:25, Romans 12:11; compare Solomon 8:6, Luke 24:32), requires that "cold" should here mean more than negatively cold; it is rather, positively icy cold: having never yet been warmed. The Laodiceans were in spiritual things cold comparatively, but not cold as the world outside, and as those who had never belonged to the Church. The lukewarm state, if it be the transitional stage to a warmer, is a desirable state (for a little religion, if real, is better than none); but most fatal when, as here, an abiding condition, for it is mistaken for a safe state (Revelation 3:17). This accounts for Messiah's desiring that they were cold rather than lukewarm. For then there would not be the same "danger of mixed motive and disregarded principle" [ALFORD]. Also, there is more hope of the "cold," that is, those who are of the world, and not yet warmed by the Gospel call; for, when called, they may become hot and fervent Messiahians: such did the once-cold publicans, Zaccheus and Matthew, become. But the lukewarm has been brought within reach of the holy fire, without being heated by it into fervor: having religion enough to lull the conscience in false security, but not religion enough to save the soul: as Demas, 2 Timothy 4:10. Such were the halters between two opinions in Israel (1 Kings 18:21; compare 2 Kings 17:41, Matthew 6:24).]
[16] So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
[The reprimand is the most severe in the seven letters, with no word of commendation. The church is accused of being neither hot nor cold, but of being lukewarm. That is, among its membership were those who thought there might be a middle ground between worshiping G-d and worshiping the emperor; that in some way they could remain in the Christian church while at the same time obeying the emperor’s command to worship him. On the contrary, in their loyalty to Y’Shua they must be hot; those who were content to be lukewarm might just a well go to the extreme of being completely cold
Neither cold nor hot - So one oldest manuscript, B, and Vulgate read. But two oldest manuscripts, Syriac, and Coptic transpose thus, "hot nor cold." It is remarkable that the Greek adjectives are in the masculine, agreeing with the angel, not feminine, agreeing with the Church. The L-rd addresses the angel as the embodiment and representative of the Church. The chief minister is answerable for his flock if he has not faithfully warned the members of it. I will - Greek, "I am about to," "I am ready to": I have it in my mind: implying graciously the possibility of the threat not being executed, if only they repent at once. His dealings towards them will depend on theirs towards Him. Spue thee out of my month - reject with righteous loathing, as Canaan spued out its inhabitants for their abominations. Physicians used lukewarm water to cause vomiting. Cold and hot drinks were common at feasts, but never lukewarm. There were hot and cold springs near Laodicea.]
[17] Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
[Thou sayest - virtually and mentally, if not in so many words. You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing is deceptive, and shows a proud, smug self-complacency. Materially affluent and self-satisfied, the church is spiritually wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. There is some irony in these words, which contrast sharply with the achievements at Laodicea in banking, medicine, and the manufacture of clothing. Self-sufficiency is the fatal danger of a lukewarm state
The church in Laodicea is described as rich, though this city had been almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 61.
Increased with goods - Greek, "have become enriched," implying self-praise in self-acquired riches. The L-rd alludes to Hosea 12:8. The riches on which they prided themselves were spiritual riches; though, doubtless, their spiritual self-sufficiency ("I have need of nothing") was much fostered by their worldly wealth; as, on the other hand, poverty of spirit is fostered by poverty in respect to worldly riches. Knowest not that thou - in particular above all others. The "THOU" in the Greek is forceful. Art wretched - Greek, "art the wretched one." Miserable - So one oldest manuscripts reads. But two oldest manuscripts prefix "the." Translate, "the pitiable"; "the one especially to be pitied." How different Messiah's estimate of men, from their own estimate of themselves, "I have need of nothing!" Blind - whereas Laodicea boasted of a deeper than common insight into divine things. They were not absolutely blind, else eye-salve would have been of no avail to them; but short-sighted.]
[18] I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
[Gentle and loving irony. Take My advice, thou who fanciest thyself in need of nothing. Not only art thou not in need of nothing, but art in need of the commonest necessaries of existence. He graciously stoops to their modes of thought and speech: Thou art a people ready to listen to any counsel as to how to buy to advantage; then, listen to My counsel (for I am "Counsellor," Isaiah 9:6), buy of Me". (In whom, according to Paul's Epistle written to the neighboring Colossi and intended for the Laodicean Church also, Colossians 2:1,3, 4:16, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge).
"Buy" does not imply that we can, by any work or merit of ours, purchase G-d's free gift; nay the very purchase money consists in the renunciation of all self-righteousness, such as Laodicea had (Revelation 3:17). "Buy" at the cost of thine own self-sufficiency (so Paul, Philippians 3:7,8); and the giving up of all things, however dear to us, that would prevent our receiving Messiah's salvation as a free gift, for example, self and worldly desires. Compare Isaiah 55:1, "Buy . . . without money and price."
