The Revelation of John1



Prologue2

I
(1)The Revelation of Jesus Christ,3 which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place, and which he made known4 by sending his angel to his servant John,5 (2)who bears witness to the Word of God and the Witness of Jesus Christ,6 of all that he saw. (3)Blessed is the one who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep what is written in it,7 for the time is near.8

(4)John to the seven churches that are in Asia:9 Grace and peace to you from the One who is and who was and who is to come, and from the Seven Spirits who are before his throne, (5)and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.10 To him who loves us and freed us from our sins with his blood, (6)and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and might for ever and ever, amen.11

(7)Behold, he comes with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him.12 Yes, amen. (8)I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.13



Vision of the angel of the exalted Christ14

(9)I John, your brother and companion in the hardship and kingdom and endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the Word of God and the Witness of Jesus.15 (10)I came to be in spirit16 on the Lord’s day,17 and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet18 (11)saying: Write19 in a book20 what you see21 and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.22

(12)And I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me,23 and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,24 (13)and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, dressed in a long tunic and bound around the breast with a golden belt; (14)his head and hair were white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire, (15)and his feet like bronze that has been refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of many waters;25 (16)and in his right hand he had seven stars26 and coming out of his mouth was a sharp two-edged sword,27 and his face was like the sun shining at full strength.28

(17)And when I saw him I fell at his feet as though dead, and he placed his right hand on me saying: Do not be afraid,29 I am the First and the Last,30 (18)and the Living One—I was put to death and behold, I am alive for ever and ever,31 and I have the keys of Death and Hades.32 (19)Therefore write what you saw, and what is now, and what is to take place after these things.33 (20)As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw on my right and the seven golden lampstands:34 the seven stars are angels of the seven churches,35 and the seven lampstands are seven churches.36



Seven Messages to the Churches37

II
(1)To the angel of the church in Ephesus38 write: This says39 the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.40
(2)I know your deeds, your labour and endurance,41 and that you can not endure wicked men, and have put to the test those calling themselves apostles and are not, and have found them false.42 (3)Yet endurance you have, and you have endured for the sake of my name and have not weakened. (4)But I have this against you, that you have lost the love you had at first.43 (5)Therefore remember how far you have fallen and repent, and act as you did at first;44 and if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.45 (6)But this you have, that you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.46
(7)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.47 The one who overcomes48—I will let him eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.49

(8)And to the angel of the church in Smyrna50 write: This says the First and the Last, the one who was put to death and returned to life.51
(9)I know your affliction and poverty—but you are rich52—and the blasphemy of those saying they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.53 (10)Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will have hardship for ten days.54 Be faithful up to death and I will give you the crown of life.55
(11)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes by no means will be hurt by the second death.56

(12)And to the angel of the church in Pergamum57 write: This says the one who has the sharp two-edged sword.58
(13)I know where you live—where the throne of Satan is—yet you hold to my name and did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death amongst you, where Satan dwells.59 (14)But I have a few things against you, because you have there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol-sacrifices and to fornicate.60 (15)So you too, in the same way, have some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.61 (16)Therefore repent, and if not I am coming to you quickly and will fight them with the sword of my mouth.62
(17)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes I will give from the hidden manna,63 and I will give him a little white stone, and on the stone a new name is written which no one knows except the one who receives it.64

(18)And to the angel of the church in Thyatira65 write: This says the Son of God,66 whose eyes are like a flame of fire and his feet like bronze.67
(19)I know your deeds, and your love, faithfulness, service and endurance, also that your last deeds are better than the first.68 (20)But I have this against you, that you tolerate Jezebel, the woman who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to fornicate and to eat idol-sacrifices.69 (21)And I gave her time to repent and she does not want to repent from her fornication.70 (22)Behold, I am putting her to bed71 and those committing adultery with her into great distress, unless they repent from her practices;72 (23)also I will kill her children with pestilence,73 and all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and will give to each one of you according to your deeds.74 (24)But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not keep this teaching, who do not know the deep things of Satan as they say75: I am not putting any other burden on you; (25)only, hold to what you have until I come.76
(26)And the one who overcomes and attends to my work until the end77—I will give him authority over the nations (27)just as I also received from my Father, and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron, like pots of clay are smashed;78 (28)and I will give him the Dawn Star.79 (29)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

III
(1)And to the angel of the church in Sardis80 write: This says the one who has the Seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.81
I know your deeds; that you have a name for being alive and yet you are dead.82 (2)Be awake and strengthen what is left and about to die,83 for I have not found your deeds perfect in the sight of my God.84 (3)Therefore remember how you received and heard; keep that and repent.85 For if you are not awake, I will come like a thief and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.86 (4)But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy.87
(5)The one who overcomes will dress himself like this in white clothes,88 and never will I scrub his name from the scroll of life, and I will declare his name before my Father and before his angels.89 (6)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

(7)And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia90 write: This says the Holy One, the True One,91 who holds the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens.92
(8)I know your deeds; since you have little strength—even you have kept my order and not denied my name93—look, I have set before you an open door which no one can close.94 (9)Behold, I will hand over some of the synagogue of Satan—those saying they are Jews and are not for they lie—behold, I will make them come and worship at your feet and they shall know that I love you.95 (10)Since you have kept my order to endure,96 also I will keep you from the hour of the test that is to come upon the whole world, to test the inhabitants of the earth.97 (11)I am coming quickly,98 hold to what you have so that no one may take your crown.99
(12)The one who overcomes—I will make him a pillar in the Sanctuary of my God, and never will he go out again, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the City of my God, of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.100 (13)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

(14)And to the angel of the church in Laodicea101 write: This says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of the creation of God.102
(15)I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would rather you were cold or hot.103 (16)So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth. (17)For you say: “I am rich and have plenty and there is nothing I need”, and you do not know that you are the wretched one, pitiable and poor and blind and naked. (18)I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white clothes so that you may dress yourself and the shame of your nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to anoint your eyes so that you may see.104 (19)All those whom I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.105 (20)Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and eat with him and he with me.106
(21)The one who overcomes—I will let him sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat with my Father on his throne.107 (22)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
















































1 This is the oldest title of this book, but it is not an original part of it.





































2 Consists of basic introductory material on the origin, transmission, purpose and nature of the text, some of which is reaffirmed in the epilogue (Rev 22,6-21). This is followed by the typical opening address of an ancient letter.





































3 ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ’ is the real title of the book, according to the ancient Hebrew tradition of taking the first word or words as the title. ‘Revelation’ derives from the Greek word ̓̓Αποκάλυψις meaning ‘uncovering’ and implies the book contains the disclosure of concealed truths and realities, from the present, past and future. Modern scholarship has applied the word ‘apocalypse’ to the genre of ancient Jewish writings of similar style and content. However, John’s ‘Apocalypse’, or ‘Revelation’, is unique in many respects, but especially in its focus on the victorious redemption brought about by Jesus Christ, and its future and eternal consequences. It should be noted that ‘the Revelation’ here does not refer, as in other parts of the NT (1Cor 1,7; 2Thess 1,7; 1Pet 1,7,13), to the revelation of Jesus Christ from heaven at his second coming (the object of the genitive), although that event is a significant component of it. Instead ‘the Revelation’ is the divine insight and instruction that follow in the text, given to Jesus Christ for onward transmission (the subject of the genitive). As the title suggests, this book comes with the full authority of Jesus Christ.





































4 ‘Made known’ is the translation of the Greek verb σημαίνω, which also carries the more specific sense of ‘signify’, that is to say, communicate by signs and symbols. It implies that a challenging task of interpretation lies ahead.





































5 The Revelation originates with God and is given to Jesus Christ, before being transmitted through his angel to his servant John, and then to all God’s servants, with the purpose of showing them what must take place soon (also Rev 22,6). Though often denied, the main purpose of this Revelation is clearly the disclosure of future events. These events are certain and ‘must’ happen. The fact that they will happen ‘soon’ links these events with the impending second coming, or Parousia, of Christ (cf. 1,7; 3,11; 22,7.12.20).





































6 The Revelation is described here as ‘the Word of God and the Witness of Jesus Christ’, an expression that confirms its origin with God and places it firmly in the Scriptural tradition. Those who faithfully hold ‘the Word of God and the Witness of Jesus Christ’ suffer persecution (1,9; 12,17) and even martyrdom (6,9; 20,4). The ‘Witness of Jesus Christ’ could refer to the witness borne by Jesus to the divine origin of the revelation transmitted to John (subject of the genitive), or to the witness given to Jesus by the revelation, whose origin is God (object of the genitive). The second option is to be preferred, since it is consistent with the witness given to Jesus by other NT writings and by the faithful themselves. Understood in the same sense, there is no difficulty in identifying the ‘Witness of Jesus’ with the ‘spirit of prophecy’, as in 19,10.





































7 The Revelation is here described as a prophecy, and therefore as part of the prophetic tradition. There is a divine blessing attached to reading it in an assembly, since hearers are included, and also for those who ‘keep’ its words (1,3; 22,7). The Greek word (τηρέω) for ‘keep’ evokes the Hebrew verbs שומר and נוצר, which both signified the act of guarding, preserving, or observing God’s instruction (Torah), covenant or commandments. This is the first of seven blessings in the text (cf. 14,13; 16,15; 19,9; 20,6; 22,7.14), and is reminiscent of Lk 11,28.





































