Revelation 2:5 Komentář

The apostle John, having in the foregoing chapter written the things which he had seen, now proceeds to write the things that are, according to the command of God (Rev 1:19), that is, the present state of the seven churches of Asia, with which he had a particular acquaintance, and for which he had a tender concern. He was directed to write to every one of them according to their present state and circumstances, and to inscribe every letter to the angel of that church, to the minister or rather ministry of that church, called angels because they are the messengers of God to mankind. In this chapter we have, I. The message sent to Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7). II. To Smyrna (Rev 2:8-11). III. To Pergamos (Rev 2:12-17). IV. To Thyatira (Rev 2:18, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 2 This chapter contains the epistles to the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira. It begins with that to Ephesus, in which the sender of it describes himself by some of his characters mentioned in the preceding chapter; takes notice of some things commendable in this church, Rev 2:1, reproves her for leaving her first love; gives some advice upon it; threatens her in case of non-repentance; yet notwithstanding commends her for her detestation of some bad practices; and concludes the epistle with a phrase exciting to attention to what is written, and with a promise to them that are constant and conquering, Rev 2:4, next follows the epistle to the church at Smyrna, in which the sender assumes some of his former titles; takes notice of her works in general, and of her afflictions in particular, and of the blasphemy of others, Rev 2:8, fortifies her against a great affliction to be endured, described by its author, kind, use, and duration; and exhorts to faithfulness and constancy, with a promise of a crown of life, Rev 2:10, and closes the epistle in the same form as the preceding, promising security from the second death to the persevering and conquering Christian, Rev 2:11, and next in order is the epistle to the church at Pergamos, in which the sender takes to him one of the above characters in the description of him; observes her works and place of abode, and commends her faithfulness to him in the worst of times and places, Rev 2:12, yet exhibits a complaint against her for having, and conniving at persons of bad principles and practice, called Balaamites and Nicolaitans, Rev 2:14, exhorts to repentance, and in failure of it threatens to come and fight against them; and closes the epistle in the same manner as the two former, with a promise of hidden manna, a white stone, and a new name to him that overcomes, Rev 2:16, and the last epistle in this chapter is that to the church at Thyatira, in which the sender makes use of some other titles and characters of his before mentioned; takes notice of her good works, and yet signifies he had a controversy with her, for permitting a false prophetess to teach in her, who seduced men to fornication and idolatry, Rev 2:18, whose impenitence is complained of, and which was aggravated by having space for repentance given her, Rev 2:21, wherefore, in case of continuance in impenitence, he threatens both her and her followers with tribulation and death, whereby the omniscience and justice of Christ would be manifest to all the churches, Rev 2:22, and then another and better sort of men in this church are addressed, who are described as not having imbibed the doctrine of the false prophetess, and as not approving the depths of Satan, or her doctrines of devils; and these are told that no other burden should be laid on them than was, and are exhorted to hold fast what they had, until the coming of Christ, Rev 2:24, and for their encouragement to hold on to the end, many promises are made unto them respecting their power and rule over their enemies, and the happy days that they should enjoy, Rev 2:26, and the epistle is concluded with the usual epiphonema, Rev 2:29.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen,.... Believers cannot totally and finally fall away from the grace which they have received; but they may fall into sin, and from a degree of grace, and the exercise of it, as these first and pure churches did, from some degree of their love to God, and Christ, and one another; and therefore are called upon to remember, mind, and observe from what degree of it they were fallen; in order to bring them under a conviction and acknowledgment of their evil, and a sense of their present state, and to quicken their desires after a restoration to their former one: and repent; of their coldness and lukewarmness, of the remissness of their love, and of those evils which brought it upon them: and do the first works; of faith and love, with the like zeal and fervour, which will show the repentance to be sincere and genuine; so the Arabic version reads, "and exercise the former works, to wit, charity" or "love". The Jews have a saying (b), "if a man repents, do not say to him, "remember" , "thy first works"; which they seem to understand of evil works; but former good works are to be remembered and done, to show the truth of repentance for evil ones, Or else I will come unto thee quickly; not in a spiritual way, to pay a love visit, nor in a judicial way, to take vengeance or inflict punishment, but in a providential way, to rebuke and chastise: and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent; or thee out of the candlestick, the pastor from the church, either by persecution or by death; or else the church, and church state itself, signified by a candlestick; See Gill on Rev 1:12; and may design a shaking and an unsettling of it, which is sometimes done by violent persecutions, and by false teachers and their doctrines, and by the divisions and contentions of saints among themselves; and by the former particularly was there a change made in the state of this apostolic church, when it passed into the Smyrnean one, which was a period of great persecution and distress; for this cannot be understood of the total removing of the church state itself quickly, no, not of Ephesus itself; for though there is not now indeed, nor has there been for many hundred years, a church of Christ in that place, yet there was one till the times of Constantine, when there was none in any of the other seven cities, and a long time after; See Gill on Act 20:17; which shows, that this was not a commination or threatening of divine vengence to that church literally, but to the state of the church, which that represented; nor does it intend the utter abolition of that church, for the apostolic church still continued, though it ceased to be in the circumstances it was before, (b) Misn. Bava Metzia, c. 4. sect. 10.

