Revelation 2 18 29 commentary

1. REVELATIO 2 18-29 COMME TARY EDITED BY GLENN PEASE To the Church in Thyatira 18 To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 1. BAR ES, "And unto the angel of the church - See the notes on Rev_1:20. These things saith the Son of God - This is the first time, in these epistles, that the name of the speaker is referred to. In each other instance there is merely some attribute of the Saviour mentioned. Perhaps the severity of the rebuke contemplated here made it proper that there should be a more impressive reference to the authority of the speaker; and hence he is introduced as the Son of God. It is not a reference to him as the Son of man the common appellation which he gave to himself when on earth - for that might have suggested his humanity only, and would not have conveyed the same impression in regard to his authority; but it is to himself as sustaining the rank, and having the authority, of the Son of God - one who, therefore, has a right to speak, and a right to demand that what he says shall be heard. Who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire - Compare the notes on Rev_1:14. Before the glance of his eye all is light, and nothing can be concealed from his view. Nothing would be better suited to inspire awe then, as nothing should be now, than such a reference to the Son of God as being able to penetrate the secret recesses of the heart. And his feet are like fine brass - See the notes on Rev_1:15. Perhaps indicative of majesty and glory as he walked in the midst of the churches. 2. COFFMA , "THYATIRA Some twenty miles east of Pergamum on the road to Sardis was Thyatira, a name which means "castle of Thya,"[77] and which is probably retained in the modern Ak-Hissar (white castle), a Turkish town on a fertile plain, being the center of the cotton industry, and a relatively important town of 30,156 (1955).[78] In New Testament times, the dye industry was important, Lydia having been from Thyatira (Acts 16:14). It was also the home of many influential trade guilds, having their own deities, temples, and guild halls, where feasts, tending to obscenity, and all kinds of immoralities were practices. Politically, Thyatira was a kind of buffer state between Pergamum on the west and Seleucus (Syria) on the east, evidently changing hands a number of times between the two states in pre-Christian history.[79] "Apollo the sun god, was the principal deity,"[80] probably leading to the reference to the Son of God and the morning star in this message, as a contrast. [77] E. J. Banks, op. cit., p. 2977. [78] Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 1, p. 482.

2. [79] E. M. Blaiklock, op. cit., p. 108. [80] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 64. 3. GILL, "And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write,.... Of the city of Thyatira; see Gill on Rev_1:11; a church was formed here very likely by the Apostle Paul; Lydia was a native of this place, who, and her household were converted and baptized by him at Philippi, Act_16:14; though Epiphanius (u) seems to grant, what some heretics objected to the authority of this book, that there was no church at Thyatira when this letter was written; however, it is certain, there was one in the "second" century, as the same writer observes, since, as he relates, it was overrun with the Cataphrygian heresy; and in the "fourth" century there was a bishop from Thyatira in the council of Nice; and even in the "eighth" century there was one Esaias a presbyter, who supplied the place of the bishop of Thyatira in another council at Nice (w): the Turks have now eight mosques in it, but there is not one Christian church or place of worship to be found in it (x). Who was the angel, or pastor of this church at the writing of this epistle, is not certain; however, it is designed for all the ministers and churches in the interval this church represents; and this period takes in the darkest and most superstitious times of Popery, until the Reformation. Thyatira is the same as Thygatira, which signifies a "daughter"; and it had its name, as Stephanus Byzantius says (y), from hence: Seleucus, the son of Nicanor, being at war with Lysimachus, and hearing that he had a daughter born, called this city Thygatira, which was before called Pelopia, and Semiramis; which is a very fit name for this church, and expresses the effeminacy of it, when the virgin Mary, whom the Romanists call the daughter of God, was more worshipped than her son; and was not only made a partner with him in the business of salvation, but even set above him; when there were such swarms of monks and friars, and religious orders of several sorts, as Franciscans and Dominicans, who claimed her as their patroness; when such numbers of them clad themselves in cowls and long garments, that they looked more like women in hoods and petticoats, than really men; hence also the corrupt part of this church is signified by the woman Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal the Zidonian; and it should not be forgot that there was once a she pope, a woman that sat in the papal chair, a whore in a literal sense; wherefore antichrist, or the popes of Rome, are filly called the great whore, the mother of harlots. Mr. Daubuz observes, that the first Christian of Thyatira was a woman, and that the false prophets which first enticed the Christians to apostasy in this church were women, as Maximilia, Quintilia, and Priscilla; to which I would add, that according to Epiphanius, that among those heretics, and which swallowed up this church, their bishops were women, and so were their presbyters, or elders; and Dr. Smith (z) is of opinion, that the inhabitants of this place, when Heathen, were worshippers of the goddess Diana; so that, upon all accounts, the church here was a fit symbol of the effeminate Church of Rome, These things saith the Son of God; he who is truly, properly, naturally, and essentially the Son of God: this character Christ makes use of to assert his proper deity, as being of the same nature, and having the same perfections with his Father, as well as to command the greater regard to what he ordered to be written to the churches; and chiefly in opposition to the effeminate state of this church; it was time for him to take to him his highest name, as expressive of his highest nature, and to assert himself the Son of God, when Mary, his mother according to the flesh, and who was but a mere creature, was called the daughter of God, and set upon a level with him, and even preferred unto him:

3. who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire; quick and sharp, and penetrating through the darkness of this state; seeing into, discovering, and exposing the horrid actions and wickednesses of men done in the dark; expressing fury, wrath, and vengeance against the Romish antichrist and his followers; and may also design the light of Gospel doctrine, which broke out in those times at certain seasons, to the dispelling of Popish darkness in some measure; see Gill on Rev_1:14, and his feet are like fine brass; in the description of Christ in Rev_1:14; it is added, as if they burned in a furnace; see Gill on Rev_1:14; and may denote the strength, stability, and support Christ gave his people while suffering for his sake, when in the furnace and burning for him, which kind of death was much used in those times: hence Dr. More, to whom I am much obliged for many hints in this exposition of the epistles to the churches, thinks that Thyatira is an allusion to , which signify "altars" for the burning of sweet odours; and so may be expressive of the burning of the saints, those sweet odours, as they are to God and Christ, with fire and faggot; which was now practised, as in the other period killing with the sword was chiefly used; in the midst of which Christ was present, supporting his people, 4. HE RY, "The form of each epistle is very much the same; and in this, as the rest, we have to consider the inscription, contents, and conclusion. I. The inscription, telling us, 1. To whom it is directed: To the angel of the church of Thyatira, a city of the proconsular Asia, bordering upon Mysia on the north and Lydia on the south, a town of trade, whence came the woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, who, being at Philippi in Macedonia, probably about the business of her calling, heard Paul preach there, and God opened her heart, that she attended to the things that were spoken, and believed, and was baptized, and entertained Paul and Silas there. Whether it was by her means that the gospel was brought into her own city, Thyatira, is not certain; but that it was there, and successful to the forming of a gospel church, this epistle assures us. 2. By whom it was sent: by the Son of God, who is here described as having eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like as fine brass. His general title is here, the Son of God, that is, the eternal and only-begotten Son of God, which denotes that he has the same nature with the Father, but with a distinct and subordinate manner of subsistence. The description we have here of him is in two characters: - (1.) That his eyes are like a flame of fire, signifying his piercing, penetrating, perfect knowledge, a thorough insight into all persons and all things, one who searches the hearts and tries the reins of the children of men (Rev_2:23), and will make all the churches to know he does so. (2.) That his feet are like fine brass, that the outgoings of his providence are steady, awful, and all pure and holy. As he judges with perfect wisdom, so he acts with perfect strength and steadiness. 5. JAMISO , "Thyatira in Lydia, south of Pergamos. Lydia, the purple-seller of this city, having been converted at Philippi, a Macedonian city (with which Thyatira, as being a Macedonian colony, had naturally much intercourse), was probably the instrument of first carrying the Gospel to her native town. John follows the geographical order here, for Thyatira lay a little to the left of the road from Pergamos to Sardis [Strabo, 13:4]. Son of God ... eyes like ... fire ... feet ... like fine brass or glowing brass (see on Rev_1:14, Rev_1:15, whence this description is resumed). Again His attributes