8 The reason invoked for reading this text is that ‘the time is near’ (cf. Rev 22.10). This recalls the stated reason for the giving of the Revelation, which is to show his servants what must happen ‘soon’ (1,1; 22,6). In turn, this involves the Parousia of Christ, because this will also happen ‘soon’ (cf. 1,7; 3,11; 22,7.12.20). Although the Greek for ‘soon’ (both ἐν τάχει and ταχύ) can also mean ‘quickly’, ‘soon’ is to be preferred precisely because ‘the time is near’ (‘quickly’ only conveys a sense of rapidity, but not imminence). The use of the same distinctive word for ‘time’ (καιρός) in 11,18 shows that it refers primarily to the final judgment, when the dead will be raised (cf. 20,11-15), the destroyers of the earth condemned and the servants of God rewarded by the realization of the new Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21–22). So when the author announces that ‘the time is near’, there should be no doubt that he is referring to the realization of all the events prophesied in his book, right up to the end. However, since more than 1900 years have passed since he wrote these words, the reader is left wondering whether he was correct in putting so much emphasis on the imminence of the end-time and the fulfilment of the events he prophesied. There are two reasons to explain this: the first is that one of the events he prophesied was the thousand-year period of Christ’s rule with his saints (20,4-6), and according to Psalm 90,4 “a thousand years in your sight [Lord] are like a day”. So, from a divine point of view, a thousand years is only a short period of time. Speaking from the divine point of view, then, the author is justified in saying that the ‘end is near’, even though it may take a thousand years, or more, from a human point of view. This response is supported by the almost identical use of Psalm 90,4 at 2 Peter 3, 8-9, in a passage that was specifically written to explain the delay in the coming of the final judgment and the complete fulfilment of God’s promises. The second reason for John’s emphasis on the imminence of the end will be proposed at Rev 10,11 (see also ‘The Problem of Imminence in the Book of Revelation’ at www.newtorah.org/Imminence.html ).





































9 The author John witnessed the Revelation in the form of visions and auditions (Rev 1,2; 22,8) and was instructed to write in a book all that he saw and heard (1,11.19). The result was a book of prophecy (1,3; 22,7), which was sent initially to seven churches in Asia in the form of a letter (1,4.11; chs. 2-3). John refers to himself as a servant of God (1,1), as a brother and co-sharer in the kingdom and trials of Jesus (1,9), and as a brother of the prophets and witnesses of Jesus (19,10; 22,6). From the diction, style and content of his text, we can be reasonably sure he was Palestinian Jew. He is evidently so well known to the churches, that he felt no need to clarify his identity. Tradition based on reliable, second-century sources in Asia Minor (Justin Martyr, Melito of Sardis, Irenaeus) identified him with the beloved Apostle and author of the Gospel and Letters of John, but this was later rejected by Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria (c. 250 AD), on the grounds that the literary style of Revelation was so inelegant and quite unlike that of the Gospel and Letters (cf. Eusebius, Hist.Ecc. VII, 25). On account of this refutation, Revelation did not appear in the NT canon of any of the Eastern Churches until at least the sixth or seventh centuries AD. Modern scholars adopt a middle position and attribute Revelation to a group of the Apostle’s followers—the so-called, and somewhat hypothetical, ‘Johannine school’. Internal evidence for apostolic authorship will be presented later, at Rev 11,1-2.





































10 This part of the prologue has the typical form of the ‘prescript’ to an ancient letter (sender, addressee, greeting) and closely resembles that of Paul’s letter to the Galatians (Gal 1,1-5). The Trinitarian greeting strongly endorses the divine origin of the writing that follows, and relates especially to the vision in Rev 4–5 . “The One who is and who was and who is to come” is a paraphrase of God’s name in Ex 3,14 and recurs several times in the text (Rev 1,8; 4,8; 11,17; 16,5), along with other ancient titles. “The Seven Spirits before the throne” may be identified with the Holy Spirit, since seven is the number of completeness or totality in the biblical tradition. The descriptions of Jesus Christ correspond to the three stages of his ministry: while on earth he bore ‘faithful witness’ to God. As ‘the first to resurrect from the dead’, he established his Church, and with his Ascension to heaven he became ‘the ruler of the kings of the earth’ (cf. Ps 89,28).





































11 A doxology to Christ follows the greeting, as in the letter to the Galatians (in other Pauline letters, a blessing or thanksgiving appears in this position). The wording of the doxology is important because it is the only verse in the text that unequivocally identifies Jesus as an expiatory sacrifice and associates his death with the atonement of sins. Very significantly, this act of love is then given as the means by which he “made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father” (Rev 5,9-10; 20,6; 1Pet 2,9; cf. Ex 19,6).





































12 This has been called the ‘motto’ of the book (Bousset), as it sums up the theme of the whole prophecy: Christ’s second coming. By echoing the sense of imminence in Rev 1,1.3, the wording implies that Christ’s second coming is the event that ‘must soon take place’ and whose ‘time is near’. The verse is a new reading of two OT prophecies, which had already been fused in Christian tradition (cf. Mt 24,30): the one who is coming ‘on the clouds’ (Dn 7,13-14), to rule with divine glory and power, is none other than the one who was ‘pierced’ (Zech 12,10; cf. Jn 19,37) and killed as an atoning sacrifice (Rev 1,6; cf. Is 52–53). But this time his coming will be evident to the whole world (‘every eye’) and will cause ‘all the tribes of the earth’ to weep and wail. There has been much discussion about whether their grief represents contrition and leads to salvation, or whether it is due to resentment and leads to judgment. The original context (Zech 12–14) describes the eschatological battle for Jerusalem: in response to the invasion of their land and the siege of their city by foreign armies, the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will mourn for someone they pierced. This provides an opportunity for sincere repentance and purification from sin (Zech 13), but nevertheless the city is taken, the houses plundered and half the population exiled (Zech 14,1-2.13-14). Then the Lord comes to fight for the remnant, defeat their enemies and bring victory and everlasting peace to Jerusalem (Zech 14,2-21). With the only difference that the Lord who is coming is the same as the one who was ‘pierced’ for the purification and gathering of God’s people (Rev 1,6), the battle context is similar in Revelation: the Lord comes to fight on behalf of his people, defeat their enemies and bring eternal salvation in the New Jerusalem. Therefore many of those who mourn ‘over him’ or ‘because of him’ (ἐπ’αὐτὸν) will be Christ’s enemies facing his wrathful judgment (cf. 6,16). The identity of ‘those who pierced him’ is also problematic: in the original prophecy, these are the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the House of David, to whom a new means for purification is offered. In Revelation, the same meaning appears to be intended. It would make no sense to identify this group with those whose sins continue to metaphorically ‘pierce’ and crucify Christ, because this would include every person without exception, and would not constitute a special group as indicated in the text. Furthermore, the verb is in the past tense, implying that the ‘piercing’ was a past event and not a present or ongoing one.





































13 These last words of the prologue confer divine endorsement and authority on all that has been written. The title ‘Alpha and Omega’ (also at 21,6) expresses God’s complete control over all time and space, from one end to the other, and corresponds to the ‘First and the Last’ (cf. Is 41,4; 44,6; 48,2) and the ‘Beginning and the End’ (Rev 21,6). All these titles are shared by Christ (1,17; 22,13). God’s absolute sovereignty over the cosmos is again stressed by the title ‘the Almighty’ (ὁ παντοκράτωρ). It is useful to note that just as Christ is coming (1,7; 3,11; 22,7.12.20), so also God is ‘the One who is to come’. As the Revelation unfolds, it will become clear that God and Christ are coming together (cf. 11,15; 22,1).





































14 The Revelation starts here with a vision that forms the background for the messages to the seven churches in Rev 2–3, which in turn provide introductory material for the main part of the book (Rev 4,1–22,6).





































15 This explains how John came to receive the Revelation. The traditional interpretation (first mentioned by Clement of Alexandria, Quis Dives 42) is that he had been exiled on the rocky and deserted Aegean Island of Patmos, 65 miles south of Ephesus, as a punishment from the Roman Authorities for preaching about Jesus. Since the expression ‘Word of God and Witness of Jesus’ had previously been used as a description of the revelation he was granted (Rev 1,1-2), this verse could also mean that he had been taken to Patmos, in order to receive the Revelation. Quite probably both ways of reading this verse are intended. He writes as if he is no longer on that island, suggesting that the book was revised and edited by the author sometime after his return to the mainland. We can therefore conclude that the text is an edited composition based on the visionary and auditory revelations granted to the author while staying on Patmos.





































16 An expression frequently used in Scripture to refer to a mystical experience resembling that of ecstasy, and occurring again at 4,2; 17,3 and 21,10 (cf. Ez 2,2; 3,12.14.24; 8,3; 9,24; 11,1; 43,5; Acts 11,5; 22,17; 2Cor 12,2).





































17 This is the earliest occurrence of the term κυριακή ἡμέρα (lit. the day pertaining to the Lord). It is not to be confused with the Day of the Lord (Rev 6,17; 16,14), because by the second century it was widely understood to refer to the day of the week on which the Christian communities assembled to honour and worship the Lord, i.e., Sunday. Writing to the Church in Magnesia in 105 AD, Ignatius of Antioch refers to this as a custom that distinguished Christians from Jews: “They have given up keeping the Sabbath, and now order their lives by the Lord’s Day instead” (Mag. 9,1).





































18 The trumpet was an instrument associated with theophany (cf. Ex 19,16; Heb 12.19) and communal worship (cf. Num 10,10). Both aspects are relevant here: the risen Christ is about to reveal himself to John in a vision that has prominent liturgical features. So it is significant, in this context, that at the start of the daily service in the Jerusalem Temple, trumpets were sounded with the opening of the doors of the Sanctuary, immediately before the priest entered to service the seven-branched lampstand, or menorah. The vision that follows in Rev 1,12-16 will take up this imagery in a striking way.





































19 This is the first of many commands to write (1,11.19; 2,1.8.12.18; 3.1.7.14; 14,13; 19,9; 21,5). It should be noted that this is the only NT Scripture that was written in response to a command from the Lord (for the OT, see Ex 34,27-28; Dt 31,19.21; Is 30,8).





































20 The Greek word βιβλίον (used interchangeably with βίβλος in Revelation) can mean a ‘scroll’ or a ‘book’. In fact, scrolls made of papyrus were the dominant form of media in the first century, when Revelation was written. Although the book-form, or ‘codex’, made its very first appearance at the end of the first century, it was not in common use until the 3-4th centuries. Nevertheless, for the occasions where John is asked to write, we give ‘book’ as the translation, since the product has come down to us in the form of a book, even though it started out as a ‘scroll’. ‘Scroll’ is used for the other occurrences, all linked to visionary experiences, because that is the image that John would have visualized.





































21 Since the author is asked to write what he sees (present tense), it is simplest to understand this as a reference to the vision of Rev 1,12-16, which appears almost as quickly as the command is spoken. By way of confirmation, the command is repeated in the past tense after this vision (Rev 1,19a).





































22 The seven churches were situated roughly on a circle (diam. approx 100miles), within the Roman Province of Asia—the west-central part of Asia Minor. There were many more than seven churches in Asia at the time this was written, and it is probable that these churches were selected because the author was well known to them, and they were best known to the author. They would therefore be the most receptive to this Revelation. These are not seven letters intended for seven separate churches, but rather seven messages all contained within one book (scroll) and sent as a circular letter to all seven churches for copying and transmission to all the churches in the world. Since seven is the biblical number representing fullness and totality, seven churches would readily be understood to represent the whole Church (cf. Ezek 25–32, where Ezekiel addresses seven nations as representing all the gentiles). This is implied by the universal character of the subsequent messages (Rev 2–3) and confirmed by the Muratorian fragment on the Canon (ca. 180 AD), which states that the message to each church was indeed understood to be a message for all the Church.





































23 This is not the only place in the Bible where a voice is the object of the verb to see (cf. Ex 20,18; Dn 7,11 LXX), though here the part (the voice) is understood to represent the whole (the speaker).





































24 An allusion to Zechariah’s vision of the lampstand with seven lamps (Zech 4,1-14) representing the presence of God among the community of Israel, which in turn recalls the seven-branched lampstand of pure gold that burnt continually ‘before the Lord’ in the sacred tabernacle and then in the sanctuary of the Jerusalem temple (Ex 25,31-40; Num 8,1-4; Lv 21,1-4; 1 Kgs 7,49).





































25 The ‘one like a son of man’ refers back to Dn 7,13 (cf. Rev 1,7) and to the vision of the human figure who comes on the clouds to receive universal and everlasting ‘dominion, glory and kingship’ from the ‘Ancient of Days’, that is to say, from God (Dn 7,9-14). The Gospels identify this messianic figure with Jesus Christ and turn the Aramaic description ‘one like a son of man’ into the Greek title ‘Son of Man’. In comparison with Dn 7,9-14, Christ is here identified with the Ancient of Days (Dn 7,9) by the appearance of his hair. Also his voice is like the voice of the Almighty (cf. Ez 1,24; 43,2). However, the remaining part of this description identifies him with the angel in Dn 10,5-6. So, as an angel representing the unity of God and Christ, ‘the one like a son of man’ in this vision can be identified as the revealing angel in Rev 1,1, who is sent both by Jesus (22,16) and by the Lord God (22,6). This divine manifestation recalls those occasions in the OT, where the appearance of the ‘angel of the Lord’ is indistinguishable from the manifestation of God himself (e.g., Gn 16,7-13; Gn 18; 22,15-18; Ex 14,19-31; Jdg 2,1-4) and is simply the visible form through which God communicates directly. Similarly in Revelation, the ‘one like a son of man’ is the visible form through which the exalted Christ reveals himself in order to speak directly to John. Of particular relevance in this vision is the long robe and high girding, since they suggest, even though they are not specific for, the clothing of a priest on duty. The high girding identifies his vestment with that of the angels exiting the sanctuary in Rev 15,6, wearing ordinary linen (λίνον), and imply that the long robe of the ‘one like a son of man’ is also made of ordinary linen. The significance of this will become clear in the next note.





































26 The seven stars give a cosmic dimension to the imagery in this vision, and to the authority of the one who holds them in his right hand. In context, they represent the lights or flames of the seven separate lampstands. The right hand of the ‘one like a son of man’ is interposed between the lampstands and their lights, in the position of a lamp—the object that symbolizes the role of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem (21,23). This right hand not only unites the lampstands to their lights, the stars, but also unites the seven lampstands to each other. So whereas the seven-branched menorah of the Jerusalem temple was united in a single base, the seven separate lampstands are now united through the right hand of the ‘one like a son of man’. Taking this difference into account, the ‘one like a son of man’ attending to seven lampstands vividly evokes the priestly task of servicing the menorah at the start of the daily service in the Jerusalem temple (cf. Lv 24,2-3). More specifically, the elevated status of the one represented by this figure, and his robe of ordinary linen, identify him with the high priest during the daily service on the Day of Atonement, since only on this day did the high priest wear a vestment of ordinary linen and perform all the duties himself, including the servicing of the lampstands (cf. m.Yoma 3:1-5).





































27 The sword issuing from his mouth is a symbol for the tongue, which in turn stands for the spoken word. Its sharpness indicates the power and effectiveness of his speech. In the context of Revelation, the sword clearly represents words of judgment (cf. Rev 2,12.16; 19,15.21). This particular attribute identifies ‘the one like a son of man’ with the rider of the white horse in 19,11-21, whose name is ‘Word of God’ (19,13; cf. Heb 4,12), and ultimately derives from the OT (cf. Is 49,2 and Is 11,4).





































28 While recalling the angel in Dn 10,5-6, whose face shone like lightning, the brilliance of the angel’s face in this vision establishes a link with the mighty angel in Rev 10,1.





































29 John’s shocked reaction is typical of those who have experienced similar visions in the past, especially in the passage following the vision of the angel in Dn 10,5-6 (Dn 10,7-12; also Dn 8,17-18; Ez 1,28; Ex 20,19). The same hand which held the seven stars and controls the elements of the universe now raises up the seer and reassures him (cf. Lk 1,13.30; 2,10; Mk 16,6).





































30 In Revelation, the ‘First and the Last’ refers only to Christ (cf. Rev 2,8; 22,13), but in the OT it is an epithet for God (Is 41,4; 44,6; 48,12). It is virtually synonymous with the titles ‘Alpha and Omega’ (see note on 1,8) and ‘Beginning and End’ both of which are used of God (Rev 1,8; 21,6) and of Christ (22,13). The transfer of these titles to Christ emphasizes again the divine unity of God and Christ.





































31 Again the ‘Living One’, and ‘I am alive for ever and ever’ are both descriptions commonly applied to God Almighty (in both OT and NT), but are here clearly applied to Christ, because of the reference to his death and Resurrection.





































32 This is the first mention of ‘Death and Hades’ (cf. 6,8; 20,13.14), which in Revelation refers to the two divisions of Sheol in Jewish tradition, and to Purgatory and Hell in Christian theology. Until the final Judgment (20,14), it is the post-mortem abode for all the souls who fail to get to heaven (cf. 14,13). Keys are a symbol of authority (cf. Is 22,15-25). The one speaking has the power to imprison or liberate souls from these intermediate states of the after-life, a power that was traditionally considered the prerogative of God and God alone.





































33 This ‘write’ command has 3 parts: the first part of this command is a repetition of the command to write “what you see” in Rev 1,11, only now it is in the past tense “what you saw”, confirming that it refers to the vision that has just been described in 1,12-16. The object of the third part of the command is a recurring verbal formula “what is to take place (soon) after these things”, which not only represents the main purpose of sending the Revelation to God’s servants (1,1), but also marks the beginning (4,1) and end (22,6) of the main section of John’s book. Finally, the object of the middle part of the command “what is now” aptly describes the messages to the seven contemporary churches in Rev 2–3. This tripartite command succinctly outlines the content of the entire book of Revelation.





































34 The symbolism of this vision so far evokes the ancient Jerusalem temple liturgy. It corresponds to the start of the daily service on the annual Day of Atonement, when the high priest entered the sanctuary to clean and refill the menorah. In Revelation, an analogous activity is described in a sanctuary of cosmic proportions, focussing here on the earthly part of it (which actually corresponds to the inner court of the former temple). This verse gives the final step in interpretation, the ‘actualization’, by revealing its ‘mystery’ (cf. 17,7), or hidden meaning: the stars are angels and the lampstands are churches. It is an ecclesiological vision representing the role of the churches on earth as bearers of heavenly light, established and maintained by the exalted Christ. This is the background for the messages which follow in Rev 2–3, where the Lord’s reproof and exhortation (purification) of the churches are fittingly compared to the trimming and refuelling of the menorah, and the tools he uses for this are the ‘sword from his mouth’ and the oil of the Spirit. The heavenly part of the sanctuary will be revealed in detail in Rev 4–5 and in several liturgical visions thereafter. Temple and liturgical symbolism plays a fundamental part in uniting all the visions in Revelation and is therefore a key to their interpretation ‘as a whole’. This is not gratuitous: Moses was granted a vision of the heavenly sanctuary and used this as the plan for building the tabernacle (Ex 25,8-9), which later became a model for the future temples in Jerusalem. Here John has a vision of the original sanctuary seen by Moses in heaven, which became the archetype of the temples in Jerusalem. The temple-liturgical imagery in Revelation can therefore be clarified by comparison with the liturgical activity and plan of the Jerusalem temples. This commentary will include insights from this comparison, in all the relevant passages.





































35 The identity of these angels (Rev 1,20; 2,1.8.12.18; 3,1.7.14) has been the cause of endless discussion, complicated by the fact that the speaker sometimes addresses them in the singular, and sometimes in the plural. According to their role in this vision, the angels are Spirits granted to each community by the exalted Christ, as a channel of communication with himself and with the divine Life in heaven. This will become more clear in Rev 4, where the lights of the seven lampstands (churches), already identified as stars and angels, are further identified as “the seven flames of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (4,5; cf. 1,4). The same seven Spirits of God have been sent out into all the earth and are symbolized by the seven horns and the seven eyes of the Lamb (5,6; cf. 3,1). Finally, these bodies burning ‘before the throne’ recall the class of angels called Seraphim (cf. Is 6,2) and connect with ‘the seven angels that stand before God’ (Rev 8,2), who are later given seven trumpets to sound (8,6) and seven libation bowls to pour out (15,5-8). Given that the number ‘seven’ signifies fullness and totality, the seven stars, angels, flames, Spirits, horns and eyes, all represent the Holy Spirit of God in his various operations and characteristics. Furthermore, another term for ‘the angels that stand before God’ (cf. Lk 1,19) is ‘the angels of the Presence’ (cf. Tob 12,15) or simply ‘archangels’. According to biblical tradition, one of the archangels, Michael, was appointed as guardian angel of the people of God (Dn 10,21; 12,1), identified at that time with the people of Israel. According to the interpretation presented here, not one, but all seven archangels now act as the heavenly guardians of the people of God, and these are the angels of the churches.





































36 It should be noted that the symbol of the lampstand bearing the light of the Lord does not specifically represent the idea of a church community as such, but rather its role in bearing witness to the Lord. Since this symbol primarily represents the idea of witness, it can therefore be applied without contradiction or inconsistency to represent a nation (Zech 4,1-14), a church (Rev 1,20), an individual (Rev 11,4; Jn 5,35; Ps 132,17; Sir 48,1), or even the Old Testament prophetic message (1Pet 1,19).





































37 It is probable that they were written after the main body of the book (Rev 4,1–22,6), but they nevertheless form an integral part of it. As noted above, the message for each church is intended for all. Each message has a similar form: it begins with the exalted Christ’s self-presentation, echoing selected attributes from the description in the opening vision (1,12-20), and concludes with his promises, to ‘the one who overcomes’, of rewards described in the final visions (Rev 20–22). The body of each message contains Christ’s positive and/or negative judgment of the state of the addressee, followed by corrective advice or exhortation, and in some cases a final consolatory remark (Smyrna and Philadelphia receive only positive judgment, Sardis and Laodicea only negative judgment, and Ephesus, Pergamum and Thyatira have both positive and negative aspects). Certain important generalizations can also be made about their content: 1) they relate to “what is now” in the seven churches (cf. 1,19) and so reflect actual problems faced by those communities in the first century AD. 2) The diagnosis and management of these problems is dictated by Christ (to John, for its angel) in the form of a prophetic oracle, patterned on OT prophetic speech. 3) The problems addressed, though created by different agents (false apostles, false Jews, Nicolaitans, Jezebel, etc), all relate to a single danger: compromise with the prevailing society. The faithful are exhorted to resist, or ‘overcome’, this tendency, and accept whatever suffering this may entail. For those who ‘overcome’, the rewards are great and eternal.





































38 At the time of writing, Ephesus was a great administrative, judicial, commercial and cultural centre on the west coast of the Roman Province of Asia, and one of its main cities alongside Smyrna and Pergamum (the titular capital). Her function as a port was declining because the harbour was silting up. From her early days, Ephesus had been the centre of the cult to Artemis, whose huge temple (the Artemision) was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. From an early date (29 BC) the Roman imperial cult was established there with the building of a shrine dedicated to the goddess Roma and a deceased emperor, mainly for use by resident Roman citizens. At the end of the first century, a temple was built to the emperor Domitian (ca. 90 AD), under whom the city flourished, and later to Hadrian and Severus. With the help of Priscilla and Aquila, Paul established a church in Ephesus (ca. 52 AD; Acts 18,18-22) and later stayed there for more than 2 years (Acts 19,8-12). It became a centre from which he preached to all the surrounding peoples, starting in the synagogue of the large and long-established Jewish community there (cf. Josephus Flavius, Ant. 12,125-6.166-8.172-3). Timothy was the first bishop of the Church (1Tim 1,3) and according to reliable tradition John the Apostle moved to Ephesus just prior to the siege of Jerusalem (66 AD) and resided there until his death at the end of the first century.





































39 An almost exact reproduction of the opening phrase of the Hebrew prophets: “Thus says the Lord”.





































40 Attributes taken from Rev 1,13.16, and relevant to the message (2,5).





































41 The importance of deeds as a basis for Christ’s evaluation of the churches runs throughout the seven messages (cf. 2,2.19; 3,1.8.15) and into the main part of the text—as a measure of authentic faith (cf. 9,20; 14,13; 19,8; 20,12; 22,12). The Ephesians’ deeds are the product of praiseworthy labour and endurance, but absent is the vital component of love (2,4).





































42 The mention of ‘false apostles’ (‘apostle’ is a transliteration of the Greek word meaning ‘emissary’ or ‘missionary’) accords with the state of the churches up to the end of the first century, when itinerant ‘apostles’ and ‘prophets’ went about preaching, teaching and leading worship in the churches (cf. 1Cor 12,28). In the second century this function was taken over by resident presbyters (priests) and bishops. It is not stated what the ‘false apostles’ were teaching, or how they were tested, but in view of the consolatory remark at the end of the message, it is quite possible that they were emissaries of an influential group called Nicolaitans and were rejected by the Ephesians because of their detestable practices (Rev 2,6). The practice of examining Christian preachers had its origin in the testing of prophets in the OT (cf. Dt 18,20-22) and was encouraged in the Church (1Thess 5,19-21; 1Jn 4,1-3; Didache 11–13). The threat of false teachers in this particular church was foreseen by Paul (Acts 20,29) and reported by Ignatius (Eph. 6–9).





































43 The emphasis on doctrinal purity has caused the Ephesians to abandon the love of Christ and fellow man that they had at first. It has strained relations within the community and caused hearts to grow cold. Doctrinal purity may be desirable, but not at the cost of the neglecting the main commandments—love of God and one another—a fundamental rule for all doctrinal disputes in the Church.





































44 Literally: “repent and do the first deeds”.





































45 The seriousness of their fall is now apparent: no repentance, no more church in Ephesus. Christ’s coming is mentioned several times in the messages: three times in judgment (Rev 2,5.16; 3,3) and twice with reward (2,25; 3,11). From the context, it is clear that Christ’s threat to uproot the church does not refer to his final Parousia, because by that time there will be no further need for churches or temples (cf. 21,22). This threatened judgment must therefore represent a prior visitation.





































46 The nature of these detestable practices is revealed in later messages (2,14-15.20), but the point here is that Christ is not asking the Ephesians to change their negative attitude towards them. Greater love for God and fellow man does not lead to tolerance of sin and wickedness. From this consolatory remark, it could be inferred that the Ephesians’ hatred of the practices of the Nicolaitans had helped them to reject the ‘false apostles’. If this is correct, then the ‘false apostles’ can indeed be identified as members of the influential group of Nicolaitans.





































47 Like a refrain, this universal ‘hearing’ invitation is repeated at the end of each of the seven messages and has a long history in the OT prophetic tradition. Based on Is 6,9-10, it presumes that many of the hearers are unable to grasp the message (also Ez 3,27), because they have become like the idols they adore, unable to see or hear (cf. Ez 12,2; Jer 5,21; Ps 115,4-8; 135,15-18). Taken up by the NT, this sense persists: Christ’s message will enlighten some, but confuse and metaphorically ‘blind’ others (cf. Mt 11,15;13,9-17.43; Mk 4,9.23; Lk 8,8; 14,35). Three points arise from the its use here: 1) the message to the church at Ephesus is addressed by the exalted Christ through the Spirit, which is also the angel of the church (see note under 1,20). This mediated form of address evokes the role of the Paraclete, or Spirit of Truth, in Jn 14–16 (esp. Jn 16,12-15). 2) The message is not restricted to Ephesus, or to the seven churches, but is also for every individual who able to grasp it. 3) The individuals expected to encounter these messages are not all going to be enlightened by what they hear, some may even be further confused (in the history of interpretation, this has proved to be stunningly correct).





































48 Continuing at the level of the individual, every message concludes with a promise to ‘the one who overcomes’, or ‘conquers’ (ὁ νικῶν), a word that implies fighting on behalf of the one making the promises. In the messages themselves, the theme of fighting and ‘conquering’ is not explained, but it does recur often in the main body of the text (cf. Rev 5,5; 6,2; 11,7; 12,11; 13,7; 15,2; 17,14; 21,7), where it relates to the historical and eschatological struggle of Christ and his followers against the devil and his followers. The followers of Christ ‘overcome’ the devil through faith in Christ’s atoning death (1,6; cf. 1Jn 5,4), ‘the word of their witness’ and ‘loving not their life unto death’ (Rev 12,11). Although the term ‘conqueror’ evidently applies to those who lose their lives as martyrs, it is not restricted to them, since the last phrase can be understood as complete renunciation of self unto death with or without martyrdom (cf. Mk 8,34-35 et par; Jn 12,25). In this case, it includes the saints and confessors.





































49 The promised rewards link up once again with the main body of the text, in this case with the final vision (Rev 21–22): the New Jerusalem is the Paradise (etymologically a walled garden or park) of God in which the fruit-bearing tree of life grows (22,2), and into which ‘the one who overcomes’ is here assured entry (cf. 22,14), while others are refused (cf. 22,15.19). Since the New Jerusalem is identified with the Bride of the Lamb in heaven (21,9-10), and the Bride will not be ready until the eschatological transformation at the end of history (19,7-9), the promise must refer to that future time. It is clearly an eschatological, and not an ‘inaugurated’ promise. Referring back to the Garden of Eden (Gn 2,9; 3,23-24), the promise of entry into the Paradise of God, to eat of the tree of life, signifies the full restoration of the God’s original intention for mankind, which had been denied to Adam and Eve because of their sin (Gn 3,24). According to the Genesis account, the fruit of the tree of life does indeed give eternal life and may be a metaphor for individual Christian salvation, but the promise here signifies more than that: nothing less than participation in the consummation of mankind’s collective salvation, i.e., eternal life in the presence of God in the context of a sinless, totally transformed and renewed creation.





































50 Smyrna (nowadays Izmir) was a wealthy port city 35 miles north of its main rival, Ephesus. She was the first city in Asia Minor to erect a temple in honour of the goddess Roma (193 BC), even before Rome had become the dominant power in the region. For her faithfulness to the Roman cause, Smyrna was chosen worthy to host the imperial cult under Tiberius (26 AD), where worship was to become a test of loyalty to Rome and a cornerstone of imperial policy. Inscriptions from the following century confirm the presence of a wealthy, socially integrated, even privileged, Jewish community, as in other cities of Asia at the time. The book of Revelation contains the only NT mention of the church at Smyrna, but it is probable that both Paul (Acts 19,10) and John preached there. By the second century, the city had an important Christian community, as shown by the letters addressed to it and to their bishop, Polycarp, by Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, after visiting the church on his way to martyrdom in Rome in 105 AD. Polycarp was probably actively serving in this church, in a junior rank, when John’s Revelation was received. In Polycarp, the message to Smyrna found a receptive hearer, in the light of his martyrdom there in 155 AD (cf. Martyrdom of Polycarp).





































51 Attributes taken from Rev 1,17-18 and relevant to those who will follow Christ in martyrdom (2,10).





































52 The Lord knows the great difficulties experienced by the community at Smyrna: not just persecution but also, and probably as a result, material poverty (cf. Heb 10,34). Nevertheless, their faithfulness under these conditions has earned them true spiritual wealth—treasure in heaven (cf. Lk 6,20; 2Cor 6,10; Jas 2,5; 1Cor 1,26-29)—the exact reverse of the state of the church in Laodicea (3,17).





































53 Blasphemy (βλασφημία) signifies impious speech against God, against his people, or against sacred things. On the simplest level, this refers to the curses and anathemas that were being proclaimed against the Christians in the local synagogues at this time (cf. Justin, Dialogues 16.4; 47.5; 96.2), the most renowned of which was the Birkat haMinim curse added to the thrice daily Amidah prayer in about 80-95 AD. 2) On a deeper level, the mention of Jewish ‘blasphemy’, followed immediately by the prediction of Roman persecution (2,10), matches historical reports of Jews conspiring with the Roman authorities and local Gentiles against Christians (cf. Acts 13,45.50; 14,2-7.19; 17,5-9; 18,12-17; 1Thess 2,14-16; Mart.Polycarp 12,1-2,13,1). The judgment against the blasphemers ‘who say they are Jews’ suggests that their blasphemy against Christ or Christians was aimed at denying Christians their Jewish identity, which offered them the same religious tolerance accorded to the Jews and exempted them from full participation in the imperial cult. Without this protection, they were liable to prosecution on two counts: as an ‘illegal association’ and for refusal to adhere to the religious norms of the society. The message here is that the blasphemers themselves are the ones who have lost their Jewish identity, by siding with the Satan, the devil, represented here by the Roman authorities. It is implied, though not stated, that the believers in Christ are true Jews and the new Israel (cf. Rev 1,6; 5,10; 7,4-8; 12,17, cf. Ex 19,6; 1Pet 2,9-10; Jas 1,1).





































54 Under Roman Law, there were no punishments involving long-term prison sentences. Prison was mainly used as a means of compelling obedience to legal injunctions, or as a place of temporary restraint while awaiting trial or execution. The devil operating through the Romans is about to test the faith of a group of Smyrnians, most probably by coercing them to sacrifice to the deified emperor, in the imperial cult. For the Jewish mind, this 10-day probation recalls the 10 Days of Awe, the period of probation between the Jewish New Year’s Day and the Day of Atonement, when sentence of life or death is given for the subsequent year.





































55 The 10-day probation clearly carries the possibility of martyrdom, which will be rewarded, posthumously and paradoxically, with the ‘crown of life’. This is the supreme achievement of a life of faith: eternal life and salvation. The word for crown (στέφανος) is a wreath of the kind awarded to the victor in athletic competitions (cf. Rev 3,11; 6,2), a metaphor used elsewhere in the Scriptures and early Christian writings for the struggle to lead the life of faith (e.g., 2Macc 6,10; 9,8; 11,20;14,4; 17,11-16; 1Cor 10 24-27; Phil 2,16; 3,14; 2Tim 2,5; 4.7-8; Heb 12,1-2). It is appropriate here because Smyrna was a regional centre for athletic sports and games.





































56 Once again, as at Rev 2,7, the promise to the ‘one who overcomes’ relates to the eschatological future, for the ‘second death’ does not become a reality until the final judgment (20,14; 21,8). The ‘first death’ is the loss of physical life, whereupon the immortal soul goes either to Heaven, or to the temporary post-mortem abodes called ‘Death and Hades’ (the two divisions of Sheol in Jewish tradition, or Purgatory and Hell in Christian theology). At the final judgment, and not before, ‘Death and Hades’ will give up the dead souls for judgment, and if anyone is not inscribed in the Lamb’s scroll of Life, he will then be sentenced to the ‘second death’, or ‘lake of fire’ (13,8; 17,8; 20,14-15, 21,8)—a reality that is far worse than the ‘first death’ since it involves the eternal torment of the soul (14,9-11; cf. Mt 10,28). The concept of the second death of the wicked was already familiar to the hearers of the Targums (cf. Tg Neof. Deut 33:6; Tg. Onq. 33:6; Tg. Isa. 22:14; Tg. Jer. 51:39.57).





































57 Pergamum (nowadays Bergama) lay 45 miles northeast of Smyrna and was the most northern of the seven churches. She was the capital of the independent kingdom of the Attalids, which was bequeathed to the Romans in 133 BC to become the Roman Province of Asia, the richest Province in Asia Minor. Pergamum remained the official capital of the Province and the seat of the Roman governor or pro-consul. With a long history of religious activity devoted to pagan deities including Zeus, Athena, Demeter, Dionysius and Aesclepius, she was one of the first cities in Asia to build a temple to Rome and her ruler (29 BC). As capital of the Province, this established her as a regional centre for the imperial cult. There was a fine library there, from which the word Pergamene, or parchment, is derived. Apart from what is written in this message, nothing is known about the church in Pergamum.





































58 Attribute taken from Rev 1,16 and relevant to the threat reported in the message (2,16).





































59 Whereas the other communities are known by their essential character, reflected mainly in their deeds, this church is characterized by the place where she lives, termed the ‘throne of Satan’ and the place where Satan dwells. There are several indications that this is a direct reference to the Provincial seat of the Roman administration and the dwelling of the Provincial governor in the city. This would certainly be consistent with the identification of the devil and Satan with the antichristian activities of the Roman administration in the previous letter (2,9-10). As a reason for the over-zealous application of the imperial cult, it would also explain the testing of church’s faith and the martyrdom of Antipas (2,13)—the only martyr named in the whole book, apart from Jesus Christ, with whom he shares the title “faithful witness” (cf. 1,5; 3,14). Under these testing conditions, the church is highly praised for her faithfulness to Christ.





































60 In fact, there is only one criticism of the church at Pergamum: they tolerate having in their community several individuals who advocate eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols (indicating consumption of pagan cultic meals) and fornication (a metaphor for idolatrous worship that may also include immoral sexual activity). These acts implied some degree of participation in local pagan customs and represented a compromise with the prevailing pagan society. This would have had social, economic and political benefits for Christians, as well as eliminating the cause of persecution in the Roman imperial cult, where such acts were sometimes enforced as a test of loyalty to the ruling power. For these reasons, approval of these acts must have been attractive to many Christians, despite having been specifically forbidden by the Church leaders at the Council of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15,20.29; 21,25). The influence of these members of the Pergamum church is compared to that of the pagan prophet Balaam, who refrained from cursing the Israelites directly (Num 22,4–24,25), but then advised the Moabite king, Balak, to send women to seduce them into idolatry and eating idol-sacrifices (Num 25,1-3; 31,16). It is implied that this teaching would lead the Pergamum community away from their Lord, although there is no indication that they had yet succeeded in deceiving anyone. One supposes that the church leadership had successfully challenged their false teaching, but this message implies that more severe measures were needed: the false teachers should not even be tolerated as members of the community and should be expelled.





































61 Finally, the Balaam-like false teachers are identified as Nicolaitans, who were mentioned in the message to the Ephesians as a group whose practices should be hated (Rev 2,6). Here, the emphasis is on their teaching alone. In the next message, their teachings and practices are alluded to (see note at 2,20). Identified by a specific teaching of their own, these are clearly not just secularized Christians willing to compromise with the prevailing pagan society and, in that way, make life easier for themselves. Writing nearly a century later, Irenaeus considers them to be a Gnostic sect (Adv. Haer. 1.26,3; 3.11,1), a view which is upheld by most modern scholars, even though there is no mention of their name, nor of ‘eating idol-sacrifices and fornication’ in any of the known Gnostic sources from that time. Nevertheless, it is known that docetic-Gnostic ideas were circulating widely in the Mediterranean region at the time and had been confronted by other Church leaders (1Cor 8–11; Col 1–2; 1Jn 2,22; 4,2). Furthermore, several early Church Fathers identify Gnostics in precisely the same terms, as those who ‘eat meat sacrificed to idols’ and who attend ‘every festival celebrated in honour of idols’, without worrying whether these acts may jeopardize their final salvation (Irenaeus Adv. Haer. 1.6; Justin Dialogues 35; Eusebius Hist. Ecc. 4.7). Some even postulated that the Nicolaitans were followers of Nicolaus of Antioch, one of the seven deacons selected to serve the needs of the earliest Jerusalem Church (Acts 6,1-6), but there is little evidence for this. Whether by coincidence or not, the name Nicolaus (‘Victor of the people’) is a plausible Greek rendering of the Hebrew Balaam (‘Lord of the people’), raising the possibility that this is not an actual name, but rather a symbolical name derived from that OT pagan prophet.





































62 The attention of the community may have been so focused on the external threat that, unlike at Ephesus, they were too tolerant of those who posed an internal threat with their false teaching. The command to repent is clearly directed at the community and is intended to lead to the expulsion of the false teachers. However, if this is not forthcoming the Lord will come and judge the false teachers himself, in a way that will prefigure his coming to defeat his enemies at the end of history (cf. Rev 19,15). Significantly, Balaam was also threatened with being ‘killed by the sword’ of the angel of the Lord, if he continued to oppose Israel (Num 22,23.31-33).





































