A Bible School Manual: Studies in the Book of Revelation / An introduction, analysis, and notes, containing a concise interpretation according to the symbolic view, numerous references to authorities, and general mention of other interpretations, with the text of the American revised version edited in paragraphs, for the use of Bible students

I The Prologue, Ch. 1:1-3:22

The introductory and epistolary portions of the book which occupy the first three chapters, consist of four parts, viz. the superscription, the salutation, a vision of the exalted Redeemer, and messages to the seven churches in Asia. These give the source and authority of the Revelation, convey a greeting to the seven churches that are named, set forth the present activity of Christ in his redemptive work with the certainty of his personal return, and then present particular messages to each of the churches in Asia, which through their general condition afford a perspective view of the continuous and varied experience of the whole church in the process of redemption. These preliminary parts of the book, also, serve to introduce the great theme which is to occupy the subsequent revelation, viz. Christ and the Church through Time to Eternity. The style is at once that of Apocalyptic, though the form is less characteristic in the second and third chapters than in the first and subsequent ones; the literary construction is marked by obvious and sustained artistic skill; and the subject-matter shows a profound inner connection of thought with the visions that follow, affording a clear indication of the unity of the whole work that should not be overlooked in our study of the book.300

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1 The Superscription, Ch. 1:1-3

In the superscription the book is described, its history and contents are given (v. 1-2), and a blessing is pronounced (v. 3) upon those who read it, i. e. aloud before the congregation (??a????s???), and those who hear and keep the things written therein, an indication that they were expected to be understood. This blessing is the first of seven beatitudes found in the book (see App'x C), and serves to show that the office of public reader in the primitive church was established in the first century, evidently because of a general lack of education among the early converts. The book is declared to be the Revelation or Apocalypse of things about to happen,—not a revelation which has Jesus Christ for its subject,301 but “the things which must shortly come to pass”, a phrase that is best interpreted as a prophetic formula for the uncertain future which is always near with God (cf. Lu. 18:8), and not to be taken in the stricter sense of limiting the prophecy to the immediate future,302—to have been given of God (v. 1), and to have been made of, i. e. through or by, Jesus Christ as the communicating witness,303 to have been sent by the instrument of an angel, and to have been testified to by John, who witnessed concerning the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ304 which he received through the visions that are herein recorded. These introductory verses (v. 1-3) are usually regarded as an integral part of the book, though they are thought by some to have been added afterward as an introduction and authorization by the church, probably by the elders at Ephesus.305

2 The Salutation, Ch. 1:4-8

The salutation is an address and greeting of grace and peace to the seven churches in Asia from John, in the [pg 094] name of each person of the triune God, viz:—(1) in the name of the Father, who is designated as “him who is and who was and who is to come”,306 i. e. whose existence is alike present, past, and future, the Eternal One, and expansion of the sacred name Jehovah, the I AM, or the I WILL BE, of Hebrew historic faith (cf. Ex. 3:14, Am. R. V., marg.); (2) in the name of the Holy Spirit, who is typified by “the seven Spirits that are before his throne” as being seven-fold in his operation, i. e. complete and perfect (cf. Isa. 11:2);307 and (3) in the name of Jesus Christ, who is presented as “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth”, whose redemptive work is declared in a doxology of praise (v. 5b and 6) which is rendered unto him as the one “that loveth us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood”,308 and whose coming again is notably heralded—a pivotal thought throughout the book.309 The descriptive phrase “the firstborn of the dead” is an evident recognition of Christ as the first to conquer death by resurrection. The closing part of the salutation (v. 7-8) is exclamatory and parenthetical, and forms a kind of prelude to all that follows, affirming the certainty of the second advent as if already present, and introducing at this point the divine witness, which is generally attributed to Christ who speaks as God, affirming himself to be the source and end of all things, the Eternal and All-Ruler, whose word stands as surety for the fulfilment of the visions. The fact of God as All-Ruler (?a?t????t??, “the Almighty”),310 and the realization of that fact in history, “constitutes the deep undertone which pervades every part of the Apocalypse, and rises here and there into its loftiest [pg 095] strains”. Terms like this, never applied to any but God in the Old Testament, and well understood as belonging only to the Divine Being, are freely used of Christ in the Revelation, showing how fully his divine nature was realized in that stage of the church's experience. The connection of the eighth verse may properly be considered as the answering voice of Christ to the cry of John in the seventh, “Behold he cometh”!

3 The Introductory Vision (The Glorified Son of Man), Ch. 1:9-20

This vision presents a transcendent Christophany, unfolding the source of the Revelation, and introductory to all that follows throughout the book; a view of the glorified Son of Man in his exalted relation to the church as King-Priest, manifesting his dignity and authority in bold and striking imagery through a seven-fold vision.

(1) The Trumpet Voice, Ch. 1:9-11

A great voice is heard, making a special revelation to John as he partook with the saints in the tribulation of Jesus311 in the isle of Patmos, off the coast of Asia Minor,312 where he was banished for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, when he was in the Spirit, i. e. in the ecstatic state peculiar to the prophets, on the Lord's day;313 speaking behind him, i. e. while the speaker was yet unseen, in a voice as of a trumpet, commanding him to write the things which he saw in a book (v. 11), and to send it to the seven churches which are then named, the chief churches in Asia, to whom the message of the Revelation is addressed as the typical representatives of all the churches throughout the world. The human name Jesus is here found twice in one verse (v. 9), and occurs in the Revelation nine (or ten) times, whereas it is seldom used by Paul and never by Peter in the Epistles. This seems to point toward the Johannine authorship, for the name that belonged to the earthly life of our Lord was not likely to be used by one who had not known Jesus in familiar fellowship.314

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(2) The Triumphant Son of Man, Ch. 1:12-13a

The divine Savior at this point appears in the vision as “one like unto a son of man”, i. e. human though transfigured, standing in the midst of seven golden candlesticks, or lampstands, which represent in symbol the seven churches of Asia bearing light on the earth, and in a wider sense the whole church in its completeness witnessing for the truth, for seven is the number of universality—a scene recalling the temple, and indicating Christ's triumphant and continual presence in the midst of his people.315

(3) The Gracious Apparel, Ch. 1:13b

The Divine One is clothed with a garment down to the foot, the mark of dignity, and is girded about with a golden girdle at the breasts as for reigning or priestly intercession, not about the loins as for toil or conflict, indicating the nature of Christ's present and continuous work on behalf of his church.

(4) The Glorious Appearance, Ch. 1:14-15, and 16c

The revealed Son of Man is majestic in form and mien, and wondrous in appearance, like the Ancient of Days in Daniel's vision (Dan. 7.9f), his head and hair like wool in purity and majesty, his eyes penetrating and enkindling as a flame of fire, his feet awe-striking and destructive like molten brass glowing in a furnace, his voice sounding like the roar of cataracts, and his countenance like to the unclouded sun—symbols all of these of his exalted state, and perhaps intended to present a reminiscence of the transfiguration. The Greek word ?a?????a??? (v. 15), translated “burnished brass” by the Revisers, is of unknown origin, and occurs only here and in ch. 2:18. It is thought to have been a technical term in local use among the metal workers of Ephesus, and to apply to some alloy of copper or brass.316 The literal interpretation of the word is “incense-brass”, which suggests a metal used for making utensils in which to burn incense, evidently precious, and having a glow in the furnace, or like a furnace.

(5) The Seven Stars, Ch. 1:16a

The Glorious One has in his right hand seven stars, which, we are told (v. 20), are the angels, or heavenly [pg 097] representatives of the seven churches, i. e. Christ holds the churches in his right hand, for the stars and the angels are declared to be identical.317 It will be seen that the seven angels, which stand as the ideal representatives of the churches throughout the first part of the Revelation, are here presented under another symbol, as seven stars which are upheld in the hand of Christ “like a chain of glittering jewels”, thereby showing his sustaining care of the churches. The angels of the churches that are symbolized by the stars, are not to be regarded as true angelic beings any more than the stars are real stars, but are the churches themselves personified by angelic forms after the manner of the Apocalyptic. The figure is not properly applicable to the bishops, pastors, or leaders of the churches, though often so interpreted, for these are leaders upon earth, whereas the angels like the stars belong in heaven.318

(6) The Two-Edged Sword, Ch. 1:16b

Out of the mouth of the Conquering Christ proceeds a sharp two-edged sword,319 the emblem of the Word of God in its penetrating power (cf. Eph. 6:17b, and Heb. 4:12) which is designed both to reprove and punish, and which serves to show that the divine Christ speaks with supreme authority.

(7) The Assuring Message, Ch. 1:17-20

The Gracious Savior reassures John, who fell at his feet as one who was dead, both by his touch and by his words as of old on the holy mount (Mat. 17:7); declaring that he, the Son of Man, is the first cause, and final arbiter of destiny, the ever living one though once dead; affirming that he has the keys of death and of Hades,320 i. e. through his own resurrection has forever gained the power over death, holding the key of its control, and has also the key of Hades, the invisible spirit-world, which is commonly associated with death in the New Testament [pg 098] as the general habitation of the dead during the intermediate state (not “hell”, as in the Authorized Version); and reaffirming the command to John to write therefore the things which he saw in a book, viz. “the things which are”, i. e. which now exist, looked at from the divine point of view as beheld in the vision, and “the things which shall come to pass hereafter”, i. e. which shall be made manifest in history, those things that belong to the mystery321 of the seven stars and the seven golden candlesticks, or to the mysterious and hidden future of the church of Christ in the world which the seven churches represent in its ideal unity.

The change of symbols in this vision is apt to be confusing unless we catch the distinctive meaning of each. Three different symbols are here used to represent the churches, each presenting a different point of view, viz:—(1) the angels, who represent the churches in their individual and organic life, engaged in active service for God; (2) the stars, which represent the churches in their relation to Christ, receiving and reflecting light from him and upheld by his hand; and (3) the candlesticks, which represent the churches in their relation to the world, bearing light to men upon the earth. If these distinctions are kept in mind the interpretation will be greatly simplified. At this point it may also be well to note that the view which regards the visions in the Revelation as purely literary in origin, fails to satisfy the circumstantial account of John. On the contrary we find it is more in accord with the spirit of the record to regard them not as literary inventions in which the message is clothed, but as true visions divinely given which were, nevertheless, essentially adapted to and conditioned by the previous mental training and habits of the writer—the product of an ethical and not a magical inspiration. In fact the reality of the visions is in some sense coming now to be recognized upon psychological grounds as the natural view.322 And it should also be seen that the studied literary setting of the visions, indicating arrangement and design upon [pg 099] the part of the seer in his record of them, does not militate against the view that the visions were real and the experience recorded an actual one. But, “even were the supposition correct that the seer had only certain truths divinely impressed upon his mind, which his poetic fancy led him to clothe in the shapes before us, it would in no degree modify either the extent of his inspiration or the value of his teaching”.323

4 The Seven Epistles, Ch. 2:1-3:22

The seven epistles are Christ's messages of encouragement and warning, of praise and blame, which were given to John in vision, and which are addressed to the seven churches of proconsular Asia,324 the scene of John's later ministry, and through them to the church at large, for each epistle contains not only a message to the particular church, but “what the Spirit saith to [all] the churches”. The form of epistles or letters in an apocalypse was foreign to the Jewish method of writing, but was doubtless introduced by John because the use of such letters or epistles had already become established in the church as a characteristic expression of the Christian mind.325 These seven churches were not the only ones then existing in Asia,326 but were evidently chosen to represent them all, and were intended through their individual experience “to exemplify the experience of the whole church in the field of history”; not, however, in numerically successive and historic stages, but the general experience of the church universal throughout all time, for seven is the symbol of universality, and the seven churches are here intended to symbolize the universal church. Each of the seven churches named occupied a strategic point of special opportunity for gospel dispersion, and they were doubtless addressed for that reason, though the message imparted was divinely intended for the whole church in all the ages. The number seven occurs so often in the Revelation that it necessarily attracts our attention, and the book itself has not inaptly been styled “the Book of Sevens”. [pg 100] In each case, too, as here, the number has a symbolic reference, a fact that should not escape our observation, for it points the way to a general principle of interpretation, viz. that every number used throughout the book, without exception, has an acquired symbolical meaning,327 i. e. its ordinary arithmetical value is ignored, or becomes subordinate, and it represents a different idea that has in some way become associated with it as a number; and this important consideration often furnishes a key to the correct interpretation. The origin of this symbolism is very early, antedating history—seven, for example, was a sacred number with the Accadian predecessors of the Semites in the remote dawn of Babylonian civilization.328 This use probably had its rise from observations of the heavenly bodies, such as the phases of the moon lasting seven days, the seven planets of ancient astronomy, and the Pleiades, together with the occurrence of seven as a factor in gestation and in other well known phenomena, all of which served to impress upon the Eastern mind that the number was somehow inwrought in the order of nature and must therefore have a special significance. In a similar way the number ten probably had its origin as a symbol in the fact that it represented the complete number of digits on a man's hands, and formed the norm of mathematical reckoning. Other numbers, also, from some real or fancied relation to things, became ready symbols for the Oriental mind. In the Apocalypse numbers are often introduced first in their ordinary significance, as the seven churches, and then pass easily and naturally to their symbolic meaning which is usually apparent. But it should be seen that a number does not thereby cease to have a quantitative value when it becomes symbolical, e. g. the seven churches represent a number still, though it is the number of all the churches, the whole church, and not seven units as before. It is the definite numerical value only that is lost in the symbolism, and not the entire idea of number or quantity; and the failure to recognize this fact may lead us astray in the interpretation, as for instance, in that of the thousand years in chapter twenty, where a great and complete number of years seems to be meant, and not the completeness of Satan's [pg 101] binding apart from any period of time, as held by some commentators.329

Each epistle is addressed to the angel of the individual church which is named, i. e. to its heavenly representative, the church personified in the form of an angel according to the prevailing symbolism of the book, a poetic form of addressing the church itself; and the message is given by authority of Christ himself,330 who is described in veiled terms that are drawn mainly from the imagery of the preceding vision, where the exalted Redeemer is so vividly set forth; and the terms are aptly chosen to suit the particular needs of the church to which it is sent. It has been suggested, also, that these epistles to the churches contain numerous historical allusions to events connected with the cities in which the churches were located, as for example Sardis, whose fortress had been twice captured while its people slept, is exhorted to be watchful.331 The epistles are addressed first to the individual and historic churches named, and then through them are addressed to the whole church throughout the world, of which the number seven is representative. Each of the epistles contains seven component parts, viz:—(1) the address to the individual church, i. e. to the angel of the church who represents the church itself; (2) the command of Christ to the seer to write; (3) the title of Christ, usually taken from the vision of the glorified Redeemer in the opening chapter; (4) the praise or blame for good or ill, given to the church for the conduct of the past; (5) the divine charge or warning against special forms of sin; (6) the promise of blessing to the victors; and (7) the call to each individual Christian to hear and heed. The order in which the churches are addressed is that of a geographical circuit beginning at Ephesus, the first city of Asia, and going northward, which seems also to have been the order of their importance from the chief city downward. The literary form of this section may be regarded as a reflection or echo of the manner of the opening [pg 102] part of the rhapsody of Amos where recurrent formulÆ of doom on seven nations are given (Amos ch. 1-2).332

(1) The Epistle to the Church in Ephesus, Ch. 2:1-7

The epistle to the church in Ephesus is Christ's message to a declining church, a church which had left its first love:—“Remember ... and repent”. In this epistle Christ is “he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks”, and “he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand”, i. e. he who is continually present among the churches, and who upholds them by his power. The candlesticks are objective representations of the seven churches bearing light upon the earth, as in the prophecy of Zechariah (ch. 4:1-10) a seven-branched candlestick stands for the Jewish nation as the representative of the kingdom of God; while the seven stars, the counterpart of the candlesticks, represent the churches held in the hand of Christ shining in heaven. In this symbolism it will be seen that the stars represent the churches in their relation to Christ, while the candlesticks are intended to exhibit their relation to the world. To move the “candlestick out of its place” is a threatening of extinction to the particular church unless it repent. Those “who call themselves apostles and they are not”, were probably well known pretenders of the closing part of the first century. The Nicolaitans here condemned, were an early obscure sect concerning which little is known, but who are reputed to have been libertines and seem to have denied the obligation of the moral law. The epistle is declared to contain, as we find the other epistles are also, “what the Spirit saith to the churches”, a clear indication of a wider message than to the individual community of the separate church.333 “To eat of the tree of life” as the reward of overcoming, is a reference to the story of Eden (Gen. 3:22), and then by anticipation to the joys of the New Jerusalem which are the inheritance of the redeemed soul (cf. ch. 22:2; and Bk. of Enoch, 25:4-5). Paradise, a word rarely used in the New Testament and probably of Persian origin, is here employed to describe the future abiding place of the redeemed.334 The church of Ephesus, to which [pg 103] this epistle is addressed, is the chief of the seven churches to whom John was instructed to write, though it has long since ceased to exist. The city of Ephesus, which was some sixty miles northeast of Patmos and was then a large and wealthy metropolis, has experienced more vicissitudes in its history than any other city of the Roman province of Asia. At that time it ranked first among all the cities of the province, and shortly after it became the capital; but it subsequently fell into decay, and it is now only a squalid heap of ruins.

(2) The Epistle to the Church in Smyrna, Ch. 2:8-11

The epistle to the church in Smyrna is Christ's message to a suffering church, a church which had endured tribulation, poverty, and the blasphemy of the Jews:—“Fear not.... Be thou faithful”. Christ is here described as “the first and the last, who was dead and lived again”, a thought of special consolation for those who were about to be cast into prison in the coming persecution, and many of whom would suffer death—like Christ they would live again. There is, also, a possible allusion in this to the popular myth concerning the death and resurrection of Dionysius, the favorite deity of Smyrna,335 with which the death and resurrection of Christ, the notable facts of the gospel, are placed in marked contrast. The recognized poverty of the church in such a rich city is remarkable, and it has been suggested that it may have been partly at least the result of pillage by a mob;336 though more likely the feeling against the gospel in the midst of wealth like that of Smyrna was so strong as to make its message unacceptable to any but the very poor. It will be seen that the church receives no blame in this epistle, but only counsel and encouragement. The ten days of tribulation represent a period that is short but complete in itself, i. e. it has a fixed limit, for ten is the number of completeness. The crown of life promised to the victors is not the royal diadem but the victor's crown, which is the symbol of life eternal, and is the antithesis of the second death, i. e. of the soul in hell (cf. ch. 20:14; and 21:8). John may have here had in mind the crown often laid upon the head of the dead body of an earthly victor in his funeral procession—a crown of death with which the crown of life is placed in apposition. The second death by which “he [pg 104] that overcometh shall not be hurt”, is the death of the soul—not ceasing to be, but dying to the best in life—the final condemnation which sinners undergo at the judgment. Smyrna is located some forty miles north, and somewhat west, of Ephesus, and was one of the most wealthy, important, and beautiful cities of Asia Minor. It has an unbroken record from the dawn of history to the present day, and now has a population of some two hundred and fifty thousand, and is both rich and prosperous.

(3) The Epistle to the Church in Pergamus337, Ch. 2:12-17

The epistle to the church in Pergamus is Christ's message to an impure church, a church which had some that held the teaching of Balaam, and others the teaching of the Nicolaitans:—“Repent ... or else I come with the sword”. To this church Christ is “he that hath the sharp two-edged sword”, i. e. who wields the instrument of rebuke and punishment. The location of Satan's throne in Pergamus denotes that the city was under his dominion, and may refer to the newly introduced worship of the Emperor in which that city was recognized as an important center;338 while the death of Antipas, an otherwise unknown martyr, called “my witness, my faithful one”, and also the presence of those holding the teaching of Balaam,339 the symbolic name for a doctrine akin to the Nicolaitans, serve to show that it was truly a place “where Satan dwelleth”. The aptness of the name lies in the similarity of Balaam's method of seducing the Israelites by licentiousness, and that of the false teachers who were introducing Antinomianism (cf. Num. 25:1-2; and 31:16). The hidden manna represents the true bread of life, and is doubtless an allusion to the pot of manna laid up before the Lord in the hidden recesses of the holy place in the tabernacle (Ex. 16:33f.). There may also be a reference to the Jewish tradition that Jeremiah [pg 105] had hidden the ark with its contents in a cave of Sinai until the advent of the Messiah (II Macc. 2.1), when it was be restored. The white stone is probably the jade, which has been held in high esteem in the East from the earliest times,340 although some think it refers to the diamond. White stands as the emblem of purity, but the exact symbolism of the stone in this connection is obscure, though clear enough to the first readers of the epistle. The figure may possibly have been drawn from the Jewish sacred use of precious stones, especially of the mysterious Urim and Thummim kept in the pouch of the breastplate of the high priest, which according to Jewish tradition were inscribed with a name known only to the priest himself.341 The gift would then imply the conferring of high-priestly privileges on those who overcome. Some, however, find in it a reference to the white pebble of acquittal used in courts of justice, or in casting the lot; others a reference to the tessera, or ticket, which admitted the victor in the Olympic games to the public tables, and entitled him to the awards of his city; still others a reference to the common use of amulets and charms with a secret name or pass-word on them, in that case the white stone conferring the real power which the charm was assumed to have.342 But more probably the reference is to a stone engraved as a seal, with the name of Christ upon it, the gift of which like the signet of a king (Gen. 41:42 and Est. 8:2f.) is regarded as bestowing something of the royal authority of Christ upon the recipient. Precious stones of different shapes were commonly used for seals, and were often unmounted and hung by a cord about the neck; and the name of the owner and of the deity whom he specially worshipped were engraved upon them.343 Every man of rank and wealth in the East from time immemorial [pg 106] had his own seal; and among the Babylonians so constant and imperative were its uses that it was generally placed with his body in his coffin.344 In all these interpretations the gift carries with it special privilege or advantage, though the chief virtue of the stone apparently lies in the name written upon it. The “new name” is not probably a new designation for the believer, but the new name of Christ (ch. 3:12) which is expressive of the new and more perfect revelation of him in heaven that only the redeemed can know (ch. 14:1). Many, however, regard the new name as the heavenly name of the individual Christian,345 and this would be quite as appropriate for a seal as the name of Christ. Pergamus was about a hundred miles north of Ephesus, and less than fifteen from the sea. It was at that time the official capital of the Province of Asia, and the seat of official authority. It ranked with Ephesus and Smyrna as one of the great cities of proconsular Asia, and though it is now chiefly “a city of magnificent ruins”, it still continues to exist under the name of Bergama at the present day.

(4) The Epistle to the Church in Thyatira, Ch. 2:18-29

The epistle to the church in Thyatira is Christ's message to a struggling church, a church which had shown love and faith, ministry and patience:—“Hold fast till I come”. Christ is called “the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished [or molten] brass”, i. e. he who is divine, and whose all-searching sight and destroying footstep will surely recompense the evil (cf. Dan. 10:6). It is interesting to note that the title “Son of God” which is here used is not found elsewhere in the book, though the divine personality of Christ is so evident throughout. Jezebel, the self-styled prophetess that the church had tolerated, but who with her children is about to be punished with death, is probably the symbolic name of a class or leader in the church, [pg 107] seducing it to sin.346 The angel of the church is regarded as the weak Ahab who allows himself to be the tool of this new Jezebel.347 “The deep things of Satan” designate the mysteries of the false doctrine here condemned.348 “The morning star” to be given to those who overcome,349 is such a revelation of Christ himself (ch. 22:16b) made to the redeemed when the night of earth is over as will usher in the morning of eternal day—the beginning of the future and ever progressive revelation of God. The titles applied to Christ in this epistle, “Son of God”, and “morning star”, have suggested a possible contrast in thought with Apollo, the sun-god worshipped at Thyatira, though such an allusion is quite uncertain. The epistle to this church is the central one of the seven, and is the longest as well as in some respects the most solemn of all the epistles. Thyatira lay about forty miles southeast from Pergamus, and was an important and wealthy city in the northern part of Lydia, though it never became a leading city of Asia. The modern name of the town is Ak-Hissar, “the white castle”.