4. accord with His address. The title Son of God, is from Psa_2:7, Psa_2:9, which is referred to in Rev_2:27. The attribute, eyes like a flame, etc., answers to Rev_2:23, I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts. The attribute, feet like ... brass, answers to Rev_2:27, as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, He treading them to pieces with His strong feet. 6. ELLICOTT, (18) Thyatira was situated between Pergamos and Sardis, a little off the main road which connected these two cities. It was a Macedonian colony, founded by Alexander the Great after the overthrow of the Persian empire. The Macedonian colonists appear to have introduced the worship of Apollo, honoured as the Sun-god, under the name of Tyrimnas. It has been thought by some that the description here given of Christthe eyes of flamewas selected in allusion to this worship of the Sun-god, under the form of some dazzlingly ornamented image. Certainly close commercial intercourse connected the daughter colony with its mother city. There seem to have been various mercantile guilds in the colonybakers, potters, tanners, weavers, and dyers. The dye-trade was, perhaps, the most important. Lydia, the seller of purple, was in all likelihood connected with the guild of dyers; and her appearance in Philippi is an illustration of the trade relations of Macedonia and Thyatira. To her the Christian community at Thyatira may have owed its beginning. She who had gone forth for a while, to buy and sell, and get gain, when she returned home may have brought home with her richer merchandise than any she had looked to obtain (Trench). The population was of a mixed character, and included, besides Asiatics, Macedonians, Italians, and Chaldeans. The message which is sent to the Christians dwelling among them is from the Son of God. This is noteworthy, when we remember how persistently the other term, Son of Man, is used throughout the Book of Revelation, and that here only is the phrase Son of God used; but it suits, as does the whole description, the message which breathes the language of sovereignty and righteous sternness. The eyes of flame will search the reins and the hearts (Revelation 2:23); the feet of fine brass will tread down the enemies, and smooth the path before them, who will have power over the nations. 7. PULPIT, "The epistle to the Church at Thyatira. The circuit now turns southwards. From Ephesus to Smyrna, and from Smyrna to Pergamum, was movement almost due north. Thyatira is on the Lycus, close to the Roman road between Pergamum and Sardis. It was refounded and named Thyatira by Seleucus Nicator, after the conquest of Persia by Alexander. It was strongly Macedonian in population; and it is worth noting that it is in Philippi, a city of Macedonia, that Lydia of Thyatira is found (Act_16:14). An inscription in Greek and Latin shows that Vespasian restored the roads thereabouts. Three other inscriptions mention the dyers ( ), for which Thyatira and the neighbourhood ('Iliad,' 4.141) were so famous, to which guild Lydia belonged (Act_16:14). There is no allusion to the trade here; and modern authorities differ as to whether it survives or not at the present day. But the statement that "large quantities of scarlet cloth are sent weekly to Smyrna" seems to be decisive. Apollo, the sun god, was the chief deity at Thyatira, where he was worshipped under the Macedonian name of Tyrimnas. There is, perhaps, a reference by contrast to him in the epistle, in the opening description of the Son of God, and in "the morning star" to be given to "him that overcometh." A similar allusion to the worship of Dionysus was traced in the epistle to Smyrna. The modern name of the town is Ak-Hissar, "the white castle," so called from the rocky hill overhanging it, on which a fortress formerly stood. Of the nine thousand inhabitants, about three thousand are Christians, who have the trade of the place in their hands. The ancient Church of St. John the Divine has been turned into a mosque. This fourth and therefore central epistle is the longest of the seven. In some respects it is the most solemn of all. Here only is the majestic title, "the Son of God," introduced. In the introductory vision the expression used is "Son of man" (Rev_1:13). "The Son of God," frequent in the Gospel and Epistles of St. John, occurs nowhere else in the Apocalypse. It may be suggested by Psa_2:7, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee;" for Psa_2:9 is quoted in verse 27.

5. 8. CHARLES SIMEO , Rev_2:18-19. Unto the angel of the Church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works. THE similarity of method which is observed in all the epistles to the seven Churches of Asia Minor renders it difficult to diversify, in any great degree, our mode of treating the subjects contained in them. But, indeed, we need not be anxious about this matter; for the subjects themselves are greatly diversified; so that, though our mode of treating them may have an appearance of sameness, the sameness will be in appearance only, and not real. We have now to consider the character of our blessed Lord in a different point of view from any in which we have seen it before: and in our investigation of this we cannot be too particular. Let us then notice, I. The description here given of our blessed Lord It is, as all the other descriptions are, suited to the subject of the epistle itself; in which is declared our Lords perfect knowledge of the state of every individual in that Church, and his fixed determination to give to every one of them according to his works. In the words which have been read, are set forth, 1. His greatness [In the description contained in the first chapter, from whence all the detached parts of our Lords character are taken, he is said to be like unto the Son of Man [Note: Rev_1:13.]: but here he is called expressly The Son of God. In the former description, his humanity is more particularly referred to; in the latter, his divinity. Not that these are always kept distinct in the inspired volume: for the name, Son of Man, was used as equivalent with the Son of God; and was actually so understood by the Jews themselves, who took occasion, from his calling himself the Son of Man, to accuse him of blasphemy, for representing himself as the Son of God [Note: Mat_26:63-65.], and of thereby professing himself to be equal with God [Note: Joh_5:17-18;Joh_10:33.]. St. Paul combines the two, and shews us clearly in what sense we are to understand the title here given to our blessed Lord: it declares him to be God, equal with the Father: for being from all eternity in the form of God, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross [Note: Php_2:6-8.]. By this name, The Son of God, his advent had been predicted [Note: Psa_2:7.]: by this name he had been repeatedly saluted by a voice from heaven [Note: Mat_3:17; Mat_17:5.]: by this name had he been acknowledged by his most favoured servants [Note: Joh_1:49.]: and, even in the very article of death, by the man who superintended his execution [Note: Mat_27:54.]. And, when his Gospel was preached by his Apostles, this acknowledgment of his divinity was demanded of all who embraced his religion, and was deemed by them a satisfactory proof of a mans conversion to God [Note:Joh_8:37-38.]. Let us then understand, by the title here given him, that, though he was a child born, and a son given, he was indeed the Mighty God [Note: Isa_9:6.], even God over all, blessed for evermore [Note: Rom_9:5.].] 2. His penetration [He has eyes like unto a flame of fire. The power of fire, to penetrate the hardest substances, and to identify itself, as it were, with metals, so that not an atom of brass or iron, when subjected to its action, shall escape its all-pervading power, is well-known. The power of flame also, when employed in scientific experiments, is well known, insomuch that it will reduce even diamonds to a cinder. This image, therefore, well illustrates the all-penetrating, all-discerning eye of Jesus, whom not a thought that comes into our hearts [Note: Eze_11:5.], nor an imagination of a thought, can

6. ever escape [Note: Gen_6:5.]. Very striking is the representation which St. Paul gives us of this, in the Epistle to the Hebrews: There is not any creature which is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do [Note: Heb_4:13. Sec the Greek.]. The sacrifices, previously to their being offered upon the altar, were not only examined outwardly, but were flayed, and then cut down the back-bone, so that all the inwards might be exposed to view, and every part be inspected with the greatest care, to see that they were perfectly free from blemish of any kind: and such is the view which the Lord Jesus Christ has of every soul. The darkness is no darkness with him; but the night is as clear as the day. We may conceal matters from our fellow-creatures: yea, and much may be hid also from ourselves: but from him is nothing hidden, either as to its existence, or to its real character: the sun itself, at noon-day, is not more clearly visible to us, than are the inmost recesses of our souls to him.] 3. His power [His feet are like fine brass. By this I understand his unchanging firmness, in every thing that he has decreed; and his irresistible power to execute his designs, whether it be for the salvation of his people, or for the destruction of his enemies. All his determinations, as revealed in his word, shall assuredly be carried into effect. The whole universe shall never move him from his purpose. Let a believer trust in him; and all the powers of darkness shall never be able to pluck him out of his hands. Let an enemy persist in his rebellion against him, he shall soon find what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. In the first chapter it is said, His feet are like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace [Note: Rev_1:14-15.]: yes, they will not only tread down his enemies, but utterly consume all who dare to contend with him. He tells us, in this epistle, that he will give to his victorious people power over the nations, to rule them with a rod of iron, and to break them in pieces as a potters vessel [Note: ver. 26, 27.]: and he shews us, in the description here given of him, that he is fully able to confer on them the promised benefit, and to make every one of them as victorious as he himself has been.] But the character of our Lord is not a subject for speculation only: no; in every particular we should consider, II. The improvement to be made of it 1. Let us admire his condescension [This epistle, though addressed to Thyatira, is designed for every Church under heaven, and for every individual in the Church, so far as the particular expressions of it are applicable to him. And amazing is that condescension, which has induced Almighty God so to remember us, and so to consult our welfare! If the Psalmist says, Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him; or the son of man, that thou visitest him [Note: Psa_8:4.]? how justly may we exclaim, Lord, what are we, that thou shouldest dictate to thy servant John a letter unto us, a letter for ourinstruction, a letter for our benefit? If but an earthly monarch had honoured us in this way, we should have accounted it a marvellous condescension: but, O! what is it to be so honoured and so regarded by the God of heaven and earth! How should we value these epistles! how should we study them! how should we treasure up in our hearts the inestimable truths contained in them! Remember, I pray you, brethren, that it is the Son of God himself who has sent you this epistle; and prepare to receive every suggestion contained in it, as bearing the impress of his authority, and an expression of his love: and treasure up every word of it, not in your cabinet, as a curiosity to be admired, but in your inmost souls, as a record to be obeyed.] 2. Let us maintain integrity before him [He tells us, that he requireth truth in our inward parts [Note: Psa_51:6.]: and we maybe well assured that the smallest measure of partiality or hypocrisy will be discovered by him [Note:Jam_3:17.]. In this epistle he tells us, that all the Churches shall know that it is He who

