Prophetic Times To The End - Rev 2:11-19

END TIMES REVEALED

Revelation 2-part 2


Rev. 2:11 our Lord and Savior gives another promise to His own, (believers) to those who will listen. The promise to overcomers (believers), assuring them that they will not be hurt by the second death [Ref. Rev. 20:15]. The reassuring word of Christ to Smyrna is an assuring word to all suffering and persecuted Christians. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” [Ref. Heb. 12:11].

Rev. 2:12 Our Lord and Savior addresses Pergamum as “The One who has the sharp two-edge sword.” The Sword is a symbolic representation of the Word of God’s twofold ability to separate believers from the world and to condemn the world for its sin. It is the sword of salvation as well as the sword of death and when Christ returns at the Second Advent to earth He will use the sword to smite the nations and to deal with all the false teachers of Christendom.
Pergamum like Ephesus and Smyrna was a wealthy city, but it was wicked. People in its pagan cults worshiped Athena, Asclepius, Dionysus and Zeus. Aesculapius was the god of medicine, who was worshiped under the form of a serpent (as used by the present medical profession).

Rev. 2:13 Our Lord and Savior tells us that He knows all about us. He praises those, who are dwelling in the shadow of Satan’s throne, for their faithfulness to His name. We are not to mingle with Satan’s crowd, we are to maintain a love for, and loyalty to, Christ’s name, and He will reward us for our stand [Ref. Mt. 19:29]. Antipas means ‘against all” was martyred as the faithful one for Christ among them. We do not have a record of the incident, just our Lords recognition as to Antipas being the faithful one, who was killed where Satan dwells.

Rev. 2:14 the Lord says the church is guilty of compromise by letting in false teaching (Balaam) (Balaam had been guilty of counseling King Balak to cause Israel to sin through intermarriage with heathen women and through idol-worship) [Ref. Num.22-25; 31:15-16], in the church. It is ever and always sinful to countenance evil among an assembly of believers. The guilty one must repent and forsake his evil way, and if there is no repentance, those who have oversight (authority) can take no other course than to expel the wrong. Pergamum failed to censure those who were guilty; they tolerated them when they should have tried them for the Lord’s name [Ref. 1Cor. 5:1-8]. Satan has a foothold in Christendom. His emissaries are working at the top level of the ecumenical church involved with the world council.

Rev. 2:15 The story of the church’s alliance with the world and her subsequent failure, is a matter of recorded history, The state church has become Satan’s head quarters, where his throne is; our Lord warned us, and now it is here to stay. Nicolaitanism is fully accepted. That which was mere “deeds” in Ephesus, became “doctrine” in Pergamum, and today is “dogma” meaning settled opinion. The first seeds of the Roman Catholic Church were sown as far back as the fourth century. Today the world is ready to accept the Roman Pope and be subject to him. The Roman Catholic Church claims to be of divine origin, but its “deeds” and “doctrines” are hated by our Lord. [Ref. Rev. 2:6]

Rev. 2:16 Our Lord sharply rebukes the church with the abrupt command repent therefore! Christ is warning the church He will fight with the sword of His mouth, His word. He promised that the judgment would come “soon.” “tachys” means suddenly. Christ would contend with them judging sharply all compromise and sin. Our Lord calls upon His own to accept His principle of separation, and they are refusing to compromise, with either moral evil or religious error.

Rev. 2:17 Our Lord gives us another promise addressed to believers who are willing to hear. Overcomers are promised hidden manna, which, refers to Christ our Lord as the bread of heaven, the unseen source of the believer’s nourishment and strength. Whereas Israel received physical food, manna, the church receives spiritual food [Ref. John 6:48-51]. Overcomers are promised a “White Stone” with a new name written on it, an inscription which gives the believer “a new name” this indicates acceptance by God and our title to glory with Christ. As a believer priest we receive a white stone of our own in contrast to the twelve stones the high priest of Israel wore on his breastplate with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel inscribed on them as he represented the nation, and was the only one (High Priest) allowed into the Holy of Holies one day a year. We the believer priest have complete access to God the Father in heaven all day everyday without fail as we the believer died on the cross with Christ once for all [Ref. Heb. 9:11-15].

Rev. 2:18 Our Lord addresses the church at Thyatira as “The Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” Our Lord is expressing to us His affirmation of His deity, and then demonstrates His righteous indignation at their sins, with His piercing judgment of sin [Ref. Rev. 1:14] with the eyes like blazing fire, a penetrating discernment that searches the innermost depths of the church. The words “burnished bronze” “chalkolibano” a Greek word meaning judgment and our Lord will execute judgments infallibly. Thyatira is the church in respect to time runs from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1500 a period known as “The Dark Ages” when the papacy wielded her power malevolently, and our Lord declares Himself here to be “The Son of God.” We must see that our Lord is rebuking the church that degrades Him and keeps Him the Son of a human mother, while exalting her above Him as “the mother of God’ and “the queen of heaven.” Our Lord expresses that the church is dealing with Deity, with the divine Son of God Himself. Romanism (Papacy) teaches those under its power that they must pray to Mary in order to get through to God. This fallacy is nowhere hinted at in the Holy Scriptures. Our Lord taught that the Father was to be approached in the Son’s name [Ref. John 14:13-14; 16:23-24]. In Pergamum the church was holding fast our Lord’s name. In Thyatira conditions of the church allowed Rome’s efforts to lower the dignity of His name.

Rev. 2:19 Our Lord expresses even though much was wrong in the church at Thyatira, there was much good. Love led the list of virtues. Where love was waning in Ephesus, it was gaining in Thyatira. Their “service” diakonian” “meaning ministry” their love in action toward those in need. Their “faith” “pistos” faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty. The saints were dependable, reliable. Their “patience” “hupomone” “to abide”. We are to be able to abide in Christ under tribulation (endurance of suffering in our lives) [Ref. Rom.12:12], for it is through trial that patience grows [Ref. James 1:3] and this is acceptable with God [Ref. 1Pet. 2:20]. Moreover, patience perfects Christian character [Ref. James 1:4], so let us run the race with patience [Ref. Heb. 12:1]. Their “works” “ergon” meaning to work, toil, an act, deeds, doing. Our Lord mentions twice the “works” of Thyatira a highly commendable quality of continued growth and development, their last works were more than the first. We are to be known for our continued progress and increased usefulness, to be advancing steadily in our Christian course.