RCW 2025-06-25, edited 7-05.
Revelation Chapter 2
RCW Text
2.1 To the messenger of the church of Ephesus, write
He Who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks among the seven golden lamp stands, says these things:
2.2 I am aware of your actions, your efforts, your endurance, and how you do not tolerate evil men. You tested those who claimed to be apostles but are not, and you proved that they were false.
2.3 You have carried burdens, and endured hardship, and you worked hard in My name and did not collapse from exhaustion.
2.4 But, I have this against you, that you have forgotten the enthusiastic love you had at the beginning.
2.5 So, remember how far you have fallen, repent, and return to your original attitudes. If you don’t change the way you think, I will suddenly come and surprise you and remove your lamp stand from her place.
2.6 But, you do have one thing going for you, you hate the works of the Nicolaitans as I do.
2.7 Whoever has the ear for it, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To those who are victorious I will let them eat the fruit of the Tree of Life which is in the middle of God’s paradise.
2.8 To the messenger of the church of Smyrna, write:
The First and the Last, Who died and is alive, says:
2.9 I know your efforts, and your tribulation, and your poverty, but you are spiritually rich. And I know the blasphemy of those who call themselves Jews, but are actually a synagogue of Satan.
2.10 Do not fear the things you are about to suffer. Be aware, the Devil will throw some of you into jail, to test you, and you will have tribulation for 10 days. Be faithful even if they kill you, and I will give you the victor’s Wreath of Life.
2.11 Whoever has an ear for it, let them hear and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches; whoever is victorious will not be hurt by the Second Death.
2.12 To the messenger of the church of Pergamum, write:
He who has the sharp double-edged sword says this:
2.13 I know your efforts, and that you where you live where Satan’s throne is. You are firmly holding My name, and did not disown your faith even in the days when My faithful witness, Antipas, was killed among you, there, where Satan lives.
2.14 But I judge against you concerning a few things, because you have some who are holding to the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak how to set traps in the sight the sons of Israel, so that they would eat things offered to idols, and use prostitutes.
2.15 And you also have some who hold the teachings of the Nicolaitans, which I hate.
2.16 Change your way of thinking or I will come to you suddenly, and fight them with the sword of My mouth.
2.17 Whoever has an ear for it, let them hear and understand what the Spirit says to the churches. To whoever is victorious, I will give him the hidden manna to eat, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on it, that only he will know.
2.18 To the messenger of the church at Thyatira, write:
The Son of God, Whose eyes blaze like a fire, and Whose feet are like hot glowing bronze;
2.19 I know your efforts, love, service, faith and endurance, and I am aware that your latest works are even greater than your first ones.
2.20 But I do have a few judgments against you, because you tolerate the woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces My servants to use cult prostitutes and eat food offered to idols.
2.21 I gave her some time to repent of her immorality and she did not change.
2.22 Look, I will throw her onto a bed of great tribulation, along with those who commit adultery with her, unless they repent of their actions.
2.23 And I will kill her children. They will die, and all of the churches will know that I am He who searches the deepest thoughts and feelings, and I will give to each of you according to your efforts.
2.24 But, I am saying to the rest of you at Thyatira, who do not believe these things, and who have not known the so-called deep things of Satan, I will put no other burden on you.
2.25 But hold tightly to what you have until I arrive.
2.26 He who is victorious, and keeps doing My works until the end, I will give him authority over the nations.
2.27 And he will rule over them with an iron baton. They will be shattered like pottery. This power over the nations I have received from My Father.
2.28 And I will give him the “morning star.”
2.29 Whoever has an ear for it, let them hear and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
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RCW 2026-06-25
Revelation Chapter 2
RCW Notes, Explanations and Comments
2.1 The “stars” Jesus’ holds in His hand are the 7 messengers. In ancient Jewish synagogues, the primary “messenger” figure was the Shaliach Tzibbur (שליח ציבור), literally translated as the “emissary of the congregation” or “messenger of the community”. In the Diaspora, this person functioned as a local leader and liaison to Jerusalem. This reminds me of what an early Hebrew congregation might have been like, prior to it receiving Apostolic training. It is a precise term, implying that the office of “pastor” had not yet become established as a normal leadership role. Hebrew texts for Revelation have ‘menorah’ for ‘lamp stand’. This represents the presence of the Holy Spirit giving light to the local groups.
2.2 This intense scrutiny of traveling Bible teachers was happening at the very beginnings of the faith, and there were false apostles almost from the beginning at Pentecost. These people may have seen or even met Jesus, but falsely claimed to have been chosen by Him. The Ebionites developed almost immediately.
2.3 The believers at Ephesus had worked hard and were being stretched to the point of mental and physical exhaustion.
2.4 Jesus reminded them that they are not as enthusiastic as they were after immediately Pentecost. Try to imagine what it was like to have been at Pentecost, and then returning home and telling everyone what happened at Jerusalem that day.
2.5 Jesus wants them to go back to the way they believed and acted at the beginning. His statement about coming to them suddenly, or quickly, is sometimes seen as associated with the Return of Christ, with the emphasis being on Him arriving suddenly and without warning. This is why I thought “surprise” might say all that. I strongly disagree with the translation of “taxy”as “soon”. However, the reference to removing their “menorah” means removing the Holy Spirit from a disobedient and unresponsive church, and that makes no sense in the context of Christ’s Return.
2.6 I am not certain who the Nicolaitans are and what they teach, or their origins. Ephesus hated them, Pergamum tolerated them. They were different from those teaching like Balaam. I think they may have been syncretists, or hedonists. But nothing is known about them with certainty.
2.7 The word, “Paradise” is literal, but is itself a transliteration, and is a reference to the Garden (orchard) of Eden, and the Tree of (eternal) Life that was there and was forbidden after Adam’s Fall.
2.8,9 I think ‘synagogue of Satan’ is a reference to Hellenized Jews. The Jews of western Turkey in those days were descendants of Jews who were forcibly relocated by the early Seleucids and I suspect they were also forcibly Hellenized and compromised. They would have had a superiority complex and been impossible to coexist with. I think they would have been capable of violence against non-Hellenist Jews. They would have considered Zeus and YHVH to be the same God, which I consider to be a doctrine of Satan.
2.10 The word, “tribulation”, is literal. The ten days is a mystery. Any evidence for its historic fulfillment is lost. It was a brief and local persecution, and may not have had any official government backing. The Stephanos, ie, “Victor’s” crown, is not a royal crown, but a head wreathe. I will always show which kind of crown is the subject of a Bible text.
2.11 This “second death” clearly refers to Rev. 20, meaning that these “victors” are with Christ during the 1,000 years. This is important, since it reminds us of the question of how limited the 1,000 year participation might be. In Rev. 20, it is restricted to only those Martyrs who were killed by the Beast. Now we see that these martyrs before the rise of the Antichrist are included. I assume the “second death” is painless, but is reserved for the conclusion of the “second life” of a resurrected believer.
2.12 A reminder that Jesus’ words cut both ways. He is utterly impartial in judgment. The word “sword” is symbolic for “tongue”.
2.13 Satan’s throne, ie, cathedral, was the famous healing center at Pergamum, based on snake worship. It was called the Asclepieion. Here’s what Grok xAI says about it: “The Asclepieion offered holistic treatments like psychotherapy, massage, and herbal remedies. Dreams during temple sleep guided these therapies, blending physical and spiritual care.” Hmmmm. I have doubts about the later traditions about Antipas being burned alive inside a bronze bull shaped alter. But, in ancient Greece, that was a known form of ritualistic execution/sacrifice to an idol.
2.14 This issue of food offered to idols and the sexual immorality involved in fertility cult prostitution is a major New Testament issue, especially as Gentiles start coming to Christ. I believe these letters from Jesus to Pergamum and Thyatira guided the ruling of the Council of Jerusalem in 50 AD concerning these things.
2.15 Here is another reference to the undefined Nicolaitans. This church was tolerating them. Why? Does this mean that they were also Jewish believers? And how did Ephesus know they should hate them? It seems that the different churches did not have the same level of leadership. This points to a very early moment before churches had pastors appointed by Apostles.
2.16 Jesus says “I will come to you and fight them” referring back to the Balaam-like teachers and the Nicolaitan followers. Jesus “sword of My mouth” is a reference to His tongue, meaning, of course, His words. What kind of words are they? My guess is words that expose their sin and lies, etc., and announce their condemnation.
2.17 The limitation of “hidden manna” to the victorious is interesting, since it implies that this only happens after this life has ended. What is meant by it being hidden? In ancient Roman courts, when a defendant was acquitted, he was given a white stone. In some athletic events, the winner received a white stone which gave him entrance to certain feasts. I think the new name is in the new heavenly life, and parallels Jesus’ new name in Rev. 19:12. In both cases, the new name is known to no one except the person who has it. It seems to indicate a new high level of private personal relationship with God.
2.18 Some see Jesus’ eyes “blazing” as Him seeing through all things, knowing the truth behind everything, deceived by nothing, and tolerating no sin.
2.19 Thyratira seems to be the best church, so why do they have a Jezebel? And this woman is teaching the same things that Jesus condemned at Pergamum. These things are the issues acted on by the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, 49 AD. I think Jesus’ words to these two churches were the basis for the decree of that meeting. This is not possible unless Revelation predated it, and was already known to the Apostles. If the Council of Jerusalem had predated these letters by 4 decades, as most believe, these churches under John’s leadership should not be having these kinds of problems. I conclude that John’s influence over these young churches at the time of these 7 letters was almost non-existent.
2.20-22 This “spiritual adultery” language resembles the later and more comprehensive judgement of the Whore of Mystery Babylon in Rev. 17-18. Notice that in this case, it is unbelievers (or deviant believers) who experience “tribulation”.
2.23 I chose to interpret “kidneys and hearts” as “deepest thoughts and feelings” for understandability. Jesus was always focused on the exact correspondence of our actions to our judgment. But He considers our inner “actions” ie, thoughts, as equally subject to judgment.
2.24 If we accept the 41 AD date for these letters, Jesus’ phrase “I will put no other burden on you” can be seen as the basis for Acts 15:28.
2.25 “Until I arrive” is hard to take literally, considering that it has been 2000 years since then.
2.26 Jesus adds a little insight into “persevering to the end” as “keeping His works” referring to our faith-based efforts. “Authority over the nations” is about Rev. 20 and the Messianic Kingdom.
2.27 In this letter, Jesus is the source of the authority to rule over the nations, but it is the faithful witnesses who will actually wield the “rod of iron”. I chose “baton” to make the reference more vivid.
2.28 The “morning star” is a metaphor, referring to the victorious believer receiving a glorified body that is brighter than the angels. The literal “morning star” is Venus for half of its orbital year, it is relatively brighter than any star; the fact that it is a planet is irrelevant.
2.29 I consider “and understand” to be implied.