7. searcheth the reins and trieth the hearts [Note: ver. 23.]. At the last day, especially, he will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts [Note: 1Co_4:5.]. Yes, every secret thing shall he bring forth into judgment, whether it be good or evil [Note:Rom_2:16. Ecc_12:14.]. See, then, that there be in you no undue bias, no secret lust: but let him be able to testify of you, that you are Israelites indeed, and without guile [Note: Joh_1:47.]. And if you are not conscious of any allowed evil, be not too confident that you are really blameless in his sight; but say with the holy Apostle, I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but He that judgeth me is the Lord [Note: 1Co_4:3.].] 3. Let us confide in him for all needful support [Whom did he ever deliver up into the hands of their enemies? Are we not told, that his name is a strong tower; and that the righteous runneth to it, and is safe? The same idea that is contained in our text, is conveyed also in those words, He is a wall of fire round about us, and the glory in the midst of us [Note: Zec_2:5.]. A wall of fire will not only protect those who are enclosed by it, but will destroy also their assailants. So will Christ do, with his feet like fine brass just taken out of the furnace. Fear not, then, the assaults either of men or devils; but confide in him, expecting assuredly, that his strength shall be perfected in your weakness [Note: 2Co_12:9.]. If he have begun the good work in you, you may be confident that he will carry it on, and perfect it to the end [Note: Php_1:6.]. To whomsoever he has been the Author of their faith, he will also be the Finisher [Note: Heb_12:2.]. Of those whom the Father has given him, he never did, nor ever will, lose so much as one [Note: Joh_17:12.].] 9. PAUL KRETZMAN, This is the longest of the seven pastoral letters, and it shows peculiar conditions in the little city of Thyatira, the home of the pious Lydia, Act_16:14-15. This letter also opens with a characteristic description of the author: And to the angel of the congregation in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He that has His eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like burnished bronze. See Rev_1:15. It is as a judge full of holy wrath, as a consuming fire, that Jesus, the Son of God, is here introduced, as one from whom His enemies may expect certain and terrible punishment. As in the case of the other congregations the Lord opens with a commendation: I know thy works and thy love and thy faith and thy service and thy patient endurance, and thy last works more than the first. That is high praise for a Christian congregation and speaks well for the Christian zeal of Lydia, who is generally supposed to have founded this church. The congregation of Thyatira as such was noted for its diligence in works and service of love, of brotherly love. These were the natural fruits of the faith which was still held by the great majority of the brethren. Another fruit of this faith was patient endurance amidst the persecutions which were instigated on the part of the enemies. They are even given the testimony that they had made steady progress in the works of Christianity, that their profiting had been apparent to all, Gal_6:9; 1Th_4:1; 1Ti_4:15. At the same time, however, conditions were existing that caused the Lord more than apprehension: But I have against thee that thou permit that woman Jezebel, who alleges herself to be a prophetess and teaches and seduces My servants to commit fornication and to eat meats sacrificed to idols: and I have given her time that she should repent, and she will not repent from her fornication. Apparently the conditions of Pergamum were here intensified. In the Old Testament there had been a Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, who had seduced the children of Israel to idolatry, to the service of Baal with its obscene cult, to many abominations and lewd deeds. The name Jezebel, therefore, was a fitting name for the false prophetess in Thyatira, whose chief allurement seems to have consisted in the doctrine that Christians should overcome carnal desires by yielding to the lusts of the flesh to satiety and weariness, and that they should join in all the abominations of the heathen in order to pain influence over them. The result was that many servants of the Lord, many true Christians, had been seduced to a life of idolatry, of dissipation, of immorality and sexual vices. They had been plunged into a veritable abyss of wickedness, where the most abominable works of darkness were committed with the plea that this was Christianity in an advanced state. The Lord had already sent a warning to this immoral prophetess and had given her time to repent, but

8. she obstinately persisted in her lewd course and despised the forbearance of God. And all this the congregation permitted; knowing the pool of unspeakable filth which was in their midst, the members had done nothing to remove the stain, the blot, from the congregation. Therefore the Lord rebukes the congregation, incidentally adding the threat: Behold, I shall cast her upon a couch (of sickness), and the adulterers with her into great misery, if they do not repent of her works; and her children I shall utterly slay, and all congregations shall know that I am He who searches reins and hearts, and I shall give to you, to everyone, according to your works. Almost the Lord's patient forbearance is exhausted, and He will then show Himself the terrible Judge. The false prophetess herself He intended to visit with sickness, with pestilence, and all those that followed her immoral teaching and became guilty of lewdness in any form He would plunge into such an abyss of misery as to make them feel the power of His wrath. Note: In the very midst of this terrible threat the Lord holds out full amnesty to the sinners if they but repent. Physical distress and illness were not to come upon the men and women only that imitated the prophetess in her licentiousness, but her sin was to be visited also upon her children, whom the Lord threatened to exterminate. Thus by this one example of righteous wrath and punishment the Lord wanted to issue an emphatic and solemn warning to all the congregations in the entire district or province, to all congregations to the end of time, in fact, to show that He searches the inmost mind and heart, that no transgression is hidden before His eyes, and that He will punish the evil-doers according to their works. He may not always strike so openly, but it is true, nevertheless, that no man can escape His avenging justice. 10. WILLIAM BURKITT, The next epistle is directed by Christ, and written by St. John, to the church of Thyatira; in which epistle observe, 1. The name given to Christ, he is styled the Son of God; that is, by eternal generation, being the only-begotten of the Father, as well as begotten of the Father only; and partaker of the Father's essence, as well as of his likeness: he is here called the Son of God, as being a distinct person from the Father; yet is he the first and the last, which denotes his eternity; and who is, and who was, and is to come, the Almighty, which are essential attributes of the Godhead. Observe, 2. The description here given of Christ, His eyes like flaming fire, and his feet like burning brass: denoting thereby his piercing and discerning sight to see and observe his enemies, his fiery indignation, and fierce wrath, ready to take hold of them, and his irresistible power and strength to vanquish and tread them under his feet. Observe, 3. The great and special commendation which Christ gives to this church: greatly she is commended for her charity to Christians in distress; for her service in ministering to them, and in comforting of them; for her faith and constant adherence to the profession of Christianity; and for her patience under persecutions for the gospel's sake; but her special and peculiar commendation was this, that her last works were more than her first; that is, her last works were better, did exceed and excel the first. Ephesus was best at first, and worst at last; but Thyatira's last works were best. It is a blessed thing when Christians grow in goodness, increase in faith and holiness, when their last days are their best days; their last works, and their last fruit, their best, their fairest fruit. Observe, 4. The reprehension follows the commendation; as good as Thyatira was, she needed to be better. She was remiss and negligent in her duty of reproving, censuring, excommunicating vile seducers, the Gnostics, and Nicolaitans, the disciples of Simon Magus, and his lewd Helena, as some think; compared to Jezebel, because she enticed Ahab to worship Baal, as this woman, (whosoever she was,) calling herself a prophetess, and teaching the lawfulness of fornication, and eating things offered to idols.

