Revelation 2:1

Revelation 2:1. The first church addressed is that of Ephesus, the city in which St. John himself is reported, according to the unanimous tradition of Christian antiquity, to have spent the closing period of his life. Yet, even if we adopt the later date for the composition of the Apocalypse, we can hardly suppose that we are to find in this circumstance the reason why Ephesus is first mentioned. It is more reasonable to think that the importance of that church in itself, together, it may be, with the special particulars of its internal condition, determined the place which is now assigned to it Ephesus was the most influential city of Asia Minor, the meeting-place of Eastern and Western thought, renowned not only for its commercial relations, but for that magnificent temple of Diana which was looked upon as one of the wonders of the world (Acts 19:27). St. Paul showed his sense of its importance by spending in it no less than three years of his busy life, and by using it as one of the great centres of his missionary labours. The angel of the church, that is, as we have seen, not its bishop or presiding pastor, but the church itself viewed as the appointed interpreter and messenger of Christ's purposes to the world, is now addressed by St. John.

First of all we have a description of Him from whom the message comes, taken from the description already given of Him in chap. 1, and more especially from Revelation 2:13; Revelation 2:16. There is a peculiar fitness in the selection for the first Epistle of these, the obviously prominent characteristics of the Lord as He is brought before us in that chapter; but there is nothing to lead us to think that the Church at Ephesus, viewed by itself, is more representative of the universal Church than any other of the seven. Two points of difference between the description of the Redeemer here and in chap. 1 are worthy of notice: (1) The substitution of the word holdeth fast for the word ‘hath' of the latter (Revelation 2:16). The first of these words is much stronger than the second, and denotes to retain firmly in the grasp (comp. chaps. Revelation 2:25; Revelation 3:11). It is therefore employed in the present instance with peculiar propriety, when the aim of the Seer is to set forth not so much the glory of the Lord Himself, as the power with which He retains His people under H is care, so that, even when decay has begun to mark them, they shall not be allowed finally to perish (John 10:28). (2) The word walketh for the simple being or standing of chap. Revelation 1:13, in order to indicate not merely that Christ's people surround and worship Him, but that He is engaged in observing and protecting them. Not one of their backslid ings or errors escapes His notice: they have no weakness which He will not strengthen, no want which He will not supply.