63 To ‘the one who overcomes’, two rewards are promised that are not mentioned again in the final visions or anywhere else in the book. This suggests that they do not refer to the eschatological future, as in the promises of the previous two messages, but rather to the inaugurated present (the ‘now’) of Christian life. This inference is almost self-evident with the ‘hidden manna’ (cf. Ex 16,4-36): the messianic longing for this heavenly food was widely recognized, at a very early stage, as fulfilled by Christ through the Eucharist (cf. 1Cor 10,3-4; Jn 6). The Eucharistic reference would have been obvious to the first hearers of Revelation. The eating of the heavenly manna is clearly intended to contrast with the eating of meat sacrificed to idols.





































64 The Greek word for ‘stone’ (ψῆφος) could denote a pebble, a gem or a stone set in a ring, but its interpretation very much depends upon the mysterious ‘new name’ written on it. A new name for the recipient would be of little use if he were the only one to know it. In fact, in a later message, it emerges that Christ is the one with a ‘new name’ (Rev 3,12), suggesting that the promised object is a signet ring symbolizing authority exercised on his behalf. Then later in the text, the name written on the returning Christ, which “no one knows except himself” (19,12), must be his new name, since his old name is ‘Word of God’. So the ‘little white stone’, with Christ’s new name written on it, is a true symbol of Christ, given in anticipation of his return. But how can Christ’s ‘new name’ be known only to himself and at the same time only to the one receiving the little white stone? What is implied is that the Lord reveals his new name only by means of the gift of himself, symbolised, as we have seen, by the gift of the little white stone. The one who comes to know his new name, through receiving the little white stone, knows it only by virtue of the indwelling presence of Christ, who therefore does not cease to be the only one who knows it (cf. Lk 10,22; Jn 17,26). Signifying the mysterious indwelling of Christ within the one who knows it, the name that comes to mind is ‘Immanu-El’, that is to say ‘God is with us’ (cf. Is 7,14).





































65 Thyratira (nowadays Akhisar) lay about 40 miles southeast of Pergamum. Originally founded by the Seleucids as a frontier garrison, the city later became subject to Pergamum and bequeathed to Rome at the same time (133 BC). Towards the close of the first century AD, the city’s main importance lay in her crafts and trade, for numerous trades’ and craftsmen’s guilds flourished in the city at this time: clothiers, tanners, bakers, potters, linen workers, wool merchants, slave traders, shoemakers, dyers and copper smiths. In this setting, there would have been little pressure to conform to the Roman imperial cult, as at Pergamum and Smyrna. However, members of the church in Thyratira who were also members of trade guilds would have faced pressures to participate in their licentious festivities, which were dedicated to the various pagan deities of the city. Apart from this message, Thyratira is only mentioned once in the NT as the hometown of Lydia, the merchant of purple fabric and Paul’s first convert in Philippi (Acts 16,14-15,40). At some point towards the end of the second century, the entire church became Montanist, before converting back to the Catholic Faith the following century. This may have been the reason that the anti-montanist group, the ‘Alogoi’, concluded falsely that there was no church in Thyatira when John was writing.





































66 This is the only occurrence of this title in Revelation, and is related to the speaker’s reference to God as Father at the conclusion to this message (Rev 2,28; cf. 1,6; 3,5; 3,21;14,1) and also to the citation of Psalm 2 (Ps 2,7-9).





































67 Attributes taken from Rev 1,14-15, and related to the speaker’s role in 2,23.





































68 This is very high commendation for the church at Thyatira: love is foremost and their conduct is constantly improving in Christian virtue, in contrast to that of Ephesus.





































69 The criticism here is similar to that of Pergamum, because the problem is the same, though more severe. The church in Thyatira was tolerating the presence of a woman who presented herself as a prophetess. Prophets had an important role in the early Church (cf. 1Cor 14), which was close to that of the apostles (1Cor 12,28; Eph 4,11) and involved teaching under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Eph 3,5; Rom 12,6). The problem, though, was that this woman was a false prophetess, who deceived other members of the church by promoting the same practices that were taught by the Nicolaitans (Balaamites) in Pergamum, namely ‘fornication and eating meat sacrificed to idols’ (cf. Rev 2,14-15). Forbidden by the Church (Acts 15,20.29) and detested by the exalted Christ (Rev 2,6), these practices refer to the idolatrous festivities dedicated to local pagan deities. Participation was obligatory for members of trade guilds, so non-participation would have incurred social, political and economic penalties. To stress the seriousness of her influence on the faithful, the false prophetess is referred to as Jezebel, the Phoenician wife of King Ahab who promoted the idolatrous cult of Baal in Israel (1Kgs 16,31-33; 1Kgs 18–21), until she and her house were destroyed, by divine command (2Kgs 9), for her “harlotries and sorceries” (2Kgs 9,22).





































70 Her activity in the church appears to have been well established. The prophetess had been invited to repent at some point in the past, but to no avail. The circumstances are not known, but this may refer to a rebuke issued by the author, John himself. As well as teaching others to fornicate, she continued to fornicate herself. Literal fornication, or prostitution, was too well known as a sin to be tolerated by the community, so this activity is undoubtedly to be understood figuratively for some form of idolatry. This was indeed a traditional biblical usage of the word (e.g., 1Chr 5,25; Ps 73,27; Jer 3,6; Ezek 16,17; 23,19; Hos 9,1), since the spiritual lust for idols was regarded as analogous to disordered sexual lust, which it also sometimes involved. In Revelation, the word and its cognates are almost always used in a figurative sense, except in vice lists (cf. Rev 9,21; 21,8; 22,18). The ‘fornication’ of the prophetess confirms that the source of her inspiration was certainly not the Holy Spirit, but rather one of the local pagan deities. She therefore has no place inside the community of Christ.





































71 No further chance for repentance will be given to Jezebel. The time of her judgment has come and it will take the form of an illness that will end in death, since her penalty cannot be less than that of her children (2,23). To be ‘thrown onto a bed’ is a Hebrew idiom for sickness (cf. Ex 21,18; 1Macc 1,5; Jdt 8,5). The sickbed onto which she will be thrown by Christ is clearly contrasted with the beds on which pagan participants recline in their idolatrous feasts. In this context, there are also clear sexual connotations with the mention of ongoing ‘adultery’ in the rest of the verse.





































72 ‘Committing adultery’ is another biblical metaphor for idolatry, where the other partner is the idol (cf. Jer 3,9; Ez 23,37). But this is not the case here: the wording suggests that Jezebel continues to entertain adulterous lovers even after being thrown on her sickbed, and it is these people who are here invited to repent. Significantly, though, they are invited to repent of her practices, and not their own, which again suggests a metaphorical interpretation. Furthermore, the penalty for their non-repentance is not death, as with Jezebel and her children (Rev 2,23), but just ‘great suffering’. The conclusion is that the ‘adulterers’ are Christians who show a serious interest in Jezebel’s teaching, but have not yet put it into practice. They may have been especially attracted to her during her illness, because of some new aspect of her teaching, causing this to be termed ‘the deep things of Satan’ in the next verse (2,24). In this case, ‘committing adultery’ simply means ‘associating with’, or ‘showing a disloyal interest in’.





































73 Her ‘children’ should be distinguished from ‘those committing adultery with her’, not only by the radical difference in terminology (offspring versus lovers), but also by the severity of the penalty (death versus great suffering). Though her adulterous lovers may come and go, her ‘children’ are her closest followers—those who think and act like her and therefore suffer the same fate. In the Greek original we find “I will kill her children with death”, which can either be understood as a Semitism representing emphasis (“I will certainly kill”) or the Greek word for ‘death’ (θάνατος) can be translated by ‘pestilence’ (as at 6,8). Since Jezebel’s teaching to ‘fornicate and eat idol-sacrifices’ is identical to that of Balaam in the previous message (2,14), and since pestilence was the punishment for those who followed it (cf. Num 25,3-9), ‘pestilence’ seems the appropriate way of translating θάνατος in this context.





































74 What happens in this church must be made known in all: 1) As an aid to their faith in the presence of the exalted Christ, who sees all that goes own in his churches and acts in judgment over them, even before the time of final judgment. 2) As a warning to keep away from the Nicolaitans, whose influence was already spreading widely in the region (Ephesus, Pergamum and Thyatira) and was not yet recognized for the grave problem it really was. The expressions describing Christ’s omniscience and justice are both derived from the OT (esp. Jer 17,10), with frequent NT rereadings applied to Christ: ‘the one who searches minds and hearts’ (Jer 11,20; Ps 7,10; Rom 8,27; 1Thess 2,4); ‘who rewards each one according to their deeds (Ps 62,13; Mt 16,27; Rev 20,13; 22,12).





































75 The teaching of Jezebel, and by inference that of the Nicolaitans, is here called knowledge of ‘the deep things of Satan’. This is important because it confirms its Gnostic character: in ancient sources the Gnostic sects are known for their professed interest in ‘the deep things’. The ‘the deep things of Satan, as they say’ could either be a true quotation taken from the heretics and indicating their professed ability to know the depths of evil and depravity without coming to harm or compromising their salvation in any way. Or more likely it could be the speaker’s ironical twist to their claim to possess the Spirit and know ‘the deep things of God’ (cf. 1Cor 2,10; Rom 11,33; Eph 3,18). In truth, he is saying, it is not the ‘depths of God’ they know, but the ‘depths of Satan’.





































76 Those who have not been influenced by this teaching should carry on as they are. Their virtuous conduct was highly commended by the speaker in the opening lines of his message (Rev 2,19) and there is no better way to await his coming. The wording here strongly recalls the highly relevant decision of the Council of Jerusalem, sent in a letter half a century before, to the churches of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed from idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these you do well. Farewell” (Acts 15,28-29).





































77 ‘The one who overcomes’, here, is further defined as ‘the one who attends to my works until the end’, which is an attempt to translate “the one who keeps my works” in the original Greek. As this lies somewhere between “keeps my commandments” and “does my works”, an alternative may be “the one who does the works I command.” As it is an individual who is addressed, the ‘end’ can refer to the death of that person, or to Christ’s Parousia, whichever may come first. Of note, there is no suggestion that this end should be defined by martyrdom, thus confirming that the rewards for those who overcome are not for martyrs alone (cf. note on Rev 2,7).





