9. Some observe, That there was scarce any heresy broached, but it had some woman or other for the propagator and promoter of it, who took upon them the name of prophetesses. Simon Magus had his Helena; Montanus had his Priscilla and Maximilla; Carpocrates his Marcellina. Concerning this person it is affirmed, that God gave her space to repent, but she repented not. Learn thence, That great is the sin, folly, and danger, of deferring and putting off the duty of repentance, when God gives time and space sufficient to perform it. 1. Great is the sin, because it is a mocking of God's patience, and undervaluing of his service, a contempt of his authority, a presuming on his goodness, a defiance of his displeasure. 2. Great is the folly, as well as the sin of it, because we put it off to the most improper and unfitting season, and because we hereby make the work more hard and difficult, in what season soever we set about it; and the longer we delay our repentance, the more work shall we make for repentance. 3. As great is the danger as either the sin or folly, because it puts a person upon a mighty hazard; he runs a desperate venture, not knowing whether he shall live an hour longer; and because we forfeit by our delays that special grace, without the assistance whereof we can never repent. Observe, 5. How severely God threatens Jezebel here, and in her all sinners, to whom he gives space for repentance, but it is not improved for that end: I will cast her into a bed of tribulation and torment, instead of her bed of lust and uncleanness, unless she repent. Behold here how great and immeasurable the patience of God is towards the greatest, the vilest, and the worst sinner; they have space for repentance, they have invitations to repent, they have judgments threatened to prevent their final impenitence: but if they prove incorrigible and unreclaimable, nothing is to be expected but approaching ruin: I will kill her children with death; that is, such as are seduced by her suffer with her, if judgments threatened be not by repentance prevented. Observe lastly, The end and design of Christ in bringing upon vile sinners these exemplary punishments, namely, to declare his omniciency, power, and justice: All the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: that is, all the churches in and about Thyatira, says Christ, shall know that I not only observe outward acts, but take notice of the secret counsels, motions, and designs, of men's hearts, and will judge every man according to his works: a full and clear text to prove the divinity of Christ: he that searcheth men's hearts, and renders to all men according to their works, is God; but Christ doth both, and therefore is essentially and truly God. 11. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, Thyatirathe sentimental Church One thing which Ephesus had Thyatira wanted, and it was a blessed want; nothing is said of Thyatiras toil. The temper which animated the Church made all its service joyous, Therefore the Lords commendation is so full and unreserved; He does not talk of removing the candlestick out of its place; instead He frankly recognises the growing efficiency of His servants: I know that thy latest works are more than the first. Nevertheless there is a great and grievous lack. As in Ephesus, the mention of this defect is unqualified; not, I have a few things against thee, nor, I have this against thee, but, I have against thee that thou are tolerating that woman Jezebel, etc. The name is a mystic one. Jezebel was the lady-wife of the half-barbarous king Ahab; the story of her reign is the story of the quick corruption and utter downfall of the kingdom of Israel. Idol-feasts were followed by chambering and wantonness, and corruption spread rapidly among the youth of Israel. So was this prophetess introducing the speculations of Asiatic freethinkers and the Asiatic habit of voluptuousness into the Church of Thyatira. A love of talk about forbidden things was setting in; regard for law was being weakened; audacity was taking the place of reserve; the teaching spread that self-indulgence was

10. nobler than self-denial, and more in accordance with the freedom of the gospel. There was a double attraction in the teaching of the prophetessthe subtle charm of womanhood, and the seductiveness of the thoughts themselves she was disseminating. Thus she led her votaries on into what they loved to call the deeper aspects of life and morals. We must observe that the Church is not charged with complicity in this teaching. Nor is the minister accused of sharing in the doctrine; the implication is that he is pure. But it is charged against him that he tolerates it; and both he and the Church are warned of their neglect of duty. Why is he so tolerant of this modern Jezebela woman who is working in the Church mischiefs as subtle, and in their consequences as dire, as those which destroyed the manhood of Israel? First, doubtless, he bore with her because she was a woman. The gracious tolerance of a strong man often takes this form. It is very hard for such a one to assert himself at all; most hard where self-assertion seems most easy. Next, the woman called herself a prophetess. Here comes in regard for the freedom of prophecy; the very inspiration of the Church was a hindrance. Who knows whether God is not speaking by her, notwithstanding all that is suspicious in her teaching? The very spirit of service might help to mislead a gracious man. Underneath the easy temper of the pastor of Thyatira there was, however, a grave deficiency, one of the gravest in a Church ruler: he had an inadequate sense of the authority of law. Thyatira stands before us the type of a sentimental Church; the charm and the danger of the sentimental temperament are both set before us here. There is a sentimentalism of the strong as well as of the weak. In the weak sentiment takes the place which belongs to conviction; they try to make feeling do the work of moral qualities. And they miserably fail; their Christian character itself degenerates; like the Amy of Locksley Hall, they are doomed to perish in their self-contempt. The strong are not in danger of this: their personal character may seem to keep itself unstained. But if they have responsibilities for others laid upon them, their sentimentalism may mean unfaithfulness. If Ephesus may be looked upon as typifying the peril of the Puritan habit, Thyatira is a type of what we may call Neo-Puritanism. The Puritan was the guardian of the claims and rights of the individual. He trusted his own conscience to see the will of God, his own intelligence to interpret it. In strenuous years the man of such a temper, and with this lofty ambition, tends to be hard, self-confident, a dogmatist in his thinking, a precisian in his conduct. He is the man who can try the spirits; who can tear aside disguises; can see through them who call themselves apostles when they are not, and can find them false. Times have grown easier; there has swept over us a great impulse of tenderness, which has become the prevailing habit, and the characteristic individualism of the Puritan has changed its form. Out of regard for the sanctity of the individual conscience and judgment, varying interpretations of Gods law are to be received as binding on various persons; and where divers interpretations of law are admitted, the law itself ceases to be law. In the freedom which is to be allowed to self-development, the educative influence of positive enactments is gone; every man is to be his own schoolmaster as well as his own judge. I. The appeal to reality. In contrast with their readiness to be deluded, He sets out His own clear vision, piercing through all plausibilities, and detecting the heart of the matter; His fervid indignation, too, that will not long be restrained. Nothing is more needed than occasional plain speech about the foulness which lurks in much that professes to be an enlarged spirituality. There is more than an etymological connection between sentimentalism and sensuality. They who encourage display of the peculiar charms of womanhood, and seek to advance public causes by constant speech of things which both nature and piety tell us should be held in strict reserve, degrade the woman they seek to emancipate and brutalise the man. More than once the world has been startled by the announcement of esoteric teachings and practices among some who have posed as heralds of a higher morality, which differ not at all from the words and deeds of others

11. who are frankly vicious. And what is still more startling is the discovery that some who have not accepted all the doctrines of their circle have known of the prevalence of them, and suffered them to pass without rebuke. These are really the coarse. II. The appeal to compassion. Behold, says the Lord, I cast them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation; and I will kill her children with death. There were simple souls in Thyatira saved from moral ruin by their ignorance. They knew not the deep things of Satan which the initiated talked of. There were other simple ones who fell by their curiosity. It was the place of the pastor to stand between these and the Lord of the flaming eyes and the glowing feet; to save them from, seeming judgment by instruction, warning, if need were by discipline, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted with the flesh. It is a cruel thing to be tolerant of those who are destroying the souls of the unwary. III. The appeal to duty. I lay upon you the charge to be faithful to the law you have received. I impose no other obligation on you. But this you have; hold it fast until I come. It was the duty of all in Thyatira; it was the special duty of the angel of the Church. An unwelcome duty it might be, but not on that account less urgent. And it was enforced by the promise to him that overcometh. Gods rewards are of two classes. We are to have more of what we have; there is to be given us that which we have not. We think more habitually of the former classto him that hath shall be givenbut the Lord thinks also of the latter class, and this is well for us. For if we were only to go on enlarging and developing the graces most congenial to us, which we find it easiest to exercise, we might attain to excellence, but we should be ever one-sided men. God would make us perfect men. He will not let us keep the defects of our qualities. (A. Mackennal, D. D.) Christs letter to the Church at Thyatira I. The commendable in character. I know thy works, etc. Its progressive excellence is here commended. And the last to be more than the first. Several excellent things are here mentionedCharity, which is love. The one genuine principle has various manifestations. Service, that is ministry. Faith. By this I understand not belief in propositions, but universal and living confidence in God, Christ, and eternal principles. Patiencethat is calm endurance of those evils over which we have no control. Worksall the practical developments of holy principles. II. The reprehensible in doctrine. Whatever was the particular doctrine that this prophetess taught, it was a great evil; it led to two things. 1. It led to great wickedness in conduct. (1) Licentiousnesscommit fornication. (2) Idolatryeat things sacrificed to idols. A corrupt doctrine will lead to a corrupt life. Creed and conduct have a vital connection with each other. 2. It incurred the displeasure of Christ. Behold I will cast her into a bed, etc., etc. (1) A terrible retribution. The couch of indulgence would be changed into a bed of torture. (2) An enlightened retribution. I am He which searcheth the reins and the hearts. There will be no ignorance in the dispensation of the punishment; the Judge knows all.

