Revelation Chapter 2-The Churches

Chapter 2 and 3 are a collection of the letters that God told John to write to the 7 churches of Asia. If not examined carefully, chapter 2-3 in the book of Revelation is ignorantly overlooked. But if we look at it carefully we find that some of the verses can relate to today's world.


Ephesus- From verse 1-7, John is tasked to write to the church of Ephesus. At first, he writes,
 ² I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
 ³ And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Good, right? Wrong. Throughout chapter 2-3, the churches have sinned against God (not necessarily all). Ephesus, in verse 4, John writes,  
⁴ Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. The "first love" the John writes about, is God. Isn't it ironic how, even in today's world, we see that some "churches" as they call themselves, pride themselves on stealing money, and scamming innocent Christians because of their greed? Indeed, Ephesus can be traced back thousands of years, but can also be seen in today's world.


Smyrna- Smyrna, was the church, described by John, as still being loyal and faithful to God. Verse 10 writes, ¹⁰ Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.


When John writes about the ten days in prison, it was a prophetic representation of the persecutions of Christians in Rome. There were TEN major timeframes in which the Christian people were persecuted:

The first occurred under Nero in 67 AD. It is alleged he used the Christians as a scapegoat for his fire.
The second transpired under Domitian, beginning in 81 AD., again they were scapegoats for all that went ill in the Empire.
The third was suffered under Trajan, starting 108 AD.
The fourth, done by Marcus Aurelius Antoninas. Begun 162 AD.
The fifth was under Severus in 192 AD.
The sixth, conceived in 235 AD under Maximus.
The seventh is attributed to Decius in 249 AD. His most famous victim being Fabian, bishop of Rome who was executed in 250 AD.
Emperor Valerian is credited for starting the eighth wave in 257 AD.
The ninth began in 274 AD under Aurelian. Felix, bishop of Rome, was among the executed.
The tenth and last, that of Diocletian in 303 AD. A particularly bloody affair by the accounts.


-The church of Smyrna was directly in the jurisdiction of the Roman empire-


Pergamos- Later on, in verse 14, John writes, about Pergamos, the Pagan church.¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
¹⁵ Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which leadeth them into acts of sexual immortality. Which is the thing I hate."


Now, if you haven't read the Old Testament, a man named Balaam was an unholy prophet who opressed the Israelites. One day, he was standing before 7 alters (there's that 7 again) and on each alter he offered an animal. Each time he offered an animal, he cursed the Israelites. But each time he cursed them, God changed the churse into wonderful blessings. Realizing he couldn't curse the Israelites, he led them into idolatry and acts of sexual immortality.


Thyatira- The final church in chapter 2 is the church of Thyatira. Skipping down to verse 20 John declares, 
²⁰ Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
²¹ And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.


Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, King of the Sidonians (1 Kings 16:31).
Her name originally meant 'The Prince Baal exists'. Baal was a weather god worshipped in the Syro-Palestinian world. In Biblical Hebrew, Jezebel's name means 'there is no nobility'.


-----End of Chapter 2-----