The parallel with Isa. 55:1, “You have no money…come, buy wine and milk without price,” shows that buying is figurative for obtaining. Y’Shua admonishes the church to realize that it is actually poor in spirituality and that it needs to obtain from him the gifts that cannot be purchased with money.
Somewhat abruptly, the author changes from his rather harsh denunciation to an approach of affection and tender concern. The proper response to divine correction is to be earnest, therefore, and repent.Of me - the source of "unsearchable riches" (Ephesians 3:8). Laodicea was a city of extensive money transactions. Gold tried in the fire - literally, "fired (and fresh) from the fire," that is, just fresh from the furnace that has proved its purity, and retaining its bright gloss. Sterling spiritual wealth, as contrasted with its counterfeit, in which Laodicea boasted itself. Having bought this gold she will be no longer poor (Revelation 3:17). Mayest be rich - Greek, "mayest be enriched." White raiment - "garments." Laodicea's wools were famous. Messiah offers infinitely whiter raiment. As "gold tried in the fire" expresses faith tested by fiery trials: so "white raiment," Messiah's righteousness imputed to the believer in justification and imparted in sanctification.
Shame - Man can discover his shame; G-d alone can cover it, so that his nakedness shall not be manifested at last (Colossians 3:10-14). Blessed is he whose sin is so covered. The hypocrite's shame may be manifested now; it must be so at last. Appear - Greek, "be manifested," namely, at the last day, when everyone without the wedding. garment shall be discovered. To strip one, is in the East the image of putting to open shame. So also to clothe one with fine apparel is the image of doing him honor.
Anoint . . . with eye-salve - The oldest manuscripts read, "(buy of Me) eye-salve (collyrium, a roll of ointment), to anoint thine eyes." Messiah has for Laodicea an ointment far more precious than all the costly unguents of the East. The eye is here the conscience or inner light of the mind. According as it is sound and "single" (Greek, "haplous," "simple"), or otherwise, the man sees aright spiritually, or does not. The Holy Spirit's unction, like the ancient eye-salve's, first smarts with conviction of sin, then heals. He opens our eyes first to ourselves in our wretchedness, then to the Savior in His preciousness.
The most sunken churches of the seven, namely, Sardis and Laodicea, are the ones in which alone are specified no opponents from without, nor heresies from within. The Church owes much to G-d's overruling Providence that has made so often internal and external foes, in spite of themselves, to promote His cause by calling forth her energies in contending for the faith once delivered to the saints. Peace is dearly bought at the cost of spiritual stagnation, where there is not interest enough felt in religion to contend about it at all.]
[19] As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
[(Job 5:17, Proverbs 3:11,12, Hebrews 12:5,6.) So in the case of Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:11-13). As many - All. "He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. And shalt thou be an exception? If excepted from suffering the scourge, thou art excepted from the number of the sons". This is an encouragement to Laodicea not to despair, but to regard the rebuke as a token for good, if she profit by it. I love - Greek, "philo," the love of gratuitous affection, independent of any grounds for esteem in the object loved. But in the case of Philadelphia (Revelation 3:9), "I have loved thee" (Greek, "egapesa") with the love of esteem, founded on the judgment.
I rebuke - The "I" in the Greek stands first in the sentence emphatically. I in My dealings so altogether unlike man's, in the case of all whom I love, rebuke. The Greek, "elencho," is the same verb as in John 16:8, "(the Holy Ghost) will convince (rebuke unto conviction) the world of sin." Chasten - "chastise." The Greek, "paideu," which in classical Greek means to instruct, in the New Testament means to instruct by chastisement (Hebrews 12:5,6). David was rebuked unto conviction, when he cried, "I have sinned against the L-rd"; the chastening followed when his child was taken from him (2 Samuel 12:13,14). In the divine chastening, the sinner at one and the same time winces under the rod and learns righteousness. Be zealous - habitually. Present tense in the Greek, of a lifelong course of zeal. The opposite of "lukewarm." The Greek by alliteration marks this: Laodicea had not been "hot" (Greek, "zestos"), she is therefore urged to "be zealous" (Greek, "zeleue"): both are derived from the same verb, Greek, "zeo," "to boil." Repent - Greek aorist: of an act to be once for all done, and done at once. This is the fifth call to repentance in these letters; Smyrna and Philadelphia alone needed no such admonition. Laodicea’s repentance would involve the replacement of complacency with zealous concern.
To the call to repentance Y’Shua adds the tenderest message found in any of the seven letters.]
