Chapter 2 (Monday of the First Week of Advent)

‘To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands: 

‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God. 

‘And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the first and the last, who was dead and came to life: 

‘I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death. 

‘And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword: 

‘I know where you are living, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practise fornication. So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it. 

‘And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze: 

‘I know your works—your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first. But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practise fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call “the deep things of Satan”, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden; only hold fast to what you have until I come. To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end,
I will give authority over the nations;
to rule them with an iron rod,
   as when clay pots are shattered—
even as I also received authority from my Father. To the one who conquers I will also give the morning star. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. 

Commentary

According to the purely historical analysis of the times—a view that is much too inadequate—this is the period of the cult of Caesar under Domitian, with its resultant persecution of Christians; what is at stake is the position of the Church vis-à-vis the claims of the Roman superpower, which is the civitas terrena or diaboli and which will assume even more menacing forms in the future. Incidentally, there is not the least hint that the cult of the Emperor’s image has been imposed on the communities of Asia Minor to which the seven letters are addressed; in fact, a considerable state persecution had already broken out. However, what is at the center here is a more all-embracing law, a law that could be discerned not only in the relation to Roman state power but, at an earlier stage, in the relation to the “synagogue of Satan” (2:9; 3:9), the Jews, those who plumb the “deep things of Satan” (2:24), the Gnostics, the worshipers at “Satan’s throne” (2:13) and the Gentiles. Increasingly, Christ’s witnesses could not avoid such encounters, and so arose the fundamental law of post-Christian world history: the more Christ’s kingdom is manifested as the light of the world, as a city set on a hill and as leaven, the more it will meet determined opposition and the more extensive the satanic counter-strategy will prove. There is nothing new about this law. It governed much that took place in the Old Testament, where God stretched out his hands toward a recalcitrant nation that continually provoked him to anger through its idolatry. Here love takes the form of vengeance: “I shall not rest until I have paid them back for their sins” (Is 65:2-7). It informs the New Covenant: the more the love of Jesus for his people is revealed, the more it stiffens their resistance, until they resolve to kill him; so too he weeps for Jerusalem, since it has failed to recognize its hour and is doomed to be left desolate (Lk 13:34f.). The only difference between this and the Book of Revelation is that, in the latter, the law of heightened resistance is vindicated in the context of the Lamb’s established victory. Here, world history is not a demonstration of progressive integration—Augustine was right—but is characterized by an increasing polarization; moreover, it becomes harder and harder to tell the poles apart, because of the counterfeiting activity of the anti-Trinity and the anti-Lamb (Rev 13:11). In this way we can grasp something of the paradox of the Book of Revelation: the Lamb can appear as the ultimate Victor and as the Lord of all history, while at the same time he is depicted riding out to do battle and to slaughter (19:11ff.). On the secular stage, the prior announcement of victory would be regarded as destroying all dramatic tension; on the apocalyptic stage, however, it is this very victory that causes the real dramatic action to spark into flame. 

Musical Selection

The Overcomers (Michael Card)

I know your deeds, I've seen your service
I recognize the reputation of your lives
But I know you live near Satan's shadow
And I have seen your faithful struggles to survive

And to the one who overcomes I'll give the manna
He'll have a pure white stone with his own secret name
She will possess the morning star in all its splendor
All this and more for them because they overcame
All this and more for them because they overcame

So just hold on, do not grow weary
For I am He who searches hearts and minds
Behold I'm standing at the door and I am knocking
And the one who hears and opens it will find

That the one who overcomes will rule the nations
On the throne he'll sit beside me dressed in white
She will become a column in God's holy temple
They will all eat freely from the Tree of Life
They will all eat freely from the Tree of Life

The overcomers come to understand
That they are precious poems printed
In the palms of His hands

And to the one who overcomes I'll give the manna
He'll have a pure white stone with his own secret name
She will possess the morning star in all its splendor
All this and more for them because they overcame

And to the one who overcomes I'll give the manna
He'll have a pure white stone with his own secret name
She will possess the morning star in all its splendor
All this and more for them because they overcame
All this and more for them because they overcame
All this and more for them because they overcame

Collect

Lord our God,
keep your servants alert and watchful
as we await the return of Christ your Son,
so that when he comes and knocks at the door
he may find us vigilant in prayer,
with songs of praise on our lips.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.