Listen to Chapter 2
Chapter 2
#1 Left Jesus - Message to Ephesus: Left First Love
Re 9:20, Re 14:13, Re 18:6, Re 20:12-13, Re 22:12 — The "works" mentions in 9:20, 14:13, 18:6, 20:12-13, and 22:12 seem related to those of the seven churches in 2:2, 2:9, 2:13, 2:19, 3:1, 3:8, and 3:15.
The KJV/TR reads "…and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted"; the critical text reads καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις καὶ ἐβάστασας διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ οὐ κεκοπίακες — "and you have patience, and have borne because of my name, and have not become weary" — without the separate "laboured" clause.
The Greek reads ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ — "I have against you" — with no object: the KJV supplies "somewhat," and the draft supplies "this," the pointer English needs ahead of the ὅτι clause. At 2:14 and 2:20 nothing is supplied, because ὀλίγα — "a little" — already stands in that slot (in the critical text at 2:14, in the Received Text at 2:20).
The KJV/TR reads "I will come unto thee quickly"; the critical text reads ἔρχομαί σοι — without "quickly" here, though it stands at 2:16 (ταχύ).
Re 2:5, Re 2:16
Re 2:6, Re 2:15 — Ephesus hates evil teachers
The KJV/TR places the tree "in the midst of the paradise of God"; the critical text reads ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ — "in the paradise of God."
The Greek here is ξύλον — wood — the word the Greek Old Testament uses for the tree of life in Genesis 2:9 and the New Testament uses for the cross (Acts 5:30; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24). The natural trees of the plagues are a different word, δένδρον (7:1, 7:3, 8:7, 9:4).
Re 2:7, Re 2:11, Re 2:17, Re 2:29, Re 3:6, Re 3:13, Re 3:22, Re 13:9 — "Ear, let him hear" (ἔχει/ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω) is specific to the 7 churches. When we see it again here, we see the same idea, "My people hear me! Do not worship the beast. Even if you must rest." This does not mean that the 7 churches are specifically present at this time; all the other links in Revelation must be considered alongside this phrase. The phrase "let him hear" appears to be for those who hear God, that is, the saints in general.
Re 2:7, Re 2:14, Re 2:20, Re 10:10, Re 17:16, Re 19:18 — Eat (ἐσθίω) - This word is used in 2:7 for eating of the tree of life for Ephesus, the first church. For Pergamum and Thyatira, the third and fourth churches (which run in parallel), the word refers to eating things sacrificed to idols. In 10:10, John eats the little scroll. In 17:16, the Mystery Babylon has her flesh eaten. In 19:18, the birds that fly eat the flesh of kings and others.
#2 Crown - Message to Smyrna: Ten Days of Tribulation
Important Note: Smyrna mirrors Philadelphia, yet Philadelphia is promised to escape "the hour of testing, which is about to come upon the whole inhabited-world." This is not the ordinary expected temptation of the church; this is the one that comes on the whole world. Yet here, Smyrna is told to be faithful unto death.
Re 1:5, