भाष्य सध्या फक्त इंग्रजीत उपलब्ध आहे. मराठी भाषांतर प्रगतीपथावर आहे.
Revelation 2 — He That Hath an Ear, Let Him Hear What the Spirit Saith Unto the Churches
The first four letters of the seven churches. Ephesus — labour and patient endurance, but thou hast left thy first love. Smyrna — poor yet rich, ten days of tribulation; be thou faithful unto death. Pergamos — dwelling where Satan's seat is, holding fast; but the doctrine of Balaam tolerated. Thyatira — works, charity, faith, service increasing; but Jezebel suffered to teach. To him that overcometh — to eat of the tree of life, the crown of life, the hidden manna, power over the nations.
“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
— Revelation 2:10
- v.1-7 Ephesus — left first love
- v.8-11 Smyrna — faithful unto death
- v.12-17 Pergamos — Satan's seat
- v.18-29 Thyatira — Jezebel's teaching
Be thou faithful unto death. Not until death merely, but if necessary to death. The crown is given to the one who would rather die than betray Christ.
Smyrna receives no rebuke. Suffering churches often have less to correct than comfortable ones. Persecution is purifying.
Hidden manna. Christ Himself, the true bread, given personally to His own. The intimacy of the new name no one else knows speaks of a relationship private to the Lord and His servant.
Each letter ends with he that hath an ear. The Spirit speaks; the question is whether the hearer hears. Many sermons preached without listeners.
A staggering promise. The overcomers will share Christ's rule. The kingdom Thyatira tolerated Jezebel against is the kingdom Thyatira's overcomers will help administer.
Unto the end. Endurance to the finish. Not those who began but those who continued.
Verse 4 is the warning closest to most established Christians. Doctrine has been kept; service has continued; the first love has cooled. Christ's remedy is remember, repent, do the first works. Look back to when love was hot, repent of the drift, return to the early disciplines that fed it.
Each letter is from Christ in a specific posture — the One holding the stars (1), the First and Last (8), the One with the sharp sword (12), the Son of God with eyes as flame (18). He fits His self-description to each church's need. The letters are Christ's pastoral care of His churches, delivered to John on Patmos and to readers still.
Ephesus had endured, labored, hated evil. But the affectionate first love had cooled. Doctrinal vigilance without warmth is the church's common drift.
The remedy follows in v.5 — remember, repent, do the first works. Cold orthodoxy is not corrected by more orthodoxy but by repentance.