(5) The Epistle to the Church in Sardis, Ch. 3:1-6

The epistle to the church in Sardis is Christ's message to a dying church, a church which had a name as living and yet in a sense was dead:—“Establish the things that remain”. Christ is designated as “he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars”, i. e. he that hath the Holy Spirit, whom the seven Spirits represent in his sevenfold or multiple activity, and—as seems to be implied by connecting the seven Spirits with the seven stars or angels of the churches—imparts the Spirit to the churches, upon which their life so fully depends. This church receives only rebuke, but the rebuke given is for [pg 108] lack of spiritual life rather than for any special form of sin. It is declared to have no works fulfilled before God—“before my God”, a Johannean phrase—and is exhorted to “remember ... and repent”, for Christ “will come as a thief”;350 but the “few names [or persons] in Sardis that did not defile their garments” are promised that they shall walk with Christ “in white”. The white garments here promised to the victors are emblems of the perfect purity and heavenly state of the glorified (cf. Bk. of Enoch, 90:31);351 while to blot one's name out of the book of life,352 a fate from which those who overcome are declared to be exempt, is to cease to have any part in the life eternal—a figure drawn from the custom of striking out the names of the dead from the list of citizens. Not only shall the name of him that overcometh be found in the register of the living, but it shall also be acknowledged before God and the angels. The command to “Watch” was a fitting exhortation for a city that was a well-nigh impregnable fortress, and yet had twice been seized by its enemies because of neglect within its walls.353 The exhortation to “hear what the Spirit saith to the churches”, in the last four of the epistles, it will be seen, follows instead of precedes the promise to the victors. This does not, however, imply that a distinction is thereby intended between the churches, dividing them into two groups, the first consisting of three and the second of four, the former faithful and the latter faithless, a view held by some.354 The difference is conceded to be chiefly one of “tone ... which it is easier to feel than to describe”,355 and it must be said that for most minds it does not exist. The church in Philadelphia, among the last four, is a steadfast church, while the church at Pergamus, among the first three, is an impure church in the view of many careful interpreters; and Ephesus has evidently gone back, while Thyatira has gone forward. The city of Sardis, to which this letter was addressed, lay about thirty miles south-east of Thyatira, and was anciently one of the most [pg 109] famous cities of Asia; but even in John's time it was “a town of the past ... decayed from its former estate ... and it is now only a ruin, with a tiny village called Sart, while the town is Saliki, about five miles east”.356

(6) The Epistle to the Church in Philadelphia, Ch. 3:7-13

The epistle to the church in Philadelphia is Christ's message to a steadfast church, a church which had kept his word and had not denied his name:—“Hold fast ... that no one take thy crown”. Christ is set forth as “he that is holy, he that is true”, i. e. he who possesses these attributes which are recognized as divine; and “he that hath the key of David”, i. e. he who has full control in the kingdom of God, of which the kingdom of David was the enduring type (cf. Isa. 22:22), he who grants or withholds according to his will. These titles of Christ, it will be seen, are not taken from the introductory vision, like most of those in the seven epistles, but from the Old Testament, probably, as has been suggested, because of the number of Jewish Christians in the Philadelphian church. The “door opened” is one of opportunity for service afforded by the position of Philadelphia on the borders of Mysia, Lydia, and Phrygia.357 Those “that say they are Jews and they are not”, are men untrue to their Judaism in rejecting the promised Messiah; for to John's mind it was evident that only such Jews as believe in Jesus could belong to the real people of God. “The hour of trial” (Gr. t?? pe??as??—of the trial), “that hour which is to come upon the whole world”, seems to be here equivalent to “the great tribulation” spoken of by our Lord (Matt. 24:21), and serves to introduce that element of shadow which ever hung in the background of Apocalyptic perspective. But the crisis at hand is not necessarily the end; the general tenor of the Revelation would rather show that it is only one of many crises that constantly progress toward the end.358 The reward of overcoming is to be made “a pillar in the temple of God”, i. e. in the ?a?? or inner sanctuary of [pg 110] the heavenly temple where God dwells, not so much for support as for glory and for beauty, like the pillars of brass in Solomon's temple (I K. 7:15f.), though perhaps with the additional idea of permanence and strength (cf. II Esdra. 2.15).

The pillar was not only a prominent part of ancient temples, but was often sculptured in human shape359—a beautiful conception of man's relation to religion. Also the name of God, of the city of God, and of the Son of God, Christ's own new name known only to himself, are to be written upon the victors in token of absolute divine ownership—three, the sign of the spiritual, being perhaps also in mind in the use of three names. Philadelphia, which lay about twenty-eight miles southeast from Sardis, receives unmixed praise, and the city remains almost unchanged unto this day, though it has been transformed into the Mohammedan town of Ala-Sheker, “the reddish city”, a name derived from the speckled, red brown hills around. It is renowned as having had the most glorious history of all the cities of Asia Minor in the long struggle against the Turks;360 and it is a remarkable fact that the churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna, the two which receive no censure in these epistles, both continue to exist unto the present time.

(7) The Epistle to the Church in Laodicea, Ch. 3:14-22

The epistle to the church in Laodicea is Christ's message to a self-deceived church, a church which had grown lukewarm and was neither cold nor hot:—“Be zealous ... and repent”. In this final letter Christ is called “the Amen [cf. Isa. 65:16, R. V. marg.], the faithful and true witness”,361 as a sure guaranty of the fulfilment of the promises; and he is also declared to be “the beginning of the creation of God”, i. e. not, indeed, the first whom God created, for Christ is not a creature, but rather he is the primal source and causative agent in divine creation,362 the One who began the creation of God, whether the material creation that waxeth old or the new creation that endureth [pg 111] forever. The church is openly rebuked for a tepid Christianity that is nauseous to Christ, a religion that is “neither cold nor hot”. Laodicea was a city of trade and enterprise, but John regarded the church as “devoid of initiative” in Christian work. The phrase “thou sayest I am rich ... and have need of nothing”, perhaps reflects the boast of the city which, proud of its wealth, had lately refused help from the liberality of the Emperor after being destroyed by an earthquake (A. D. 60); and the exhortation “I counsel thee to buy of me gold”, is perhaps a reference to the heavenly riches as far surpassing the earthly which the people of the city possessed. The “white garments”, the type of a pure life, may be here intended to be put in contrast with those produced from the glossy black wool of the sheep for which the place was noted; and the “eye-salve” to be contrasted with the noted eye-powder of the neighboring temple of Asklepios, as the restorer of spiritual vision.363 Laodicea during the Roman period attained great prosperity, and was the meeting place of the Council of Laodicea in A. D. 361, but has long since been ruined and deserted. It lay some sixty miles southeast of Philadelphia, and east of Ephesus, in the valley of the Lycus, and was the leading bishopric of Phrygia throughout the Christian period.364 In this closing epistle of the seven the climax of promise is reached in the assurance that “he that overcometh” shall sit with Christ in his Messiah throne (v. 21), i. e. shall share with him in the glory and rule of the church triumphant. This promise seems to take a forward glance to the vision of the next two chapters, especially to the view of the Lamb in the midst of the throne. A preparation is thus made for the sudden transition from the introduction and epistles to the chief visions of the book, after the closing words of this epistle have been written. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches,” is a final voice of admonition and warning to the church in Laodicea, to each of the seven churches in Asia, and then through them to the whole church throughout the world in all time, exhorting them to hear and obey the message given in each and all of the seven epistles.

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