[20] Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
[Stand - waiting in wonderful condescension and long-suffering. Knock - (Solomon 5:2). This is a further manifestation of His loving desire for the sinner's salvation. He who is Himself "the Door," and who bids us "knock" that it may be "opened unto" us, is first Himself to knock at the door of our hearts. If He did not knock first, we should never come to knock at His door. Compare Solomon 5:4-6, which is plainly alluded to here; the Spirit thus in Revelation sealing the canonicity of that mystical book. The spiritual state of the bride there, between waking and sleeping, slow to open the door to her divine lover, answers to that of the lukewarm Laodicea here. "Love in regard to men emptied (humbled) G-d; for He does not remain in His place and call to Himself the servant whom He loved. But He comes down Himself to seek him, and He who is all-rich arrives at the lodging of the pauper. With His own voice intimates His yearning love, and seeks a similar return, and withdraws not when disowned, and is not impatient at insult, and when persecuted still waits at the doors".
Y’Shua’s knocking on the door is a simple but profound picture of grace and free will in action. My voice - He appeals to the sinner not only with His hand (His providences) knocking, but with His voice (His word read or heard; or rather, His Spirit inwardly applying to man's spirit the lessons to be drawn from His providence and His word). If we refuse to answer to His knocking at our door now, He will refuse to hear our knocking at His door hereafter. In respect to His second coming also, He is even now at the door, and we know not how soon He may knock: therefore we should always be ready to open to Him immediately. If any man hear - for man is not compelled by irresistible force: Messiah knocks, but does not break open the door, though the violent take heaven by the force of prayer (Matthew 11:12): whosoever does hear, does so not of himself, but by the drawings of G-d's grace (John 6:44): repentance is Messiah's gift (Acts 5:31). He draws, not drags. The Sun of righteousness, like the natural sun, the moment that the door is opened, pours in His light, which could not previously find an entrance.
I will come in to him - as I did to Zaccheus. There is no handle or latch on the outside of the door; it must be opened from within. Y’Shua promise to enter when the resident opens the door.Sup with him, and he with me - Delightful reciprocity! The image of eating with the L-rd symbolizes the joy of fellowship. In the Near East the sharing of a common meal indicates the forming of a strong bond symbol of the intimacy to be enjoyed in the coming messianic kingdom.
Compare "dwelleth in me, and I in Him," John 6:56. Whereas, ordinarily, the admitted guest sups with the admitter, here the divine guest becomes Himself the host, for He is the bread of life, and the Giver of the marriage feast. Here again He alludes to the imagery of Solomon 4:16, where the Bride invites Him to eat pleasant fruits, even as He had first prepared a feast for her, "His fruit was sweet to my taste." Compare the same interchange, John 21:9-13, the feast being made up of the viands that Y’Shua brought, and those which the disciples brought. The consummation of this blessed intercommunion shall be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, of which the L-rd's Supper is the earnest and foretaste.]

Philadelphia

[Rev. 3:7] And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
[Philadelphia - in Lydia, twenty-eight to thirty-five miles southeast of Sardis. The city had been founded in the second century B.E. by Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, one of the kings of Pergamum, (who died A.D. 138), and was the youngest of the seven cities. Philadelphia is the Greek word that means ‘one who loves his brother.’ Such was the affection of Attalus for his brother Eumenes that he was called Philadelphos, and it was after him that Philadelphia was named.
The ancient historian Strabo called Philadelphia a city full of earthquakes. Earth tremors were frequent, and had caused many former inhabitants to leave the city for a safer home in the surrounding country. The severe earthquake of A.D. 17, which had devastated Sardis, almost completely demolished Philadelphia. But the 90s, with the aid of an imperial subsidy, had rebuilt Philadelphia, and within the city there was a congregation of Believers.
The church in Philadelphia was very different from the church in Sardis. It was poor, small, and harassed both by pagan citizens and by the local Synagogue; but its members had stayed from the way. The letter to Sardis contains almost unmitigated censure; letter to Philadelphia is one of almost unqualified commendation.