12. (3) A righteous retribution. I will give unto every one of you according to your works. III. The indispensable in duty. What is to be done to correct these evils, and to avoid this threatened doom? 1. Repent of the wrong. Kind Heaven gives all sinners time for repentance, and unless repentance takes place punishment must come. 2. Hold fast to the right. (1) You have something good. You have some right views, right feelings, right principles; hold them fast. (2) This something you are in danger of losing. There are seductive influences around you in society. Error is a prophetess ever at work, seeking to rifle the soul of all good. (3) This something will be safe after Christs advent. Till I come. He will perfect all, put all beyond the reach of the tempter. Meanwhile hold fast. IV. The blessed in destiny. There are several glorious things here promised to the faithful and true. 1. Freedom from all future inconvenience. No other burden will be put on them. Freedom from evil, what a blessing! 2. Exaltation to authority. To him I will give power over the nations. The Christian victor shall share in the dominion of Christ (1Co_6:2). 3. The possession of Christ. I will give him the morning star, that is, I will give Myself to him, the light of life, the light that breaks upon the world after a night of darkness and tempest. (Caleb Morris.) Thyatira I. The Majesty And Judicial Aspects Of Its Divine Author. 1. His majestySon of God. (1) Our Lords resurrection; its grand and unanswerable demonstration (Rom_1:4). (2) The title proof of His glory and Divinity (Heb_1:2-8). 2. His judicial aspects. (1) Nothing can escape His piercing glance. (2) No one can escape His resistless power. II. His loving recognition of every commendable quality (Rev_2:19). III. His holy abhorrence of the evils permitted in the Church (Rev_2:20). IV. His loving forbearance of this wicked party (Rev_2:21). V. The terrible doom that awaits this party unless they repent (Rev_2:22-23). VI. Our Lords inspiring words to the faithful (Rev_2:24). 1. The importance of not giving heed to false doctrine.

13. 2. The connection between false doctrine and the knowing the depths of Satan. VII. The importance of firmly holding the truth and grace of Christ (Rev_2:25). VIII. The blessed reward of Christian heroism (verses 26-28). IX. Our Lords earnest exhortation to the churches (Rev_2:29). (D. C. Hughes, M. A.) The Church contaminated by doctrinal error I. This Church had previously been of high moral character. 1. Fervent in its love. 2. Faithful in its service. 3. Constant in its faith. 4. Genuine in its patience. 5. Progressive in its excellences. II. This church, notwithstanding its previous high moral character, was contaminated by doctrinal error through the seductive influence of a corrupt woman (Rev_2:20). 1. This Church was contaminated in doctrine by the teaching of a woman. (1) Of wicked namesake. (2) Of vain pretensions. (3) Of corrupt morality. (4) Of seductive influence. 2. This Church, through its doctrinal error, was led into sinful practices. 3. There is a contaminating influence in doctrinal error. III. Those who are instrumental in leading a Church into doctrinal error, and its consequent evils, are threatened with severe retribution (Rev_2:22-23). Lessons: 1. To cultivate in Church life an increase of all Christian graces. 2. To avoid vain and impious teachers who profess the prophetic gift. 3. That women should keep silence in the Church. 4. That doctrinal heresy will lead to an awful destiny. (J. S. Exell, M. A.) I know thy works and charity and the last to be more than the first. The first and last works I. What every Christian life is meant to be. A life of continual progress in which each to- morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant, in reference to all that is good and noble. A continuous progress towards and in all good of every sort is the very law of the Christian life. Every metaphor about the life of the Christian soul carries the same lesson. Is it a building? Then course by course it rises. Is it a tree? Then year by year it spreads a broader shadow, and its leafy crown reaches nearer heaven. Is it a body? Then from childhood to youth, and youth to manhood, it grows. Christianity is growth,

14. continual, all-embracing, and unending. II. What a sadly large proportion of professedly Christian lives are not. Many professing Christians are cases of arrested development, like some of those monstrosities that you see about our pavementsa full grown man in the upper part with no under limbs at all to speak of, aged half a century, and only half the height of a ten years old child. They grow, if at all, by fits and starts, after the fashion, say, of a tree that every winter goes to sleep, and only makes wood for a little while in the summer time. Or they do not grow even as regularly as that, but there will come sometimes an hour or two of growth, and then long dreary tracks in which there is no progress at all, either in understanding of Christian doctrine or in the application of Christian precept; no increase of conformity to Jesus Christ, no increase of realising hold of His love, no clearer or more fixed and penetrating contemplation of the unseen realities, than there used to be long, long ago. Let us learn the lesson that either to-day is better than yesterday or it is worse. If a man on a bicycle stands still he tumbles. The condition of keeping upright is to go onwards. If a climber on an Alpine ice-slope does not put all his power into the effort to ascend, he cannot stick at the place, at an angle of forty-five degrees upon the ice, but down he is bound to go. Unless, by effort, he overcomes gravitation, he will be at the bottom very soon. And so if Christian people are not daily getting better, they are daily getting worse. There are two alternatives before us. Either we are getting more Christlike or we are daily getting less so. III. How this commendation may become ours. Notice the context. Christ says, I know thy works and love and faith and service (for ministry), and patience and that thy last works are more than the first. That is to say, the great way by which we can secure this continual growth in the manifestations of Christian life is by making it a habit to cultivate what produces it, viz., these two things, charity (or love) and faith. These are the roots; they need cultivating. If they are not cultivated then their results of service (or ministry) and patience are sure to become less and less. These two, faith and rove, are the roots; their vitality determines the strength and abundance of the fruit that is borne. If we want our works to increase in number and to rise in quality, let us see to it that we make an honest habit of cultivating that which is their producing causelove to Jesus Christ and faith in Him. And then the text still further suggests another thought. At the end of the letter I read: He that overcometh and keepeth My works to the end, to him will I give, etc. Now, mark what were called thy works in the beginning of the letter are called My works in its close. If we want that the Master shall see in us a continuous growth towards Himself, then, in addition to cultivating the habit of faith and love, we must cultivate the other habit of looking to Him as the source of all the work that we do for Him. And when we have passed from the contemplation of our deeds as ours, and come to look upon all that we do of right and truth and beauty as Christ working in us, then there is a certainty of our work increasing in nobility and in extent. There is still another thing to be remembered, and that is, that if we are to have this progressive godliness we must put forth continuous effort right away to the very close. We come to no point in our lives when we can slack off in the earnestness of our endeavour to make more and more of Christs fulness our own. (A. Maclaren, D. D.) Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel. An imperfect Church I. A serious charge alleged against the church at thyatira. The most perfect Church upon

15. earth is very imperfect. A seriously observant man will soon perceive an end of all perfection in the most excellent characters. All our Lords descriptions of character are faithful. He never drew a false likeness. By Him neither excellences or imperfection were ever exaggerated. The design of the Holy Ghost in exposing the sins and imperfections of the people of God is to warn Christians of their danger, and to excite them to constant watchfulness and fervent prayer. The faithful reproof marks the line of conduct we are bound conscientiously to pursue in dealing with professors of the religion of Christ. II. Divine patience spares for a season the most abandoned and guilty characters. Justice might instantly inflict condign punishment upon licentious characters. III. Tremendous judgments will succeed the exercise of patience upon those who continue impenitent. IV. Our Lord asserts His omniscience and His prerogative to punish and reward mankind. V. The epistle concludes with exhortation and encouragement addressed to those who had not approved of the doctrine of Jezebel. (J. Hyatt.) Inconsistency Alas for our many inconsistencies, our varied imperfections; alas for the mischief they do to our own souls and to the cause of Christ everywhere! Up to a certain point, by the grace of God and a steadfast will, we have done, let us suppose, pretty well. We have gained something. But the difficulty is to get on a little farther. Conscience has always a few things against us which we cannot quite conquervery unimportant, perhaps, according to the worlds judgment, and yet, we know, very contrary to the Spirit of Christ. We ought to be humble, and we are proud. We ought to be grave, and we are frivolous. We ought to be exact in our times of prayer, and we suffer all manner of things to interrupt us. We ought to be overflowing with kindness; and we are reserved, impatient, and unsympathising. It is well for us if we can perceive our inconsistencies and try to amend them. The devil does his best to keep our attention fixed on what we have gained. Our inconsistencies, whatever they may appear to us, are spots and blemishes in the soul, disfiguring that image of Christ into which we desire to be transformed, holding us back from God only knows what higher degrees of perfection, spoiling the offering of our life, keeping back a part of the spoil. Moreover, it is by these inconsistencies that the devil gains power over us in other ways. These are his stations which he seizes and fortifies, establishing on them his engines of war, from which he hurls his fiery darts of temptation so as to overcome our defence in the matter of some kindred fault, and to throw in other forces of his own as soon as the breach is opened. And who shall tell the disheartening effect upon ourselves of these inconsistencies? So much for the effect of our inconsistency on ourselves. And what shall we say of its effect upon the world at large? There is nothing which does the devils work half so well as the unholy life combined with great profession. (W. Mitchell, M. A.) The Jezebel of Thyatira proceeded in the same way as all do who succeed in making havoc of the Church of Christ. She came under the semblance of religion; she pretended to be inspired of God; and she appears to have gained such credit with the bishop himself that he was beguiled

16. by her enticing words, and suffered her to teach; this was his sin. Now it is evident when we read the character of this man that he had not lent himself knowingly to any wicked designs of the false prophetess. What does this show but our constant liability to error, even though we should be exalted to the highest station in the Church of Christ? We may be compromising our high and evangelical principles by unworthy and undignified concession to the errors of others, as effectually as did those deceived Christians of Thyatira; and there will never be wanting a Jezebel or a doctrine which that name will denote to assure us that it is right so to do, and that we thereby gain a universal esteem which will help us to extend our own particular views and influence. But, besides this practice, the false prophetess had a doctrine, and it is characterised by the depths of Satan. Our Lord pronounces the things whereof Jezebel and her followers made their boast to be deep, but they were not the deep things of God, but of Satan; there is a spirit which searcheth the mysteries of godliness; and there is a spirit which is busy in diving into the depths of evil under the pretension of seeking out causes, until it becomes what may be termed mysticism. The false prophetess, no doubt, led her votaries to believe that some other revelation than what was in Gods Word had been made to her, and professed to communicate some superior light on the deepest and most intricate points of faith. Generally speaking, when error is worked into a system, it must have an air of mystery thrown around it, and be supposed to conceal something which cannot meet the vulgar eye or be known to the uninitiated. Nothing but truth will bear an open investigation; truth is the only system that may be committed with safety to a whole community; not that it will be so safe as never to be perverted, but it will finally triumph, and requires neither secret machinery nor open violence to force it on mens minds. Beware of an inordinate love of speculation on the nature and counsels of the Most High; deep things, though most alluring, are not the best elements for the health of the soul, and very few who have exercised themselves much therein have been able to maintain a spirit of sobriety unto the end. Let us beware of a tendency to begin our inquiries where all wise men make an end. Let us seek to be wise up to the word, not beyond it; and thus keeping our hearts in all simplicity we shall soon learn to whom the Father reveals His mysteries, and we shall retain an unclouded judgment to approve things that are excellent, and to discuss with patience and candour. 2. The other lesson to be learnt from this history regards the discipline and ordinances of the Church. The deluded followers of the false prophetess had set at nought the discipline of the overseers of the Church for the time being, apparently esteeming it a burden not to be tolerated by them who pretended to such great gifts. God, however, is not a God of confusion but of order, and was careful to confirm that burden and thereby to give His sanction to discipline. (R. Burgess, B. D.) Jezebel to be cast out of the Church Why they did not insist upon having this Jezebel turned out of the Church appears exceedingly strange. Perhaps she was a woman of wealth and riches, of some note and rank in Thyatira. There are few Churches so exactly apostolic as to pursue a strict impartiality. The gold ring and the gay clothing goes a great way. A woman, whether she was a prophetess or not, provided she had some thousands a year, and knew how to apply it among her friends, might be guilty of a great many peccadillos and have them winked at, when one of low degree could not escape censure for the first trip. There is something bewitching in riches and worldly dignitythey make mankind do very absurd and inconsistent things, and even New Testament Churches have been fascinated therewith. Perhaps this prophetess would have been accounted a good Christian in these

17. soft, good-natured times when divorces are so common. She would probably have endowed a church, entertained the clergy, like a good Christian and orthodox believer; and this would cover a multitude of sins. But Christ does not judge as men do, for He looks into the heart and sees that many specious actions are only intended as a cover to conceal other designs than those that are pretended publicly. There is no imposing upon Him that searches the hearts. It is a great mercy that the Church has such an Head, who knows all things, and discerns all characters, and will not suffer sin to pass without rebuke. (J. Murray.) Sins of omission It is a fault, then, not only to be active in evil, but to be passive of evil. (J. Trapp.) Jezebel a type of worldliness Jezebel was a heathen princess, the first heathen queen who had been married by a king of the northern kingdom of Israel. She was, therefore, peculiarly fitted to represent the influences of the world; and the charge against the first Church of the second group is that she tolerated the world with its heathen thoughts and practices. She knew it to be the world that it was, but notwithstanding this she was content to be at peace, perhaps even to ally herself with it. (W. Milligan, D. D.) And I gave her space to repent. A timely period God is the great giver; He gives life and food and happiness to all His creatures. I. A definition of time. Some call time the measure of duration; others the succession of ideas, pearls strung upon a golden thread. But is not this as good as eitherspace to repent? II. A limitation of mercy. Space, a definite period of time. Mans days are determined (Job_14:5). 1. How rash the calculations of the sinner. 2. How simple the reckoning of the saint (Gen_47:9; Job_14:14; 1Co_7:29). III. A declaration of duty. Repent. IV. A foreshadowing of destiny. Man is related to eternity. (Homilist.) Time for repentance I. Divinely allotted. 1. The wealth of Divine mercy. 2. Man will have no excuse if finally lost. II. Certainly limited. Then use it well, prize it highly, see that the Divine purpose

18. concerning your destiny is accomplished. III. Wilfully neglected. 1. Because their minds are darkened. 2. Because their hearts are insensible. 3. Because their retributions are delayed. IV. Eternally ruinous. Lessons: 1. We are Divinely called to repentance. 2. We should repent now, because now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. (J. S. Exell, M. A.) Space to repent In space comes grace proves not always a true proverb. They that defer the work, and say that men may repent hereafter, say truly, but not safely. The branch that bears not timely fruit is cut off (Joh_15:2). The ground that yields not a seasonable and suitable return is nigh unto cursing (Heb_6:8). (John Trapp.) I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Self-prepared penalties My children, if you saw a man prepare a great pile of wood, heaping up fagots one upon another, and when you asked him what he was doing, he were to answer you, I am preparing the fire that is to burn me, what would you think? And if you saw this same man set fire to the pile, and when it was lighted, throw himself upon it, what would you say? This is what we do when we commit sin. (G. Vianney.) The depths of Satan This is not the name which these persons gave to the doctrines they held, but the real character they deserved. Mankind have always been fond of depths and mysteries, and more disposed to adhere to things which they do not understand, than to simple and plain truths that are more plain and obvious. It would appear to have been one of the particular stratagems of the wicked one to persuade mankind that Divine revelation is beyond the understanding of the inferior ranks of Church members, and that whey must depend for their direction how to understand them, upon some select commissioners that are initiated in the secrets thereof. The depths of Satan differ from all things that may be called depths in the Word of God, in the following particulars. 1. Satan appoints trustees to keep the key of his secrets, and does not show an index to the mysteries which are in his system. But there are no mysteries in the Word of God, but what have a key to open them, and an index to point them out. 2. The interpretation of Scripture mysteries is always shorter, and expressed in fewer words, than the mysteries themselves. The vision of Nebuchadnezzars great image pointed out himself in a mystery; the interpretation was short, and yet exceedingly

19. plain. The depths and mysteries of Satan are quite different; the mystery is short, but the interpretation long, and the opening of the mystery very tedious. 3. The depths of God are always opened up by the Spirit of God, in the course of Divine revelation, and without the interpretation of the Holy Ghost, who is the original author, all the art of men and angels could not develop one single emblem in either the Old or New Testament, with any degree of certainty. The depths of Satan are like Miltons Darkness Visible, incapable of any consistent interpretation, nor are they ever intended to be understood. They are believed because they are inscrutable, and on that account require a large measure of faith. But what God reveals, the nature and character thereof is plain, though the measure is unfathomable. 4. These doctrines, which John calls the depths of Satan, appear to have been the dogmas of men, and the conceits of sophisters in religion, which were intended to render godliness more fashionable and agreeable to the taste of corrupt professors; and they differed from the simplicity of the gospel in the ease they promised to those who embraced them. (J. Murray.) But that which ye have already, hold fast till I come. A little religion is worth retaining I. Hold fast that which you have, because it is worth retaining. 1. Because of the means which God has employed to put you in the possession of it. 2. Because it is connected with the salvation of your soul. 3. Because the minutest portion of it is valuable, and is capable of unlimited increase. When the whole substance is composed of gold and silver and precious stones, intrinsic value belongs to every particle and to every grain, so that its very dust is carefully preserved. And so it is with all the impressions and feelings which belong to true religion, for they are fruits of the Spirit, and portions of the ways of the unsearchable God. The mariner does not throw away the little light which shines upon him from the polar star, but retains it in his eye till it has guided his vessel into port. And though in some periods of your religious experience, Jesus Christ may not appear to you in His full tide of glory, as the Sun of Righteousness, yet if He appears to you in the feebler beams of the morning star, ever remember that what you see, though but a glimmering, still is light, real heavenly light. Hold it, therefore, in your view. If you possessed but one single grain of wheat, its intrinsic value would be trifling; but how is its value enhanced, and with what care will it be preserved, when you know that if it be sown and reaped, and sown and reaped again, its production will soon be seen waving in the valleys, and crowning the mountain tops, till it has furnished food sufficient for a city, a continent, a world. And who can set limits to the increase of grace? Who can tell what advances he may make in knowledge, in holiness, and in joy, who is now for the first time sitting at the feet of Jesus? II. Hold fast that which you have, because various efforts are made to deprive you of it. 1. Such efforts are made by our own evil propensities. As the guards and the cultivators of that which we have, there must be vigilance and resistance and persevering prayer; there must be a war continually waged against evil thoughts, evil propensities, and evil actions; and there must be an unceasing and determined effort to bring the whole soul under the supreme dominion of gospel principles and of

20. gospel influences. 2. Such efforts are made by the world. The mere presence of material and worldly objects has a tendency to divert our attention and our affections from those objects which are spiritual and unseen. The quantity of time and thought and labour which worldly business receives, from both the master and the servant, is often unfavourable, and sometimes fatal to fervency of spirit. 3. Such efforts are made by Satan. III. Hold fast that which you have, because the gospel furnishes you with the means of retaining it. 1. The gospel furnishes you with the examples of righteous men, who have retained their spiritual possessions even in the midst of multiplied difficulties and dangers. 2. The gospel promises the Holy Spirit to help your infirmities, and to make your strength equal to your day. IV. Hold fast that which you have, because Jesus Christ is approaching. 1. This announcement, you perceive, prescribes the term of your endurance. It is to continue till the Lord comes. The oath which Christ requires from us, when we enter His service, is an oath of fidelity for life; and, in this respect, Christs requirements accord with the dispositions of all His faithful servants. They desire to persevere. They pray that they may persevere. 2. The announcement that Christ is coming affords great encouragement to sustain your endurance; for He is coming to receive His people to Himself, that where He is, there they may be also. And as the shipwrecked mariner is encouraged to hold fast the rope which he has grasped, when he hears that the lifeboat is coming to convey him to the shore, so be you strengthened and encouraged by the announced approaching of your Lord, who even now is walking on the waters to conduct you to the desired haven. (J. Alexander.) Christian excellence I. Christian excellence is an attainment. 1. Christian excellence is an attainment in contradistinction to a native growth. It does not spring up in the soul as an indigenous germ. It is a seed that has been taken in and cultivated. 2. Christian excellence is an attainment in contradistinction to an impartation. In a sense, it is the gift of God; not in the sense in which life and light and air and the seasons of the year are the gifts of God, blessings that come upon us irrespective of our own efforts, but rather in the sense in which the crops of the husbandman, the learning of the scholar, the triumphs of the artist, are the gifts of Godblessings that come as the result of appropriate labour. We shall grow neither good nor be made good; we must become good; we must struggle after it. II. Christian excellence is an attainment that requires fast holding. 1. Because it is worth retaining. Its value will appear by considering three things. (1) The priceless instrumentality employed to put man in possession of it: the mission of Christ.

21. (2) Its essential connection with mans spiritual well-being; there is no true happiness apart from it. (3) Its capability of unlimited progress; it may be as a grain of mustard, but it can grow. 2. Because there is a danger of losing it. (1) Men who have had it have lost it before now. (2) Agencies are in constant operation here that threaten its destruction. III. Christian excellence is an attainment that will be placed beyond danger at the advent of Christ. 1. He comes to every Christian at death. 2. When He thus comes (1) He crushes for ever our enemies. He bruises the head of Satan under our feet. (2) He removes from us everything inimical to the growth of goodness. (3) He introduces us into those heavenly scenes where there will be nothing but what ministers to the advancement of goodness. Take heart, Christian, the struggle is not for long. (Homilist.) Hold fast the good obtained I. There is something which we have already; let us inquire what it is. First, have we obtained pardoning mercy? Secondly, have we obtained justifying grace? Thirdly, there is sanctifying power. Fourthly, suppose freedom and comfort in the ways of God. Fifthly, suppose a sweet sense of the love of God in the soul. Lastly, have you obtained an interest in the promises? II. Supposing, then, that we have something, hold fast. And this is opposed to those who turn round and go back, or who turn aside and go astray. Let there be an advancement and progress in holiness, in zeal, in love, in conformity to Christs image. When it is said, hold fast, it implies that there are certain fixed and determinate principles of truth, which we are on no account to let go. There is a form of sound words, which is not to be relinquished. The dignity of Christ, the efficacy of His sacrifice, the triumph of His mediation, the fact of His advent and coming again in glory, we are to give up only with our liven Hold it fast implies that there are certain means and instrumentalities to be employed. What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch. Consider what you will lose, if you hold not fast the things which you have already obtained. And, again, if you lose what is gained, the dishonour and shame are greater than before. (J. Stratten.) Christian steadfastness Hold fast. Here, as constantly, a material image is used to set forth a spiritual act, or rather a life-long series of spiritual acts, indicated by the continuous act hold fast. It implies, too, that there is something to lay hold of, and what that is is referred to beforehand, that which ye have already. By this we should probably understand all that is included in the faith once delivered to the saints; the sum total, as it has been

22. expressed, of Christian doctrine, and hopes, and privileges. How much that is! The laws of Christ, they are to be held fast, not one forgotten or neglected; the promises of Christ, they are to be held fast, not one forgotten or neglected; the helps of Christ, they are all of them to be held fast, and used in the varied and continued necessities of this mortal life of temptation. To hold all these fast may be summed up as holding Him fast, as our Divine Lawgiver and Redeemer, our great Priest and Sacrifice, our in-dwelling Spirit and life. We do not need to ask for a Christ of higher endowments and larger resources; it is enough for us to hold fact the Christ we have already, who of God is made unto us, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Hold fast till I come. The thoughts suggested by the words hold fast are very different from those suggested by I come. Hold fast tells of the struggles of earth; I come tells of the serene and abiding peace which reigns where Jesus is. Hold fast till I come. The earthly effort till the heavenly reward. The strenuous life-effort, weary, protracted, often seeming doubtful in result, is to continue till Christ comes, up to the hour of that supreme disclosure, but not beyond it. Then the weary hands may relax their painful effort, the weary eyes their outlook for danger, the weary heart its patience of hope, for the security and rest of victory will have come. (T. M. Herbert, M. A.) Hold fast Tug for it with those that would take it from you. (J. Trapp.) And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him I will give power over the nations. The service of Godto be constant Look at yon miller on the village hill. How does he grind his grist? Does he bargain that he will only grind in the west wind, because its gales are so full of health? No, but the east wind, which searches joints and marrows, makes the mill-stones revolve, and together with the north and the south it is yoked to his service. Even so should it be with you who are true workers for God; all your ups and your downs, your successes and your defeats, should be turned to the glory of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.) The promises to the victors I. We have the victors authority. Now, the promise in my next text is moulded by a remembrance of the great words of the second psalm. The psalm in question deals with that Messianic hope under the symbols of an earthly conquering monarch, and sets forth His dominion as established throughout the whole earth. And our letter brings this marvellous thought, that the spirits of just men made perfect are, somehow or other, associated with Him in that campaign of conquest. And so, notice, that whatever may be the specific contents of such a promise as this, the general form of it is in full harmony with the words of the Master whilst He was on earth. Our Lord gave His trembling disciples this great promise: In the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over many things; and, linked along with the promise of authority, the assurance of union with the Master: Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. My text adds to that the image of a

