Глава II

Epistles to the churches of Ephesus (1-7), Smyrna (8-11), Pergamum (12-17) and Thyatira (18-29), consisting of appeal, praise and reprimand, exhortation, and promise of reward. Rev.2:1. Write to the angel of the church of Ephesus: Thus says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: Rev.2:2. I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and that you cannot endure the depraved, and I have tested those who call themselves apostles, but they are not, and found that they are liars; Rev.2:3. You have endured much and have patience, and for My name you have labored and have not fainted. From the second chapter begins the presentation of the very messages that St. John was to write and send to the churches of Asia Minor. All seven messages in their external form are very similar to one another and equally consist of an inscription, an introduction, a main part, an appeal and a reward. The inscription indicates the name of the church; the introduction depicts the Lord appearing to John with an attribute corresponding to the state of the given church; the main part talks about its advantages and disadvantages; in the appeal there is a call to a perfect life, and the reward is retribution for this life. In first place among the seven churches is the Church of Ephesus, as the closest to Fr. Patmos. Ephesus is a glorious ancient city on the shores of the Icarian Sea between Smyrna and Miletus. – The Lord turns to the Primate (Angel) of the Ephesian Church, pointing to His attributes: seven lamps and seven stars, and says: I know your deeds, that is, your whole life, as the revelation of your soul; I know your efforts to stand at the height of moral perfection; I also know your patience with which you endure all persecution and oppression from the pagans. The Ephesians are praised for their attitude towards the depraved, that is, towards people of bad morals, and those uncalled and malicious preachers. And the Ephesians, with their obviously not entirely clear Christian dogmatic knowledge, needed a lot of love and devotion - Ap. Paul and John, so as to remain with their former Christian teaching and not change it. Rev.2:4. But I have this against you, that you left your first love. Rev.2:5. Remember therefore from whence you fell, and repent, and do the first works; but if not so, I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp from its place, unless you repent. Obviously, before, their love, manifested in acts of mercy, was incomparably stronger than now. And since nothing can replace love, the Ephesians are advised to abandon the pride of their Christian knowledge and labor, repent of their current coldness and return to their former deeds of love. In 5 tbsp. The Lord threatens the Ephesians with His punitive visit, threatens them with the deprivation of His saving grace. The lamp in question here is the church with its archpastors and gifts of grace. The Lord threatens to take all this away from the Ephesians and transfer it to another place. – Now, on the site of the ancient magnificent Ephesus, from behind a heap of ruins, rises the small village of Aia-Soluk, where there is a mosque built from the former Church of St. John the Theologian. Thus this lamp of primitive Christianity was moved from its place 9 . Rev.2:6. However, the good thing about you is that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. But comforting and encouraging the Ephesians, the Lord praises them for their reluctance to the heresy of the Nicolaitans, who descended from the Antioch proselyte Nicholas, one of the seven deacons of the Jerusalem church. In Ephesus, the Nicolaitans were hated and expelled, since in their teaching of licentiousness they represented the complete opposite of the prudent restraint of the Ephesian Christians, who generally did not tolerate depraved people 10 . Rev.2:7. Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. The proclamation, which is added to the message of the Ephesian Church, is the usual one in St. Scripture calls for attentiveness (Matthew 11:15; Luke 8:8). It is not Jesus Christ that is exposed, but the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is the power that enlightened the Old Testament prophets, apostles, and now John himself, as well as every believer in general in the assimilation of revelation. – The award is quite consistent with the previous depiction of the merits of the Ephesian Christians. For their strict abstinence and hatred of the intemperate Nicolaitans, they are promised as a reward eating the fruits of the tree of life. In relation to Rev. 22:2, this tree of life can be taken as that blessed tree, which in the future life in the New Jerusalem will constitute one of the conditions and sources of bliss, just as in the first paradise the tree of life was such (Gen. 2:9). Rev.2:8. And write to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, Who was dead, and behold, is alive: The city of Smyrna is one of the most ancient cities of Asia Minor. The Smyrna Church arose after 70. Smyrna to this day retains the dignity of a metropolitanate and in its external condition surpasses all the ancient Christian cities of this region. To the bishop of this church, perhaps to St. The Lord addresses Polycarp with His revelation. His words contain an indication of Jesus Christ as the Almighty, who in Himself indicates the purpose of existence. The resurrection of Jesus Christ assures Christians of the possibility of receiving eternal bliss after the general resurrection and judgment. Rev.2:9. I know your works, and sorrow, and poverty [yet you are rich], and the slander of those who say about themselves that they are Jews, but they are not, but the synagogue of Satan. In the words of Art. 9 The Lord raises the Smirnians to the idea of ​​His providential omniscience. He sees human sorrows and material poverty; but he values ​​both patient Christian hope and devotion to God, which are here called Christian wealth. The Apocalypse calls the Jews