The connection of this Church with Jews there causes the address to it to have an Old Testament coloring in the images employed. It and Smyrna alone of the seven receive unmixed praise. He that is holy - as in the Old Testament, "the Holy One of Israel." Thus Y’Shua and the G-d of the Old Testament are one. None but G-d is absolutely holy (Greek, "hagios," separate from evil and perfectly hating it), in contrast to "the synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 3:9). True - Greek, "alethinos": "Very G-d," as distinguished from the false idols and from all those who say that they are what they are not (Revelation 3:9):real, genuine. Furthermore, He perfectly realizes all that is involved in the names, G-D, Light (John 1:9, 1 John 2:8), Bread (John 6:32), the Vine (John 15:1); as distinguished from all typical, partial, and imperfect realizations of the idea. His nature answers to His name (John 17:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:9). The Greek, "alethes," on the other hand, is "truth-speaking," "truth-loving" (John 3:33, Titus 1:2). He that hath the key of David - the antitype of Eliakim, to whom the "key," the emblem of authority "over the house of David," was transferred from Shebna, who was removed from the office of chamberlain or treasurer, as unworthy of it. Messiah, the Heir of the throne of David, shall supplant all the less worthy stewards who have abused their trust in G-d's spiritual house, and "shall reign over the house of Jacob," literal and spiritual (Luke 1:32,33), "for ever," "as a Son over His own house" (Hebrews 3:2-6). It rests with Messiah to open or shut the heavenly palace, deciding who is, and who is not, to be admitted: as He also opens, or shuts, the prison, having the keys of hell (the grave) and death (Revelation 1:18). The power of the keys was given to Peter and the other apostles, only when, and in so far as, Messiah made him and them infallible. Whatever degrees of this power may have been committed to ministers, the supreme power belongs to Messiah alone. Thus Peter rightly opened the Gospel door to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1-48, 11:17,18; especially Acts 14:27, end). But he wrongly tried to shut the door in part again (Galatians 2:11-18). Eliakim had "the key of the house of David laid upon his shoulder.
Shutteth - So Vulgate and Syriac Versions read. But the four oldest manuscripts read, "shall shut". And no man openeth - Two oldest manuscripts, B, Aleph, Coptic Version, and Origen read, "shall open." Two oldest manuscripts, A, C. and Vulgate Version support English Version reading.
Messiah, as the antitypical David, Himself has the key of the supreme "government upon His shoulder." His attribute here, as in the former addresses, accords with His promise. Though "the synagogue of Satan," false "Jews" (Revelation 3:9) try to "shut" the "door" which I "set open before thee"; "no man can shut it" (Revelation 3:8). ]
[8] I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
[I know thy works as the opening formula, is followed by no word of reproof but by the declaration I have set before thee an open door. The door was a technical expression for an opportunity for spreading the gospel. The church, though small, had a great missionary task to perform. The missionary zeal of the church had been met with opposition.
Have set - Greek, "given": it is My gracious gift to thee. open door - for evangelization; a door of spiritual usefulness. The opening of a door by Him to the Philadelphian Church accords with the previous assignation to Him of "the key of David." And - The three oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, and Origen read, "which no man can shut." For - "because." A little - This gives the idea that Messiah says, He sets before Philadelphia an open door because she has some little strength; whereas the sense rather is, He does so because she has "but little strength": being consciously weak herself, she is the fitter object for G-d's power to rest on, that so the L-rd Messiah may have all the glory. And hast kept - and so, the littleness of thy strength becoming the source of Almighty power to thee, as leading thee to rest wholly on My great power, thou hast kept My word.
Little strength means that she had a Church small in numbers and external resources: "a little flock poor in worldly goods, and of small account in the eyes of men".
The Greek verbs are in the aorist tense: "Thou didst keep . . . didst not deny My name": alluding to some particular occasion when her faithfulness was put to the test.]
[9] Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
[I will make - Greek present, "I make," literally, "I give"
The opposition against them appeared to have come from the Jewish population of the city, who rejected the claim of Believers to be the spiritual Israel. Since John himself had been born a Jew, we must not the expression them of the synagogue of Satan in an anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic sense. The synagogue at Philadelphia was criticized, not for being Jewish, but for hostile to Christians. The authorities of the Synagogue would undoubtedly have excommunicated any of their group who confessed Y’Shua as the Messiah.
The promise to Philadelphia is larger than that to Smyrna. To Smyrna the promise was that "the synagogue of Satan" should not prevail against the faithful in her: to Philadelphia, that she should even win over some of "the synagogue of Satan" to fall on their faces and confess G-d is in her of a truth. Translate, "(some) of the synagogue." For until Messiah shall come, and all Israel then be saved, there is but "a remnant" being gathered out of the Jews "according to the election of grace." This is an instance of how Messiah set before her an "open door," some of her greatest adversaries, the Jews, being brought to the obedience of the faith. Their worshipping before her feet expresses the convert's willingness to take the very lowest place in the Church, doing servile honor to those whom once they persecuted, rather than dwell with the unG-dly. So the Philippian jailer before Paul.]
[10] Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
[Patience - "endurance." "The word of My endurance" is My Gospel word, which teaches patient endurance in expectation of My coming (Revelation 1:9). My endurance is the endurance which I require, and which I practice. Messiah Himself now endures, patiently waiting until the usurper be cast out, and all "His enemies be made His footstool." So, too, His Church, for the joy before her of sharing His coming kingdom, endures patiently. Hence, in Revelation 3:11, follows, "Behold, I come quickly." I also - The reward is in kind: "because thou didst keep,". " From - Greek, "(so as to deliver thee) out of," not to exempt from temptation. The hour of temptation - the appointed season of affliction and temptation (so in Deuteronomy 4:34 the plagues are called "the temptations of Egypt"), literally, "the temptation": the sore temptation which is coming on: the time of great tribulation before Messiah's second coming.