Further, also, concerning Jerusalem and the Lord, they venture to assert that, if it had been "the city of the great King," it would not have been deserted. This is just as if any one should say, that if straw were a creation of God, it would never part company with the wheat. But as these vine twigs have not been originally made for their own sake, but for that of the fruit growing upon them, which being come to maturity and taken away, they are left behind, and those which do not conduce to fructification are lopped off altogether; so also was it with Jerusalem.

Women who possessed angels (as husbands) could desire nothing more; they had, forsooth, made a grand match! Assuredly they who, of course, did sometimes think whence they had fallen, and, after the heated impulses of their lusts, looked up toward heaven, thus requited that very excellence of women, natural beauty, as (having proved) a cause of evil, in order that their good fortune might profit them nothing; but that, being turned from simplicity and sincerity, they, together with (the angels) themselves, might become offensive to God.

I have read your letter, beloved brethren, wherein you wrote that your wholesome counsel was not wanting to our brethren, that, laying aside all rash haste, they should manifest a religious patience to God, so that when by His mercy we come together, we may debate upon all kinds of things, according to the discipline of the Church, especially since it is written, "Remember from whence thou hast fallen, and repent." Now he repents, who, remembering the divine precept, with meekness and patience, and obeying the priests of God, deserves well of the Lord by his obedience and his righteous works.

You have done uprightly and with discipline, beloved brethren, that, by the advice of my colleagues who were present, you have decided not to communicate with Gaius the presbyter of Didda, and his deacon; who, by communicating with the lapsed, and offering their oblations, have been frequently taken in their wicked errors; and who once and again, as you wrote to me, when warned by my colleagues not to do this, have persisted obstinately, in their presumption and audacity, deceiving certain brethren also from among our people, whose benefit we desire with all humility to consult, and whose salvation we take care for, not with affected adulation, but with sincere faith, that they may supplicate the Lord with true penitence and groaning and sorrow, since it is written, "Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent." And again, the divine Scripture says, "Thus saith the Lord, When thou shalt be converted and lament, then thou shalt be saved, and shall know where thou hast been."

That all sins may be forgiven him who has turned to God with his whole heart... Also in the Apocalypse: "Remember whence thou hast fallen, and repent; but if not, I will come to thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of its place."

But I wonder that some are so obstinate as to think that repentance is not to be granted to the lapsed, or to suppose that pardon is to be denied to the penitent, when it is written, "Remember whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works," which certainly is said to him who evidently has fallen, and whom the Lord exhorts to rise up again by his works, because it is written, "Alms do deliver from death," and not, assuredly, from that death which once the blood of Christ extinguished, and from which the saving grace of baptism and of our Redeemer has delivered us, but from that which subsequently creeps in through sins. Moreover, in another place time is granted for repentance; and the Lord threatens him that does not repent: "I have," saith He, "many things against thee, because thou sufferest thy wife Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols; and I gave her a space to repent, and she will not repent of her fornication. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds; " whom certainly the Lord would not exhort to repentance, if it were not that He promises mercy to them that repent.

"And thou hast left thy first love: remember whence thou hast fallen." He who falls, falls from a height: therefore He said whence: because, even to the very last, works of love must be practised; and this is the principal commandment. Finally, unless this is done, He threatened to remove their candlestick out of its place, that is, to disperse the congregation.

Note that he did not say that he “takes away” [the lampstand] but that he “moves.” For the lampstand signifies the one Christian people. Therefore, he says that this lampstand is to be moved, not taken away, so that we might understand that in the very same church the evil are moved and the good confirmed. Moreover, he means that by the hidden but nonetheless just judgment of God, that which is taken from the evil is given as increase to the good. This fulfills that which is written, “He who has, it will be added to him; but to him who has not, even that which he has shall be taken from him.”

He says, but I have this against you, that you have abandoned your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the works you did at first in righteousness. As he says, "your good deeds have not escaped me," (Job. 34:21) likewise, you have not ceased your love for those in need. Therefore, return to the previous kindness taught by me, which you have neglected. He said, "See that you do not turn back from where you have gone out." The coming to you does not indicate a transitional movement, since God fills all things, but rather a turning as if from patience to punishment. The removal of the lampstand, or rather the church, he says is its own abandonment which occurs against those who sin; in everything, they are thrown into confusion and turmoil, as it is also said: "My eye has been troubled in my anger; and my heart within me was troubled." (Ps. 30:10; 54:4)

For although he wishes that we remember those instances in which we have badly fallen, he exhorts that we might not fall again. And that our faults which we have committed might be cleansed, he shows a way by which one might come to pardon when he says, “Repent.” That is, wash away your sins with tears, just as “that sinful woman,” as a type of the church, “washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and wiped them with her hair.” And he exhorts and commands what one should do after repentance: “Do your first works,” either by an extraordinary goodness or do those works which you had done in the earnestness of your first conversion.

