Revelation 2:13

I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. I KNOW THY WORKS. So B; but 'Aleph (') A C, Vulgate, Coptic, omit. SATAN'S SEAT - rather, all through Revelation, "throne." Satan, in impious mimicry of God's heavenly throne, sets up his earthly throne (). Esculapius was worshipped there under the serpent form. Satan, the old servant, as instigator (cf. ) of devotees of Esculapius, and, through them, of the supreme magistracy at Pergamos, persecuted one of the Lord's people (Antipas) to death. This address is an anticipatory preface to...

12-17 The word of God is a sword, able to slay both sin and sinners. It turns and cuts every way; but the believer need not fear this sword; yet this confidence cannot be supported without steady obedience. As our Lord notices all the advantages and opportunities we have for duty in the places where we dwell, so he notices our temptations and discouragements from the same causes. In a situation of trials, the church of Pergamos had not denied the faith, either by open apostacy, or by giving way so as to avoid the cross. Christ commends their stedfastness, but reproves their sinful failures. A wrong view of gospel doctrine and Christian liberty, was a root of bitterness from which evil practices grew. Repentance is the duty of churches and bodies of men, as well as of particular persons; those who sin together, should repent together. Here is the promise of favour to those that overcome....

Verse Revelation 2:13. _WHERE SATAN'S SEAT IS_] Ὁπου ὁ θρονος του Σατανα· _Where Satan has his throne_-where he _reigns_ as king, and is universally obeyed. It was a maxim among the Jews, that where the law of God was _not_ studied, there Satan dwelt; but he was obliged to leave the place where a synagogue or academy was established. _THOU HOLDEST FAST MY NAME_] Notwithstanding that the profession of _Christianity_ exposed this Church to the bitterest persecution, they held fast the name of _Christian_, which they had received from Jesus Christ, and _did not deny his faith_; for when brought to the trial they openly professed themselves disciples and followers of their Lord and Master. _ANTIPAS_ was _my faithful martyr_] Who this _Antipas_ was we cannot tell. We only know that he wa

I KNOW THY WORKS - The uniform mode of addressing the seven churches in these epistles. See the notes on Revelation 2:2. AND WHERE THOU DWELLEST - That is, I know all the temptations to which you are exposed; all the allurements to sin by which you are surrounded; all the apologies which might be made for what has occurred arising from those circumstances; and all that could be said in commendation of you for having been as faithful as you have been. The sense of the passage is, that it does much to enable us to judge of character to know where people live. It is much more easy to be virtuous and pious in some circumstances than in others; and in order to determine how much credit is due to a man for his virtues, it is necessary to understand how much he has been called to resist, how many temptations he has encounte

EXPOSITION REVELATION 3:1 _The epistles to the seven Churches. _Once more we have to consider rival interpretations. Of these we may safely set aside all those which make the seven letters to be pictures of _successive periods _in the history of the Church. On the other hand, we may safely deny that the letters are _purely typical, _and relate to nothing definite in history. Rather they are _both historical and typical. _They refer primarily to the actual condition of the several Churches in St. John's own day, and then are intended for the instruction, encouragement, and warning of the Church and the Churches throughout all time. The Catholic Church, or any one of its branches, will at any period find itself reflected in one or other of the seven Churches. For two Churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia, there is nothing but

I KNOW THY WORKS,.... Both good and bad, and which in that pure part of this church, which opposed the growing corruptions of antichrist, were for the most part good. AND WHERE THOU DWELLEST, [EVEN] WHERE SATAN'S SEAT [IS]. Pergamos was a city very much given to idolatry, here Satan reigned while it was Pagan, and so was a fit emblem of the idolatrous church of Rome. Pausanias says a, the country the Pergamenes inhabited was sacred to the Cabiri, the chief gods of the Heathens. And the same writer b observes, that Aesculapius particularly was worshipped at Pergamos; and hence he is called by Martial c the Pergamean god; to his temple here, men used to go from different parts of the world for cure of diseases; hither Antoninus the emperor went for such a purpose, as Herodian d relates; and this being a common thing, hence Lucian e scoffingly says, that Aesculapius had an apothecary's sho...

REVELATION 2:13 VAntipa/j Since the context seems to demand the genitive VAntipa/, several modern exegetes (including Swete, Charles, Zahn) adopt Lachmann’s conjecture that, after accidental dittography of the definite article (antipaoomartuc), the first omicron was taken as a sigma. The Committee, however, regarded the conjecture as more ingenious than compelling....

II. THE THINGS WHICH ARE, THE SEVEN CHURCH MESSAGES, AND THEIR PROPHETIC MEANING CHAPTER 2 _ 1. Ephesus: The post-apostolic period (Revelation 2:1)_ 2. Smyrna: The period of persecution (Revelation 2:8) 3. Pergamos: The corruption period (Revelation 2:12) 4. Thyatira: The Romish corruption (Revelation 2:18) The two Chapter s which follow the introductory chapter contain seven messages to seven local churches which were in existence in the province of Asia in the days when the Apostle John was prisoner in the isle of Patmos. The view held by the late Dr. Bullinge

REVELATION 2:1 TO REVELATION 3:22. THE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES. These letters are addressed to individual churches, but their messages are intended for the Church as a whole. In every letter there occurs the phrase, He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches....

THE CITY OF _PERGAMOS_ STOOD ABOUT TWENTY MILES FROM THE SEA, AND WAS ONCE CAPITAL OF. KINGDOM BY THE SAME NAME. IT STILL EXISTS, IS CALLED BERGAMOS, AND HAS. POPULATION OF ABOUT 14,000, OF WHOM 3,300 ARE NOMINALLY CHRISTIANS. THE SEVEN CHURCHES.--At the time when John wrote there were hundreds of churches in existence. On the Asiatic Continent many had been founded in Judea, Syria, and elsewhere, and in the district of which Ephesus was the commercial metropolis, and which was especially designated as _Asia,_ we know that in the last quarter of the first century there were not only the seven churches named, but Colossae, Hierapolis, and perhaps many more. Why then should the Lord direct his message to the seven churches alone? If the reader will turn over the pages of Revelation he will be surprised by the frequency with which the number _seven_ occurs. There are the Seven Spirits of Go...