23. conquering campaign, of a sceptre of iron crushing down antagonism, of banded opposition broken into shivers, as a potters vessel dashed upon a pavement of marble. The New Testament teaching converges upon this one point, that the Christ that came to die shall come again to reign, and that He shall reign and His servants with Him. That is enough; and that is all. But all the other promises deal not with something in the remoter future, but with something that begins to take effect the moment the dust, and confusion, and garments rolled in blood, of the battle-field, are swept away. At one instant the victors are fighting, at the next they are partaking of the Tree of Life. There must be something in the present for blessed dead, as well as for them in the future. And this is, that they are united with Jesus Christ in His present activities, and through Him, and in Him, and with Him, are even now serving Him. The servant, when he dies, and has been fitted for it, enters at once on his government of the ten cities. Thus this promise of my text, in its deepest meaning, corresponds with the deepest needs of a mans nature. For we can never be at rest unless we are at work; and a heaven of doing nothing is a heaven of ennui and weariness. This promise of my text comes in to supplement the three preceding. They were addressed to the legitimate wearied longings for rest and fulness of satisfaction for oneself. This is addressed to the deeper and nobler longing for larger service. And the words of my text, whatever dim glory they may partially reveal, as accruing to the victor in the future, do declare that when he passes beyond the grave there will be waiting for him nobler work to do than any that he ever has done here. But let us not forget that all this access of power and enlargement of opportunity are a consequence of Christs royalty and Christs conquering rule. That is to say, whatever we have because we have knit to Him, and all our service there, as all our blessedness here, flows from our union with that Lord. Whatever there lies in the heavens, the germ of it all is this, that we are as Christ, so closely identified with Him that we are like Him, and share in all His possessions. He says to us, All Mine is thine. II. Note the victors starry splendour. I will give him the morning star. Now, no doubt, throughout Scripture a star is a symbol of royal dominion; and many would propose so to interpret it in the present case. But it seems to me that whilst that explanationwhich makes the second part of our promise simply identical with the former, though under a different garb-does justice to one part of the symbol, it entirely omits the other. But the emphasis is here laid on morning rather than on star. Then another false scent, as it were, on which interpretations have gone, seems to me to be that, taking into account the fact that in the last chapter of the Revelation our Lord is Himself described as the bright and morning star, they bring this promise down simply to mean I will give him Myself. Now, though it be quite true that, in the deepest of all views, Jesus Christ Himself is the gift as well as the giver of all these seven-fold promises, yet the propriety of representation seems to me to forbid that He should here say I will give them Myself! So that I think we are just to lay hold of the thoughtthe starry splendour, the beauty and the lustre that will be poured upon the victor is that which is expressed by this symbol here. What that lustre will consist in it becomes us not to say. That future keeps its secret well, but that it shall be the perfecting of human nature up to the most exquisite height of which it is capable, and the enlargement of it beyond all that human experience here can conceive, we may peaceably anticipate and quietly trust. Only note the advance here on the previous promises is as conspicuous as in the former part of this great promise. There the Christian mans influence and authority were set forth under the emblem of regal dominion. Here they are set forth under the emblem of lustrous splendour. It is the spectators that see the glory of the beam that comes from the star. And this promise, like the former, implies that in that future there will be a field in which perfected spirits may ray out their light, and where they may gladden and draw some eyes by their beams. Christian souls, in the future, as in the present, will stand forth as

24. the visible embodiments of the glory and lustre of the unseen God. Further, remember that this image, like the former, traces up the royalty to communion with Christ, and to impartation from Him. I will give him the morning star. We are not suns, but planets, that move round the Sun of Righteousness, and flash with His beauty. III. Lastly, mark the condition of the authority, and the lustre. Here I would say a word about the remarkable expansion of the designation of the victor, to which I have already referred: He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end. We do not know why that expansion was put in, in reference to Thyatira only, but if you will glance over the letter you will see that there is more than usual about works; works to be repented of, or works which make the material of a final retribution and judgment. Bring your metaphor of a victor down to the plain, hard, prose fact of doing Christs work right away to the end of life. It is the explanation of the victory, and one that we all need to lay to heart. My works. That means the works that He enjoins. No doubt; but look at the verse before my text: I will give unto every one of you according to your works. That is, the works that you do, and Christs works are not only those which He enjoins, but those of which He Himself set the pattern. He will give according to works; He will give authority; give the morning star That is to say, the life which has been moulded according to Christs pattern, and shaped in obedience to Christs commandments is the life which is capable of being granted participation in His dominion, and invested with the morning star. It is for us to choose whether we shall share in Christs dominion or be crushed by His iron sceptre. (A. Maclaren, D. D.) Power over the nations I. Power is in many cases the result of conquest. Even in this life victory brings new strength. Physical force is attained by a long series of efforts. The blacksmiths brawny, sinewy arm is the natural consequence of years of vigorous strokes upon the anvil. Intellectual strength grows in the same way. It is in great measure acquired by mental application, and comes from painful, persevering endeavours to master some of the branches of art or science. This is a law of our being, the great principle, according to which the All-wise and Almighty Ruler of the world dispenses His gifts. It is, therefore, not surprising to find the same method applied to the highest and noblest kind of power, known as moral and spiritual. The ability to refuse the evil and choose the good, as well as to lead others to do the same, is indeed a special gift of Gods grace, and yet it is the result of constant, persevering effort. In short, this promise to Thyatira is being continually fulfilled in the present life. II. At the same time, for its largest and truest accomplishment we must look on to the grand and glorious future. It is to him that shall have overcome, and kept Christs works to the end, that He here promises power over the nations. The royalties of Christ, remarks Archbishop Trench, shall by reflection and communication be the royalties also of His Church. They shall reign, but only because Christ reigns, and because He is pleased to share His dignity with them. (W. Burnet, M. A.) I will give him the morning star. Christ, the Morning Star (compared with Rev_22:16):In seeking to interpret these words in the second chapter, some have supposed that the morning star is not directly connected with Christ; but

25. that the promise is only a general one, setting forth the splendour of the reward of believers. Upon this principle there would be the same blessing promised to the Church of Thyatira under two forms: rule over the nations, and the splendour of such an inheritance here and hereafter. Had our Lord meant to display the splendour of the Christians reward, He would have spoken of making His people like the morning star, rather than of giving them the morning star; hence I agree with those who understand Christ to promise that lie will give Himself to His faithful ones as their portion and reward. But it is plain that Christ will not for the first time become the morning star to His people when He bestows Himself as their final reward, since He is so already in the present life; and hence we must understand Him as promising to give Himself in a higher measure as the reward of their fidelity. I. I remark that Christ is to His people the morning star of time, and will be to them the morning star of eternity, because His light shines after darkness. It belongs to the day star to appear in the midst of gloom when the shades of night are still thick and heavy, and to announce their departure. It was in this sense that Christ came as the light of the world. There was a general sense in which the whole world sat in darkness, as it does still where Christ is not known. Darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the people. Take the altar at Athens, to which Paul appealed. If we understand its inscription as to The Unknown God, did not this proclaim God at large as still unknown? When Christ came the world was in the darkness of guilt, with only light enough to read the sentence of conscience, but none to see how it could be reversed. There was the darkness of depravity, for in the night the beasts of the forest walked abroad, and foul and hideous lusts degraded every land. These causes produced a darkness of untold misery. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Similar to this first coming of Christ into the world is His first appearing in His saving character to individual sinners. Every sinner to whom Christ has not thus appeared walks in darkness. Let him at length be aroused by the Spirit of God, and how awful is the sense of darkness that overwhelms him! The experience of Christians, indeed, is various. Some have more memory of this darkness than others. Some wander in it longer and plunge into it more deeply. Such is the first grand deliverance from darkness which Christ works for all His people, and which during their earthly history He constantly renews when the clouds of ignorance, the shades of guilt, and the storms of afflictions might gather around them. And now in the second of our texts He promises, as the reward of their faith and loyalty, that He will give Himself to each of them as the morning star of eternity. Here too the emblem shall be fulfilled, for His light will shine after darkness. To every Christian, the brightest, the happiest, the most devoted, there is a sense in which life ends in darkness. The passage from time into eternity is a dark passage. The Christian must enter it alone, and pursue it, it may be, with failing eye and fainting step. There is no night so deep as that of the valley of the shadow of death. But here the last victory over darkness is achieved. Light is thus sown in the righteous when the departing spirit is gathered home. And when the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the mighty shadow of the judgment throne falls even upon the redeemed in awe and solemn dread, shall not this bright and morning star rest upon the head of Him who is at once their Judge and Advocate, so that they shall rise to meet Him, free of fear? Now has come a world of which it is written, And there shall be no night there, the Lord God giveth them light, and the Lamb is the light thereof. II. I remark, that Christ is to His people the morning star of time, and will be to them the morning star of eternity, because His light transcends all comparison. No one can mistake the morning star in the firmament or confound it with any other orb. It shines

26. pre-eminent and alone. In the words of Milton, it flames in the forehead of the morning sky. Thus it is with Christ. 1. Christ is preeminent in His titles. Some of these are shared with others; but what a stamp of peculiarity is set upon them as applied to Christ! Is He the Son of God? Then He is His only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. is He the Angel of God? Then He is made so much better than the angels, as He hath obtained by inheritance a more excellent name than they. Is He the Mediator? Then He is the one Mediator between God and men. Is He the Saviour? Then there is salvation in no other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 2. Christ is pre-eminent in His offices. As a Prophet, He brings revelation from the highest heaven. As a Priest, He offers the alone and perfect sacrifice. As a King, He is without example. 3. Christ is pre-eminent in His history. To Him all history converges, and in His own it is summed up and transcended. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah; He is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley; He is the Pearl of Great Price; He is the Plant of Renown; He is the Bread of Life; He is the precious Corner-stone. 4. What Christ is to His people, He is alone. We have many friends, but only one Redeemer; many earthly helpers, but only One who delivers our souls from the lowest

Revelation 2 18 29 commentary

Spiritual

son of god

city of thyatira

thyatira acts

son of man

impressive reference

important town

turkish town

dye industry