But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity. Be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen: and do penance, and do the first works. Let us not believe that the one who has left his first charity is the one he honored with such great praise in the previous verse; but from this species he turns his speech towards another, which he judges worthy of reprimand. By the first charity, he means that of earlier times, using a human way of speaking. Or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance. What does it mean to say to an unrepentant man, I come to thee, if not “I will make thee feel the presence of my wrath?” And since the angel and the candlestick are one in signification, what does it mean to say I will move thy candlestick out of its place, if not “I will move thee?” Here we must understand not the whole angel, but the unrepentant part of him, and its place is the Church; for since he is dealing not with genus but with species in the angel, he shows the place of the species in the genus. It is also to be noted that he does not say “I will throw away,” but I will move, showing that an unrepentant person is by no means totally torn away from the Church as long as they are in this life, but that, because of their unrepentant heart, they do not deserve the gift of holiness by which they shone before human eyes. The Lord is said to move a candlestick (that is, not to set it up) in the same way as he is said to harden Pharaoh's heart. [Ex. 4:21; 7:3, 13, 22; 8:19; 9:12, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8] So when someone commits a fault, then their candlestick is moved in the sight of men; but if they quickly stand up through penitence, it is mercifully put back in the same place; and that is why many are standing in the sight of God, who in the sight of men seem to be lying down. Therefore he says, I will quickly move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance, that is “Thou shalt not get the gift of holiness back after thy fall, except thou take care to soften thy heart to penance.”

Remember - Consider the state of grace in which you once stood; the happiness, love, and joy which you felt when ye received remission of sins; the zeal ye had for God's glory and the salvation of mankind; your willing, obedient spirit, your cheerful self-denial, your fervor in private prayer, your detachment from the world, and your heavenly-mindedness. Remember - consider, all these. Whence thou art fallen - Fallen from all those blessed dispositions and gracious feelings already mentioned. Or, remember what a loss you have sustained; for so εκπιπτειν is frequently used by the best Greek writers. Repent - Be deeply humbled before God for having so carelessly guarded the Divine treasure. Do the first works - Resume your former zeal and diligence; watch, fast, pray, reprove sin, carefully attend all the ordinances of God, walk as in his sight, and rest not till you have recovered all your lost ground, and got back the evidence of your acceptance with your Maker. I will come unto thee quickly - In the way of judgment. And will remove thy candlestick - Take away my ordinances, remove your ministers, and send you a famine of the word. As there is here an allusion to the candlestick in the tabernacle and temple, which could not be removed without suspending the whole Levitical service, so the threatening here intimates that, if they did not repent, etc., he would unchurch them; they should no longer have a pastor, no longer have the word and sacraments, and no longer have the presence of the Lord Jesus.

EPISTLES TO EPHESUS, SMYRNA, PERGAMOS, THYATIRA. (Rev. 2:1-29) Ephesus--famed for the temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the world. For three years Paul labored there. He subsequently ordained Timothy superintending overseer or bishop there: probably his charge was but of a temporary nature. John, towards the close of his life, took it as the center from which he superintended the province. holdeth--Greek, "holdeth fast," as in Rev 2:25; Rev 3:11; compare Joh 10:28-29. The title of Christ here as "holding fast the seven stars (from Rev 1:16 : only that, for having is substituted holding fast in His grasp), and walking in the midst of the seven candlesticks," accords with the beginning of His address to the seven churches representing the universal Church. Walking expresses His unwearied activity in the Church, guarding her from internal and external evils, as the high priest moved to and fro in the sanctuary.

whence--from what a height. do the first works--the works which flowed from thy first love. Not merely "feel thy first feelings," but do works flowing from the same principle as formerly, "faith which worketh by love." I will come--Greek, "I am coming" in special judgment on thee. quickly--omitted in two oldest manuscripts, Vulgate and Coptic versions: supported by one oldest manuscript. remove thy candlestick out of his place--I will take away the Church from Ephesus and remove it elsewhere. "It is removal of the candlestick, not extinction of the candle, which is threatened here; judgment for some, but that very judgment the occasion of mercy for others. So it has been. The seat of the Church has been changed, but the Church itself survives. What the East has lost, the West has gained. One who lately visited Ephesus found only three Christians there, and these so ignorant as scarcely to have heard the names of St. Paul or St. John" [TRENCH].