The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 2:1-17 from the daily reading In the One Year Bible

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

² ‘I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; ³ and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ⁵ Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. ⁶ But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’

⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:

⁹ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander by those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

¹² “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:

¹³ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold firmly to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth. ¹⁷ The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’

As we look together at the letters to the seven churches, we will do it not so much from what the specifics of those particular churches were, but rather to understand what the messages might mean for us today. In doing that, it is important to remember, that Like the letters of Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude, these are messages to the church, not to unbelievers. As believers, we should not expect that unbelievers will receive or even fully understand the warnings of Revelation. In 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 God says:  If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  As believers, it is we who need to hear and heed the messages of Revelation. It is we as believers who need to repent in the areas we have fallen. In Matthew 24:13 Jesus says: “The one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved.”  We need to endure to the end. We need to repent, that perhaps God would still heal our land.

The text begins: “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:  ‘I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’”   In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus says: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.”  If we do the right things for the wrong reasons, we still need to repent, to change our way of thinking. Our service to God and our obedience to Him must be born out of our love for Him, not out of religion or tradition. We must never forget that our first love and the first and foremost commandment are the same, that we love Him with our whole heart, soul and mind. In Psalm 37:3-4 says: Trust in the Lord and do good;
Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

The text continues: “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:  ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander by those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’”  There was no warning or rebuke for the church that was poor and persecuted, simply an encouragement to again be faithful and endure to the end. Perhaps we will see those like the church in Smyrna rise in the western church, as the days continue to darken and true believers are tested and imprisoned. In John 16:1-2;33 Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you so that you will not be led into sin. They will ban you from the synagogue, yet an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering a service to God… These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  “Do not fear, be faithful.”

Finally, today’s text says: “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:  ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold firmly to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’”   It seems as though Satan’s throne is being raised up in our culture and society today. We are called to hold firmly to Jesus name.There are many today who teach that God has changed His mind about idolatry and immorality. They put stumbling blocks before the chosen people of God through their deceiving and deception. In Luke 17:1-2 Jesus says: “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin.”  “Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, for Your word, Your exhortation and Your warning to we who believe. May we: humble ourselves, and pray and seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways, that You might hear from heaven, and forgive our sin and will heal our land. May we hear what the Spirit says to the church and endure to the end in love and faithfulness.  Amen.