a synagogue of Satan, thereby making it clear that he means the Jews who have become decisively hostile to Christianity. And their synagogue control made the Jews especially strong and harmful in this case (James 2:6–7). Rev.2:10. Do not be afraid of anything that you will have to endure. Behold, the devil will cast you from among you into prison to tempt you, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. In the near future the Smyrneans were to undergo great tribulations, special misfortunes and persecutions. But now the Smirans hear that the Lord Almighty is looking at them with His all-seeing eye. The consolation and encouragement here mainly lies in the fact that the main culprit of these sufferings, their purpose and their duration are indicated. The persecution of Christians and the imprisonment of many of them will occur at the instigation of the devil (1 Peter 4:12). But God, who allowed the devil to institute persecution against the Smyrna Christians in the near future, will limit his activity to a short time. For Christians, death itself should not be terrible, which will be the lot of some of them during persecution. – This death will only be a transition to a new, blessed and eternal life: the crown is a symbol of reward and glorification (2 Tim 4:8; 1 Pet 5:4). Rev.2:11. He who has an ear [to hear], let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: He who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death. After the usual appeal to attentiveness, the Smyrna Christians are given the promise of a reward: deliverance from the second death. The second death is precisely Gehenna (Matthew 5:29–30; Luke 12:5). She is death, both second and different (special). It occurs only for those who are subject to the action of the first death, that is, the separation of soul and body, and consists in the final deprivation of a person of divine grace. Liberation from this eternal death, in other words, from eternal torment, is what the Lord promises to the Smyrna Christians, persecuted for their faith. Rev.2:12. And write to the Angel of the Church of Pergamum: Thus says He who has a sword sharp on both sides: Pergamum, to the Angel of the church of which the Lord addresses in the 12th century, in ancient times was the main city of Media and for some time even the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamum. The Christian church in Pergamum, although surrounded by the darkness of superstition, did not overshadow its faith; and this lamp of ancient Christianity still shines with the pure light of Christian teaching. The expression of the Lord’s appeals to the Bishop of Pergamon indicates a special property of the Divine word, which manifests itself in admonition, in warning and in calling a person to repentance and self-correction. Rev.2:13. I know your works, and that you live where the throne of Satan is, and that you uphold My name, and did not renounce My faith even in those days in which among you, where Satan lives, My faithful witness Antipas was killed. The words: “throne of Satan” refers to the special position of Pergamum in the spread of pagan religion. In Pergamon, at the church of Aesculapius, an extensive scientific and religious society was formed - an institution where the priests were exceptional doctors of all diseases 11. The serpent, being a sacred symbol of the Pergamon god and usually kept alive in his temple, was an object of disgust for Christians, as a symbol of the prince of darkness, the culprit of paganism. So the city of Pergamum itself can be called primarily the throne of Satan 12. The Lord praises the Pergamum Christians for the fact that, despite their unfavorable position among the most rude and fanatical pagan population, they remained true Christians. The indication of the particular historical fact of the martyrdom of Antipas is a clear confirmation of the firmness of the faith of the Pergamum Christians. - Antipas, who occupied the place of the Bishop of Pergamon, was tortured around the year 93, being burned in the entrails of a red-hot bull. Rev.2:14. But I have a little against you, because you have there those who hold the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to lead the children of Israel into temptation, so that they would eat things sacrificed to idols and commit fornication. Rev.2:15. So you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which I hate. The praise for their virtues is accompanied by censure, which consists of reproaching the Pergamum Christians for their condescending attitude towards the Nicolaitans, who are likened to Balaam for their licentiousness. The Nicolaitans did not actually belong to the Pergamon Christian society; they were apparently excommunicated from him, although they lived in the same city. Rev.2:16. Repent; but if not so, I will quickly come to you and fight with them with the sword of My mouth. The warning, the call for a stricter attitude towards the Nicolaitans, is intended only for faithful Christians. A more severe threat is uttered against heretics. If they do not repent, then the Lord will visit Pergamum with His punishing right hand and strike the heretics with the sword of His mouth. By this sword one can understand the extraordinary action of God's providence, which sometimes strikes the wicked by one utterance of His almighty word. Rev.2:17. He who has an ear [to hear], let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes I will give to eat the hidden manna; And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except the one who receives it. The comparison of the two rewards - the hidden manna and the white stone - clearly shows that these reward items are only symbols. By hidden manna we can understand the body and blood of Jesus Christ, which believers eat in the sacrament of the Eucharist. So this reward applies not only to the future life, but also to the present, consisting in the teaching of mysterious Divine grace. – The white stone with the inscription should remind the readers of the Apocalypse of the stone that was given out both at trial to indicate acquittal or accusation, and during competition at the games as an expression of reward. And underneath it is symbolically depicted the verdict of God’s judgment on every Christian, according to which verdict he receives either punishment or reward. Here on earth and there in heaven, this reward is special for everyone (no one knows except the one who receives), as a blissful state of his spirit. Rev.2:18. And write to the angel of the church of Thyatira: Thus says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like chalcolivan: Thyatira, where the fourth message of the Lord is assigned, is a small Lydian town in Asia Minor, and was a Macedonian colony. Currently it is a Muslim town; The number of Orthodox Christians is small, and their only church stands in the middle of the cemetery and has almost completely grown into the ground. In addressing the Thyatirian Christians with his epithet, the Lord indicates the properties of His Divine nature: fire combines in a candle both the beneficial property of warming and life-giving (the goodness of God), and the property of purification and destruction (God's Justice). Rev.2:19. I know your works and love and service and faith and patience, and that your last works are greater than your first. The Lord praises the Thyatirians 1) for their mercy and love for their neighbors; 2) for the conscious assimilation of the tenets of the Christian faith; 3) for patiently enduring earthly misfortunes and sorrows and 4) for the Christian desire for greater perfection in virtues. Rev.2:20. But I have a few things against you, because you allow the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and mislead My servants to commit fornication and eat things sacrificed to idols. For the Thyatirians, with their pure Christian life, condescension towards the wife of Jezebel represented a moral danger 13. Under this wife one can see both a figurative designation of the Nicolaitan heresy, and a historical figure, the famous woman Jezebel, who falsely posed as a prophetess. inclined Christians to actions contrary to Christian morality, to the heresy of the Nicolaitans. Possessing the authority of a prophetess, she was all the stronger, bolder and more successful in inclining many Christians to a depraved life and to neglecting Christian discipline (eating sacrifices to idols). Rev.2:21. I gave her time to repent of her fornication, but she did not repent. Rev.2:22. Behold, I am throwing her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. Rev.2:23. And I will strike her children with death, and all the churches will understand that I am the one who searches the hearts and the reins; and I will reward each of you according to your deeds. The Lord gave time for both Jezebel and the Thyatirians to repent, but in vain. Repentance did not follow, and therefore in v. 22. the threat of God's already approaching judgment is expressed. The trial and execution begin with Jezebel as the author of wickedness; she is stricken with an illness that confines her to bed. Those who committed adultery with her and, according to her teaching, contain heretical teachings, the Lord threatens with great sorrow. Rev.2:24. But to you and to the others who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching and who do not know the so-called depths of Satan, I say that I will not place another burden on you; Rev.2:25. Just keep what you have until I come. Speech to the faithful of the Thyatira church. – Here, by others we mean Christians who have not yet been carried away by the false teachings and temptations of the Jezebel sect. The Lord characterizes them as alien to the teachings of this false prophetess and not knowing the so-called depths of Satan. By the depths of Satan here we must understand the very philosophical system of the heresy of Gnosticism, which should be called the depths of Satan, the highest manifestation of the actions of the devil. The Gnostics boasted of their system of philosophy and considered all those who were not involved in it to be pathetic ignoramuses. But the Lord notices that the people of Thyatira should not be embarrassed, for for their salvation that law of God, God’s revelation, following which they have already achieved significant moral perfection, is sufficient. Rev.2:26. Whoever overcomes and keeps My works to the end, to him will I give authority over the Gentiles, Rev.2:27. and he will rule them with a rod of iron; like earthen vessels they will be broken, just as I received power from my Father; Only those who remain victorious in enduring suffering and labor until the end of their earthly career will receive the reward. Power over the pagans, as a reward for the Thyatirians, will be expressed in shepherding them with a rod of iron and in crushing them like clay vessels. An iron rod is a symbol of firm power, clay vessels are a symbol of weakness and insignificance. By pagans we generally mean people who do not belong to the Kingdom of God. By power over the pagans (actually rewards) we mean the high position of the righteous before all other people, both here on earth (in the sense of the authority of their moral strength), and especially after death, when they, as glorified ones, act on the living with their prayers and intercession before the throne of the Most High. Rev.2:28. and I will give him the morning star. Rev.2:29. He who has an ear [to hear], let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. By the morning star we must understand Jesus Christ Himself 14, Who is the light that enlightens every person (John 1:9). It is the light of Christ’s teaching and enlightenment, assimilated by the righteous and manifested in their lives, that can and does become a guiding star for others and attracts them to imitation and improvement. Hengstenberg, Zhdanov 171, 172. Andrey of Caesarea, Suller, Hengstenberg, Zhdanov. You might be interested in: