(The
objective of these ‘Frameworks' is to provide an easy-to-read
layout of the text in order then to use these individual verses
for verse-by-verse study or meditation. To focus each
verse we have also added in italic a description of what is happening)
FRAMEWORKS:
Revelation 2
v.1-7
To the Church in Ephesus
v.8-11
To the Church in Smyrna
v.12-17
To the Church in Pergamum
v.18-29
To the Church in Thyatira
v.1-7
To the Church in Ephesus: Busy-ness
& lost love
v.1 (to
the leader of John's own church) “To
the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
(from
the one who holds them all – 1:13,16 – the Lord of the Church
who sees everything) These
are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand
and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
v.2 (Praise:
served and hung in there and rejected those who are false)
I
know
your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.
I know that you cannot
tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim
to be apostles but are not and have found them false.
v.3 (More
praise) You
have persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have
not grown weary.
v.4 (BUT
they've lost what they had at first) Yet
I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at
first.
v.5 (They
need to repent) Consider
how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
If you do not repent, (Warning!)
I
will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
v.6 (concluding
Praise) But
you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,
which I also hate.
v.7 (listen
if you can) Whoever
has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(conditional
reward: life) To
the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the
tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
v.8-11
To the Church in Smyrna: Encouragement
in Persecution
v.8 (to
the other coastal church) “To
the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
(the
resurrected Christ – 1:18 who knows what it is to face death)
These
are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and
came to life again.
v.9 (Praise:
it's been tough and you've been slandered) I
know
your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about
the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are
a synagogue of Satan.
v.10 (Encouragement)
Do
not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the
devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will
suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point
of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown.
v.11 (please
listen) Whoever
has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(conditional
reward: secure at the Final Judgment, i.e. death may come now
but you need not fear eternity) The
one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
v.12-17
To the Church in Pergamum: Endurance
& mixed teaching
v.12 (to
the northernmost church) “To
the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
(the
one with cutting authority – 1:16) These
are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
v.13 (Praise:
Satan may dwell there but you've remained true) I
know
where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true
to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in
the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death
in your city—where Satan lives.
v.14 (But,
unfortunately you have some who hold false teaching that says
sexual sin is all right) Nevertheless,
I have a few things against you: There are some among you who
hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the
Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and
committed sexual immorality.
v.15 (likewise
you have heretics who encourage unrestrained indulgence) Likewise,
you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
v.16 (so
deal with it!) Repent
therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against
them with the sword of my mouth.
v.17 (listen
t the Spirit's warning) Whoever
has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(conditional
reward: heavenly food [sustenance] and a named stone on you
and Jesus know) To
the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna.
I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written
on it, known only to the one who receives it.
v.18-29
To the Church in Thyatira: Active
but mixing with the world
v.18
“To
the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
(from
the One who has endured for us)These
are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire
and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
v.19 (Praise
for activities) I
know
your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance,
and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
v.20 (Yet
you have tolerated one who leads my people astray) Nevertheless,
I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who
calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants
into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
v.21 (she's
had opportunity to repent) I
have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.
v.22 (so
now I'm going to discipline her and those who follow her)
So
I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who
commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent
of her ways.
v.23 (indeed
death will be part of the package is she does not repent)
I
will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know
that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each
of you according to your deeds.
v.24,25 (to
the rest of you, just hold firmly what you've got) Now
I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to
her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on
to what you have until I come.'
v.26,27 (conditional
reward: authority to rule) To
the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will
give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with
an iron sceptre and will dash them to pieces like pottery' [Psa
2:9]—just as I have
received authority from my Father.
v.28 (the
morning star says goodbye to the darkness and introduces light)
I
will also give that one the morning star.
v.29 (so
please listen) Whoever
has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.