It is not easy to determine whether this promise means keep you from undergoing the trial or keep you throughout the trial. But the promise can scarcely mean entire escape from suffering, because the promise to the one who conquers in verse 12 shows that there will be martyrs. It appears that the Philadelphia church will not be spared from testing. It will kept in, not from, the time of trouble.
All the world - mankind, except the elect (Revelation 13:8,14). The temptation brings out the fidelity of those kept by Messiah and hardens the unbelieving reprobates (Revelation 9:20,21, 16:11,21).To try them that dwell upon the earth – is an expression used elsewhere in Revelation to refer to the enemies of the Believers, those who are of earth, earthy (Revelation 8:13). "Dwell" implies that their home is earth, not heaven. This is the first indication in the book of an approaching general visitation, which will be portrayed in the successive series of judgment-visions from chapter 6 onward.
The particular persecutions which befell Philadelphia shortly after, were the earnest of the great last tribulation before Messiah's coming, to which the Church's attention in all ages is directed.]
[11] Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
[Behold - omitted by the three oldest manuscripts and most ancient versions. I come quickly - the great incentive to persevering faithfulness, and the consolation under present trials. That . . . which thou hast - "The word of my patience," or "endurance" (Revelation 3:10), which He had just commended them for keeping, and which involved with it the attaining of the kingdom; this they would lose if they yielded to the temptation of exchanging consistency and suffering for compromise and ease. That no man take thy crown - which otherwise thou wouldst receive: that no tempter cause thee to lose it: not that the tempter would thus secure it for himself (Colossians 2:18).]

Sardis

[Rev. 3:1] And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of G-d, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
[Sardis - the kingdom of wealthy Croesus, on the river Pactolus. Sardis was a busy commercial and industrial city at he junction of the five roads about thirty miles south of Thyatira, had been the capital of the ancient region called Lydia. Even though the citadel of Sardis was situated on an almost impregnable hill with sheer cliffs on three sides that dropped some fifteen hundred feet to the valley below, the city had twice suffered humiliating defeats. In the sixth century B.E., because of lack of vigilance, the city experienced a stealthy attack by the Persians, and though the negligence of its defenders, Sardis was captured by Antiochus the Great in 214 B.E. Still later in its history, in A.D. 17 a catastrophic earthquake devastated the city. Through the generosity of the Emperor Tiberius, who remitted the taxes for five years, the city was rebuilt, and began one again to flourish as a woolen center. Although the city had lost most of its former glory, it was still known for its wealth, and also for its luxurious and licentious living.
The address to this Church is full of rebuke. It does not seem to have been in vain; for MELITO, bishop of Sardis in the second century was eminent for piety and learning. He visited Palestine to assure himself and his flock as to the Old Testament canon and wrote an epistle on the subject [EUSEBIUS Ecclesiastical History, 4.26]; he also wrote a commentary on the Apocalypse.
He that hath the seven Spirits of G-d - that is, He who hath all the fullness of the Spirit (Revelation 1:4, 4:5, 5:6, with which compare Zechariah 3:9, 4:10, proving His G-d head). This attribute implies His infinite power by the Spirit to convict of sin and of a hollow profession. And the seven stars - (Revelation 1:16,20). His having the seven stars, or presiding ministers, flows, as a consequence, from His having the seven Spirits, or the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The human ministry is the fruit of Messiah's sending down the gifts of the Spirit. Stars imply brilliancy and glory; the fullness of the Spirit, and the fullness of brilliant light in Him, forms a designed contrast to the formality, which He reproves.
Name . . . livest . . . dead - (1 Timothy 5:6, 2 Timothy 3:5, Titus 1:16; compare Ephesians 2:1,5, 5:14). "A name," that is, a reputation. Sardis was famed among the churches for spiritual vitality; yet the Heart-searcher, who seeth not as man seeth, pronounces her dead; how great searching’s of heart should her case create among even the best of us! Laodicea deceived herself as to her true state (Revelation 3:17), but it is not written that she had a high name among the other churches, as Sardis had.
These words indicate His sovereign control over churches and the source of spiritual power. This congregation in Sardis needed just such a reminder for it had a name of being alive, was in fact dead. No condemnation could be sharper; the church was an example of merely nominal Christianity.]
[2] Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before G-d.
[Be - Greek. "Become," what thou art not, "watchful," or "wakeful," literally, "waking." the things which remain - Strengthen those thy remaining few graces, which, in thy spiritual deadly slumber, are not yet quite extinct. "The things that remain" can hardly mean "the persons that are not yet dead, but are ready to die"; for Revelation 3:4 implies that the "few" faithful ones at Sardis were not "ready to die," but were full of life. Are - The two oldest manuscripts read, "were ready," literally, "were about to die," namely, at the time when you "strengthen" them. This implies that "thou art dead," Revelation 3:1, is to be taken with limitation; for those must have some life who are told to strengthen the things that remain. Perfect - literally, "filled up in full balance"; Translate, "complete." Weighed in the balance of Him who requires living faith as the motive of works, and found wanting. Before G-d - Greek, "in the sight of G-d." The three oldest manuscripts, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic, read, "before (in the sight of) MY G-d"; Messiah's judgment is G-d the Father's judgment. In the sight of men, Sardis had "a name of living
Note: in Sardis and Laodicea alone of the seven we read of no conflict with foes within or without the Church. Not that either had renounced the appearance of opposition to the world; but neither had the faithfulness to witness for G-d by word and example, so as to "torment them that dwelt on the earth" (Revelation 11:10).]
[3] Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
[How thou hast received - (Colossians 2:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:1, 1 Timothy 6:20). What Sardis is to "remember" is, not how joyfully she had received originally the Gospel message, but how the precious deposit was committed to her originally, so that she could not say, she had not "received and heard" it. The Greek is not aorist (as in Revelation 2:4, as to Ephesus, "Thou didst leave thy first love"), but "thou hast received" (perfect), and still hast the permanent deposit of doctrine committed to thee.
The word "keep" (so the Greek is for English Version, "hold fast") which follows, accords with this sense. "Keep" or observe the commandment that thou hast received and didst hear. Heard - Greek aorist, "didst hear," namely, when the Gospel doctrine was committed to thee. Repent - Demonstration of the Spirit and power from Messiah's ambassadors the truth came to you, and how heartily and zealously you at first received it. Regard to her former character (how it once stood) ought to guard Sardis against the future hour, whatsoever it shall be, proving fatal to her. It is not likely that the Spirit repeats the same exhortation virtually to Sardis as to Ephesus. If therefore - seeing thou art so warned, if, nevertheless.Come on thee as a thief - in special judgment on thee as a Church, with the same stealthiness and as unexpectedly as shall be His visible second coming. If they do not wake up, this is not a reference to the Second Coming, which will take place whether the Sardians are watchful or not. Y’Shua comes in many ways and at many times, and this is clearly a limited coming in judgment upon the unrepentant. As the thief gives no notice of His approach. Messiah applies the language which in its fullest sense describes His second coming, to describe His coming in special judgments on churches and states (as Jerusalem, Matthew 24:4-28) these special judgments being preventative earnests of that great last coming. "The last day is hidden from us, that every day may be observed by us". Twice Messiah in the days of His flesh spake the same words (Matthew 24:42,43, Luke 12:39,40); and so deeply had His words been engrave on the minds of the apostles that they are often repeated in their writings (Revelation 16:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:2,4,6, 2 Peter 3:10). The Greek proverb was that "the feet of the avenging deities are shod with wool," expressing the noiseless approach of the divine judgments, and their possible nearness at the moment when they were supposed the farthest off.
Notice the L-rd does not begin the letter with threats; He begins with a series of urgent warning; Wake up, and strengthen what remains…Remember that what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. Here are five staccato imperatives: Wake up! Strengthen what remains! Remember! Obey! Repent!]
[4] Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
[The three oldest manuscripts prefix "but," or "nevertheless" (notwithstanding thy spiritual deadness), and omit "even."
Names - persons named in the book of life (Revelation 3:5) known by name by the L-rd as His own. These had the reality corresponding to their name; not a mere name among men as living, while really dead (Revelation 3:1). The gracious L-rd does not overlook any exceptional cases of real saints in the midst of unreal professors. Not defiled their garments - The situation at Sardis was critical but not hopeless. There were still a few persons in Sardis who had not spoiled their clothes namely, the garments of their Messiahian profession, of which baptism is the initiatory seal, whence the candidates for baptism used in the ancient Church to be arrayed in white. Compare also Ephesians 5:27, as to the spotlessness of the Church when she shall be presented to Messiah; and Revelation 19:8, as to the "fine linen, clean and white, the righteousness of the saints," in which it shall be granted to her to be arrayed; and "the wedding garment." Meanwhile she is not to sully her Messiahian profession with any defilement of flesh or spirit, but to "keep her garments." For no defilement shall enter the heavenly city. Not that any keep themselves here wholly free from defilement; but, as compared with hollow professors, the G-dly keep themselves unspotted from the world; and when they do contract it, they wash it away, so as to have their "robes white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14). The Greek is not "to stain" (Greek, "miainein"), but to "defile," or besmear (Greek, "molunein"), Solomon 5:3.