78 The reward is messianic authority over the nations, as the speaker himself, the exalted Christ, received from God. The rest of the verse is an application of Psalm 2,8-9 (LXX) to the faithful follower of Christ. Several points can be made: 1) this messianic authority has already been received and is currently being exercised by the speaker in fulfillment of God’s promise in Psalm 2 to his Son, the Messiah. 2) The speaker promises to share this power equally with his faithful followers, but this kind of authority can only be exercised after they die. 3) It is therefore implied that these faithful souls will resurrect and participate in the millennial kingdom of Christ, as described later in the text (cf. Rev 20,4-6). 4) This millennial kingdom, also called the ‘first resurrection’, has been inaugurated and is not to be regarded as a future stage in the history of salvation, as understood by the premillennialists. 5) The verb ‘shepherd’ here follows the Septuagint version (LXX) of the unpointed Hebrew word תרעם (from the root רעה) and conveys the meaning of lead, herd, guide and rule. It is repeated at 12,5 and 19,15. The Masoretic version differs by translating it as ‘break’ from the root רעע. Both are legitimate interpretations.





































79 The ‘Dawn Star’, or Venus as it is known nowadays, is the brightest light in the heavens apart from the Sun and the Moon and its appearance heralds the new day. In this context, the ‘giving’ of this star can be taken as an assurance of the imminent consummation of God’s kingdom and the ‘new day’ of creation. In 22,16, the bright Dawn Star is identified with the speaker, the exalted Christ. He himself is the assurance of the imminent arrival of the eschatological transformation and new creation, as well as the fulfilment of the ancient messianic prophecy attributed to Balaam: “A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel” (Num 24,17).





































80 Sardis was situated 35 miles southeast of Thyatira and about 40 miles due east of Smyrna. As the ancient capital of Lydia, she was renowned for her wealth, acquired mainly from the gold sediment in her river, from a thriving wool-textile industry and from her prime location upon several trade routes. After being visited by Alexander the Great (334 BC), she continued to prosper during the Hellenistic period and became the capital of the Seleucid kingdom. Several temples dedicated to Greek deities were built at this time, with an especially large one dedicated to Artemis. In the late 3rd century BC, a large group of Jews from Mesopotamia were settled here by Antiochus III, and in the 2nd century BC, Sardis passed over to the kings of Pergamum and then to the Romans (133 BC). In 17 AD, a large part of the city was destroyed by an earthquake, but was rebuilt rapidly with imperial help. During the same century, at least two temples were dedicated to Roman Emperors (Augustus and Vespasian) indicating the establishment of the imperial cult. There is evidence of a large and politically powerful Jewish community in this city throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods—one of the largest and most important in Asia Minor—but little is known about the church there. In about 105 AD, Ignatius passed through Sardis on his way to Rome, but there no evidence that he made contact with the church. In the second century AD, one of her bishops, Melito of Sardis (died 180 AD), wrote a number of works, of which only a few fragments survive. Some of these show that he battled to separate Judaism and Christianity.





































81 The ‘Seven Spirits’ were mentioned in the Trinitarian greeting of the prescript at Rev 1,4, and will be mentioned again at 4,5 and at 5,6, in contexts that identify them with the seven stars in the right hand of the speaker (1,16), which are the ‘angels of the churches’ (see note on 1,20b). So the attributes mentioned here merely refer to different functions of the same Holy Spirit. The mention of ‘seven stars’ recalls the start of the message to the Ephesians (2,1).





































82 Sardis is one of only two churches (along with Laodicea) to receive an entirely negative evaluation of her deeds from the speaker. The church had the appearance and reputation of being full of life and vitality, but in reality, in the sight of God, it was dead, or nearly so. The impression is of a church where the externals of religion are given a lot of time and importance, but where the inner spirit and power are missing. The emphasis on the external form of religion, at the expense of its inner spiritual content, has caused a kind of death to the influence of the Spirit.





































83 This death is also a kind of stupor or sleep. So the solution is to be awake and in this way revive what is left, in order that the deeds of this church may be perfect in the eyes of God.





































84 The imperfection of the church’s deeds betrays her spiritual insensitivity, which in turn is reflected in the actions of her members. They are performing the right deeds, but they are not performing them adequately. At this stage, it is not possible to say precisely what their deeds are lacking (in contrast to 2,4-5).





































85 The church set out in the right way, and is here being recalled to her condition at first. This raises the question of the precise nature of her deviation. There is a strange silence here regarding the usual internal and external threats mentioned in the previous letters and nothing is said about specific causes. Nevertheless, this new situation recalls a very old problem—one that was strongly articulated by the prophet Isaiah (Is 29,13) and taken up by Christ in the Gospels: “This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts” (Mk 7,6-7; cf. Mt 15,7-9). It is quite possible that the church at Sardis had lapsed back, through the influence of Judaizers, into being a sect of Judaism that focussed on observing the mitzvoth (commandments), while forgoing the reality of redemption in Christ. This would have ensured good relations with the mainstream Jewish community and allowed them the same privileges under Roman Law, to practice their religion freely and be exempt from participation in pagan rituals. However, the loss of redemption would have lead to their spiritual slumber or ‘death’, while also explaining their need to return to the preaching they heard at first. Judaizers were known in the region at the time, and were described by Ignatius as: “no more than tombstones and graves of the dead” (Philadelphians 6, cf. Mt 23,27-28)—terms that echo the criticism of this church. His main confrontation with them seems to have been at Magnesia: “If we are still living in the practice of Judaism, it is an admission that we have failed to receive the gift of grace” (Magn. 8); “To profess Jesus Christ while continuing to follow Jewish customs is an absurdity” (ibid 10).





































86 So the main problem is inattention to the Spirit, which will certainly include the Spirit’s message in this book. The penalty for this lack of attention and vigilance will be ignorance of the time of Christ’s coming. There is no mention here of Christ’s coming to perform a local judgment or consolation (as in Rev 2,5.15; 3,20), so the implication is that this coming refers to his end-time Parousia (as in 2,25; 3,11)—an impression that is largely confirmed by its close resemblance to the text at 16,15, and to other NT references to the Parousia (Mt 24,42-44; 1Thess 5,2). One important corollary to this is that by being awake to what the Spirit is saying in the prophecy of this book, the hearer will indeed know the hour of his final coming (cf. Rev 10,7).





































87 Another result of their inattention to the Spirit is defencelessness against a certain type of sin, in particular those inner sins of thought, to which only the Spirit can alert the soul. Thoughts of envy, lust or rage are going unchecked, while the outward appearance and reputation of this church are preserved (cf. Mt 23,27-28). The result, for most of the members of this church, is that these sins have stained their white garments, which represent the righteousness they received at baptism (cf. Zech 4,2). This would certainly fit a situation (see note on Rev 3,3) where God’s commandments are being observed at a lower level than the one demanded by Christ and enabled by his Spirit; where the letter of the Law is kept, but not its Spirit (Mt 5,20; Rom 2,29; 7,5-6; 2Cor 3,6). However, there are a few members of the community who have been alert to the Spirit, and have avoided these sins, and kept their robes white and spotless. They are worthy, like Christ (cf. Rev 5,2.4.9.12), and will walk with him as his true disciples, in a way that anticipates the purity of the 144,000 followers of the Lamb described later in the text (14,1-5).





































88 These white clothes are also a reward for ‘the one who overcomes’, even though these church members may, in the past, have defiled their garments for any reason. The promise refers primarily to the after-life of the faithful in heaven (cf. 6,11; 7,13-14) or in the consummation (cf. 22,14), but can also be applied to the present life, if the regular inspection and washing of garments is taken to represent the self-examination and absolution of sin through the Sacrament of Confession.





































89 This is another statement referring to the visions at the end of the book—to a text about the final Judgment (20,11-15). Since those whose names are not found written in the scroll of Life will be subjected to eternal condemnation (20,15), the assurance given in this verse is truly comforting. Furthermore, this is a very important statement for understanding the process of judgment: the speaker, the exalted Christ, is the one who will determine the eternal fate of every individual by choosing to keep, or to erase, names from the scroll of Life entrusted to him. The details of this process will become apparent later in the text. The final part of this verse, the confession of the name, has parallels in the Gospels (Lk 12,8; Mt 10,32).





































90 Philadelphia (now Alasehir) is 30 miles southeast of Sardis and sixty miles east of Smyrna, and was founded in the 2nd century BC by the ruler of Pergamum, Attalus Philadelphus. It was a small city in a fertile volcanic region, known for its vintage and frequent earthquakes. Along with 12 other cities in the area, Philadelphia was flattened by the earthquake in 17AD and received imperial aid for reconstruction, changing her name temporarily to Neocaesaria. This message is the first mention of a church in Philadelphia, but shortly afterwards she is visited by Ignatius of Antioch on his way to Rome and praised highly in his subsequent letter to that community, in which he also briefly mentions the presence of Judaizers there (Phil. 6,1). In AD 155, eleven Christians from Philadelphia were martyred along with Polycarp at Smyrna (Mart. Polycarp 19.1). These separate pieces of information are all consistent in presenting the church as devout and courageous. Eusebius briefly mentions (Hist.Ecc. 5.17.4) a prophetess active here in the first century, called Ammia, whom the female Montanist prophetesses, of the later part of the 2nd century, claimed as a predecessor.





































91 These titles and attributes are not taken for the opening vision (Rev 1,9-20). Elsewhere in Revelation the ‘Holy One’ is a title for God, as in the OT (4,8; 6,10; cf. Is 40,25), but in the NT it is also a common designation for Christ (Mk 1,24; Lk 4,34; Jn 6.69; 1Jn 2,20; Acts 3,14; 4,27.30). In the Biblical tradition, the ‘True One’ is not simply someone who is authentic, or tells the truth, but evokes especially the trustworthiness of God in keeping his covenantal promises (cf. Ex 34,6; Is 65,16). A similar meaning can be discerned in Revelation, when applied to Christ, since the title is frequently found in the couplet ‘Faithful and True’ (Rev 3,14; 19,11; 22,6).





































92 The key of David alludes to the keys given to Eliakim, the newly appointed steward of the royal household in the times of Isaiah (cf. Is 22,22), therefore representing executive authority over the affairs of the King. In Revelation, the King is God, who has given to Christ, as representative of the House of David (Rev 5,5; 22,16), the keys of his divine kingdom. In the hands of the exalted Christ, the key represents messianic authority over God’s kingdom, to allow or forbid entry to whomever he wishes, an authority which he has shared with Peter (cf. Mt 16,19). To this kingdom, the Pharisees were shutting the door and forbidding entry to everyone (Mt 23,13). Christ uses the key to open the door to this kingdom to the Philadelphians (Rev 3,8).





































93 Apart from Smyrna, Philadelphia is the only church to avoid divine censure: they have obeyed Christ’s order to endure (cf. 3,10) and continue to witness faithfully to his name in the face of active resistance. Her lack of strength may refer to her small size and influence.





































94 The assurance that the door to God’s kingdom is open implies that the antagonists in the message were conspiring to deny they had access to this kingdom.





































95 The antagonists in Philadelphia are the Jews, described here in identical terms to those at Smyrna (2,9), as ‘a synagogue of Satan’—a term that implied collusion with the Roman authorities. In Smyrna the Jews, were blaspheming Christ and Christians, and denying any relationship with them. Here, the Jews seem to be claiming that they alone have the key to the entrance into God’s kingdom. To correct them, Christ will bring some of them to worship with the Christians, so they will experience for themselves the Presence of God and his kingdom in the church (cf. Is 45,14; 60,14). Despite the reaffirmation of the Jews as ‘a synagogue of Satan’, there is no specific indication, here, that the Jews are colluding with the Roman authorities to persecute the Christians, as at Smyrna.





































96 This is a reference back to “even you have kept my order and not denied my name” (Rev 3,8). In both places, the Greek word translated by ‘order’ (λόγος) is also ‘word’, so literally we have: “Since you have kept the word of my endurance”, which can also be understood as “the word about Jesus’ own endurance”, that is to say, the Church’s teaching, or κήρυγμα, about Jesus.





































97 The time of trial, here, is global (‘the whole world’) and generalized. The intended subjects are the ‘inhabitants of the earth’, a term that recurs often in Revelation in a negative sense to denote the unredeemed (6,18; 8,13; 11,10; 13,8.12.14; 14,6; 17,2.8). The trial therefore refers to the eschatological judgments of God on the rebellious and unredeemed world, described later in the text (especially the three woes: 8,13; 9,12; 11,14). From this trial, the Philadelphians will be protected by Christ, in ways that are not specified here, but evoke the special treatment extended to the 144,000 (cf. Rev 7; 9,4; 12,6.14; 14,1).





































98 In the context of the final trial, it seems that the Parousia or second coming is intended here, as at 1,7; 2,25;16,15; 22,7.12.20 (in 2,5.16, Christ’s coming is linked to a local judgment). Imminence (‘soon’) is sometimes stressed, and at other times not.





































99 In contrast to the Smyrnians (2,10), the Philadelphians have already received their ‘crown’ or ‘wreath’ (στέφανος), but the possession of this supreme award is conditional on maintaining their standard (‘hold what you have’, cf. 2,25). This consolatory remark, in addition to the implied comparison with the 144,000 (see note above, on 3,10), must surely put Philadelphia at the top of all the churches.





































100 Becoming a pillar in the Sanctuary of God is metaphorical language, also used by Paul when speaking of the leaders of the mother church in Jerusalem (Gal 2,9). This is an important point, since it indicates the metaphorical nature of the temple described in Revelation (esp. at Rev 11,1-2). As in other parts of the NT (e.g., Eph 2,19-22; 1Pet 2,4-10; Heb 12,22-24), the sanctuary and temple are not made up of stones, but of the people of God. The permanence of the pillar in God’s sanctuary indicates the promise of an everlasting place in the presence of God and applies to the present age of partial fulfilment, since there will be no sanctuary or temple in the future consummation (Rev 21,22). The three names inscribed on the pillar assure the subject that he belongs eternally to God, the New Jerusalem and to Christ and imply that, in the future consummation, he will be among the servants with God’s name on their foreheads, serving him and reigning forever before his throne in the New Jerusalem (cf. 22,3-4). For Christ’s new name, see note on 2,17. The emphasis on the imminence of the end-time and the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven, in this message, may have inspired the Montanists, a mere fifty years later, to announce the great tribulation as imminent and to prophesy, in its wake, the descent of the New Jerusalem at Pepuza, only seventy miles to the east of Philadelphia.





































101 Laodicea (nowadays Eski-hisar) was situated in the Lycus Valley at the intersection of two important trade routes, about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia and 80 miles east of Ephesus. Established in the mid 3rd century BC by the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus II, it became an important judicial, administrative, commercial and financial centre in the Roman period. There is evidence of a large and well integrated Jewish community at Laodicea, which, as at Sardis, had grown in size, wealth and influence from those Jewish families who had migrated from Mesopotamia under Antiochus III. The leading citizens of Laodicea were among the richest in Asia and they contributed generously to the city’s development. This was at no time more evident than after a devastating earthquake in 60AD, when imperial finance for reconstruction was refused and provided entirely by the inhabitants. Apart from her banking, the city prospered from her wool-textile industry and was also renowned for its nearby medical centre and products, including locally made eye ointment. As shown in this message (3,17) and also in the Talmud (cf. b.T. Shabbath 147b,119a; Baba Metzi‘a 84a), Laodicea had a reputation for wealth and luxury. The church at Laodicea, together with the churches at Colossae, 10 miles to the east, and Hieropolis, 6 miles to the north, was probably established at the time of Paul’s residence in Ephesus (Acts 19,10), by his companion Epaphras from Colossae (cf. Col 1,7; 4,12-13), who later sought Paul’s intervention over a problem of false teaching (Col 2,4). Although Paul had never visited the region (Col 2,1; Acts 16,6), he addressed the problem from prison, in letters to the Colossians and Laodiceans (Col 4,16), although the latter has since been lost. The exalted Christ’s message to the Laodiceans is similar in many respects to that of Sardis, for the severity of criticism and the absence of commendation. In neither message is there any indication of a particular internal or external threat. Out of all the messages, this bears the least relation to the opening vision (1,9-20), and most closely reflects recognizable features of the city where the church is located.





































102 The speaker’s titles are not found in the opening vision (1,9-20), but rather expand on Rev 1,5. As a name, ‘Amen’ only occurs here and at Is 65,15, where it is the title of God in the new Creation that is he about to establish (Is 65,17-25). In assuming this divine title, which has the basic meaning of ‘reliable and sure’, Christ is indicating the inauguration of this new Creation as well as his leading and trustworthy role in its fulfilment. The titles that follow can be understood as his qualifications for this role: as the faithful and true witness to God’s plan for the new Creation, as well as its original motivating principle (ἡ ἀρχή). The terminology of these titles is similar to, though not dependent on, the hymn to Christ in Paul’s letter to the neighbouring city of Colossae (cf. Col 1,15-18) and suggest the two passages have the common aim of reasserting Christ’s unique role against a local tendency to merge it into a hierarchy of mediating powers in a syncretism of non-conformist Judaism, speculative philosophy and incipient Gnosticism.





































103 Deeds again form the basis of Christ’s evaluation (cf. 2,2.19; 3,1.8) of the church. Without any exceptions, the entire church is on the point of divine rejection because it is lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold. Although this remark is phrased in terms that recall the temperature and quality of the water supply in this city (lukewarm, insipid and nauseous due to high limestone content), in contrast to the temperature of the water at the neighbouring cities of Colossae (cold) and at Hieropolis (hot), it clearly refers to a spiritual state that can, and must, be corrected. The nature of this shameful state is specified by what follows in the text.





































104 The church’s main problem is an attitude of self-sufficiency, due to her financial and material wealth. The truth is that she lacks all the things she thinks she has in abundance. Because she does not even know she is in need of these things, she is even more pitiable than those who are aware that they lack them, because she is deceived. Her correction lies in being aware of her utter dependence on Christ through petitionary prayer. The commodities she is advised to acquire from him correspond to those for which the city of Laodicea became famously wealthy—banking, wool and textiles, eye ointment made from a local ingredient called “Phrygian powder”. Even her airs of independent self-sufficiency have their precedent in the local background of the city: in her refusal to accept aid from the Roman imperial authorities for the rebuilding of the city, following a devastating earthquake in 60 AD. The message to this church could apply equally to the city as a whole. In all the messages, but especially evident in this one, the speaker is attempting to build up the church in a morally distinctive way, and to emphasize its distinctiveness from the surrounding city.





































105 Despite the negative appraisal, there is also good news. Not only is Christ’s harsh rebuke for this church inspired by his love for her, but also it is not yet too late for her to repent from her complacent self-sufficiency and correct it with an injection of zeal. Clearly, however, strong and harsh words are needed to shake her from her self-deception and help her take the right steps to salvation.





































106 The final exhortation is one of the most beautiful in the whole Bible (cf. Cant 5,2). It is addressed to the soul of every individual believer (‘if anyone..’), but especially to those who place their trust in themselves, like the members of this community: Christ is waiting to reveal himself to every soul that recognizes his voice of truth and opens itself to him.





































107 The promise of a share in the ruling authority of Christ is very similar to the promise at the end of the message to the church at Thyratira (Rev 2,26-27), but whereas the promise there is clearly addressed to the one who overcomes, at the end of his mortal life (who keeps my works until the end), it is here repeated without that specification. It could therefore be readily applied to those who have already been deemed conquerors, within their own lifetimes. Since their participation in the ruling authority of Christ refers to the inaugurated millennial kingdom of Christ (20,4-6), they can be recognized as the unidentified participants sitting on thrones (20,4).