Archaeologist have found inscriptions posted in pagan shrines in Asia Minor that indicate that those who wore dirty clothing were excluded from worship because they were an insult to the idols. But the meaning here is symbolic, with clothes symbolizing the purity of their life. (Zech.3: 3-5).They shall walk with me in white - The promised reward accords with the character of those to be rewarded: keeping their garments undefiled and white through the blood of the Lamb now, they shall walk with Him in while hereafter. On "with me," compare the very same words, Luke 23:43, John 17:24. "Walk" implies spiritual life, for only the living walk; also liberty, for it is only the free that walk at large. The grace and dignity of flowing long garments is seen to best advantage when the person "walks": so the graces of the saint's manifested character shall appear fully when he shall serve the L-rd perfectly hereafter (Revelation 22:3).
Members of the Jewish sect of the Essenes at Qumran wore white garments as a symbol of their inner purity. White was the color used by the Roman emperor in a triumphal procession. In the OT white garments signify heaven (Dan. 7:9) and festivity (Ecc. 9:8). They are worthy - with the worthiness (not their own, but that), which Messiah has put on them (Revelation 7:14). Ezekiel 16:14, "perfect through MY comeliness which I had put upon thee." Grace is glory in the bud. "The worthiness here denotes a congruity between the saint's state of grace on earth, and that of glory, which the L-rd has appointed for them, about to be estimated by the law itself of grace". Contrast Acts 13:46.]

Thyatira

[Rev. 2:18] And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of G-d, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
[Thyatira - in Lydia, south of Pergamos. Lydia, the purple-seller of this city, having been converted at Philippi, a Macedonian city (with which Thyatira, as being a Macedonian colony, had naturally much intercourse), was probably the instrument of first carrying the Gospel to her native town. John follows the geographical order here, for Thyatira lay a little to the left of the road from Pergamos to Sardis.
Thyatira is about forty-five miles southeast on the road from Pergamum to Sardis, was a town of considerable commercial importance in which there were many traders and artisans. Ancient records indicate the presence there of many trade guilds. Archaeologist have found inscriptions that mention guilds of woolworkers, lined workers, makers of outer garments, dyers, leatherworkers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers, and bronze smiths. Such guilds combined some of the features of our modern trade unions with certain religious features. Banquets of the members of the guild often took place within a pagan temple or shrine, where an animal was offered to the idols and then eaten by the members of the guild.
This obviously put Believers in a difficult dilemma. If they did not participate in such feasts and ceremonies of the guild, they would be unable to make a living. If they did participate, they were being unfaithful to the L-rd.Son of G-d . . . eyes like . . . fire . . . feet . . . like fine brass - or "glowing brass" whence this description is resumed). Again His attributes accord with His address. The title "Son of G-d," is from Psalms 2:7,9, which is referred to in v. 27. The attribute, "eyes like a flame". answers to v. 23, "I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts." The attribute, "feet like . . . brass," answers to v. 27, "as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers," He treading them to pieces with His strong feet.]
[19] I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
[The oldest manuscripts transpose the English Version order, and read, "faith and service." The four are secondary to "thy works"; thus, "I know thy works, even the love and the faith (these two forming one pair, as 'faith works by love,' Galatians 5:6), and the service (ministration to the suffering members of the Church, and to all in spiritual or temporal need), and the endurance of (that is, shown by) thee (this pronoun belongs to all four)." As love is inward, so service is its outward manifestation. Similarly, faith and persevering endurance, or "patient continuance (the same Greek as here, Romans 2:7) in well-doing," are connected. And thy works; and the last - Omit the second "and," with the three oldest manuscripts and the ancient versions; translate, "And (I know) thy works which are last (to be) more in number than the first"; realizing 1 Thessalonians 4:1; the converse of Matthew 12:45, 2 Peter 2:20. Instead of retrograding from "the first works" and "first love," as Ephesus, Thyatira's last works exceeded her first (v. 4,5).]
[20] Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
[The seven leading churches allowed their membership to involve themselves in semi pagan views under various heretic leaders. Another individual singled out for idolatrous practices was a woman prophetess given the secondary title Jezebel.
John identifies her with the name of her OT counterpart, Jezebel, Ahab’s Phoenician queen, who corrupted the faith of Israel with the many whoredoms and sorceries of her native idols, Baal and Astarte (2 Kg. 9:22; and 1 Kgs. 16:31-33).]
[21] And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
[Space - Greek, "time." Of her fornication . . . she repented not - The three oldest manuscripts read, "and she willeth not to repent of (literally, 'out of,' that is, so as to come out of) her fornication." Here there is a transition from literal to spiritual fornication, as appears from v. 22. The idea arose from Jehovah's covenant relation to the Old Testament Church being regarded as a marriage, any transgression against which was, therefore, harlotry, fornication, or adultery.
Her teaching of what the writer witheringly calls the deep things of Satan in verse 22 had the effect of compromising Christian commitment by taking part in pagan practices. We should not minimize the importance of problems confronting first-century Believers, for it was economic suicide to reject the minimum requirements for guild membership. Every generation of Believers must face the question: How far should I accept and adopt contemporary standards and practices?]
[22] Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
[Behold - calling attention to her awful doom to come. I will - Greek present, "I cast her." A bed - The place of her sin shall be the place of her punishment. The bed of her sin shall be her bed of sickness and anguish. Perhaps a pestilence was about to be sent or the bed of the grave, and of the hell beyond, where the worm dieth not. Them that commit adultery with her - spiritually; including both the eating of idol-meats and fornication. "With her," in the Greek, implies participation with her in her adulteries, namely, by suffering her (v. 20), or letting her alone, and so virtually encouraging her. Her punishment is distinct from theirs; she is to be cast into a bed, and her children to be killed; while those who make themselves partakers of her sin by tolerating her, are to be cast into great tribulation. Except they repent - Greek aorist, "repent" at once; shall have repented by the time limited in My purpose. Their deeds - Two of the oldest manuscripts and most ancient versions read "her." Thus, G-d's true servants, who by connivance, are incurring the guilt of her deeds, are distinguished from her.]
[23] And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
[Her children - (Isaiah 57:3, Ezekiel 23:45,47). Her proper adherents; not those who suffer her, but those who are begotten of her.
Kill . . . with death - Compare the disaster that overtook the literal Jezebel's votaries of Baal, and Ahab's sons, 1 Kings 18:40, 2 Kings 10:6,7,24,25. Kill with death is a Hebraism for slay with most sure and awful death; so "dying thou shalt die" (Genesis 2:17). Not "die the common death of men" (Numbers 16:29). All the churches shall know - implying that these addresses are designed for the Church of all ages and places. So deliberately shall G-d's hand be seen in the judgment on Thyatira, that the whole Church shall recognize it as G-d's doing. I am he - the "I" is strongly forcefully: "that it is I am He who". Searcheth . . . hearts – G-d's peculiar attribute is given to Messiah. The "reins" are the seat of the desires; the "heart," that of the thoughts. The Greek for "searcheth" expresses an accurate following up of all tracks and windings. Unto every one of you - literally, "unto you, to each." According to your works - to be judged not according to the mere act as it appears to man, but with reference to the motive, faith and love being the only motives which G-d recognizes as sound.]
[24] But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
[You . . . and . . . the rest - The three oldest manuscripts omit "and"; translate then, "Unto you, the rest." As many as have not - not only do not hold, but are free from contact with.
And which - The oldest manuscripts omit "and"; translate, "whosoever." The depths - These false prophets boasted peculiarly of their knowledge of mysteries and the deep things of G-d; pretensions then expressed by their arrogant title, Gnostics ("full of knowledge"). The Spirit here declares their so-called "depths," (namely, of knowledge of divine things) to be really "depths of Satan"; just as in Revelation 2:9, He says, instead of "the synagogue of G-d," "the synagogue of Satan." They who thus think to fight Satan with his own weapons always find him more than a match for them. The words, "as they speak," that is, "as they call them," coming after not only "depths," but "depths of Satan," seem to favor this latter view; otherwise I should prefer the former, in which case, "as they speak," or "call them," must refer to "depths" only, not also "depths of Satan." The original sin of Adam was a desire to know EVIL as well as good, so in those who professed to know "the depths of Satan." It is the prerogative of G-d alone to know evil fully, without being hurt or defiled by it. I will put - Two oldest manuscripts have "I put," or "cast." One oldest manuscript reads as English Version. None other burden - save abstinence from, and protestation against, these abominations; no "depths" beyond your reach, such as they teach, no new doctrine, but the old faith and rule of practice once for all delivered to the saints. Exaggerating and perfecting Paul's doctrine of grace without the law as the source of justification and sanctification, these false prophets rejected the law as a rule of life, as though it were an intolerable "burden." But it is a "light" burden. In Acts 15:28,29, the very term "burden," as here, is used of abstinence from fornication and idol-meats; to this the L-rd here refers.]
[25] But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
[That which ye have already - (Jude 1:3, end). Hold fast - do not let go from your grasp, however false teachers may wish to wrest it from you. Till I come - when your conflict with evil will be at an end. The Greek implies uncertainty as to when He shall come.]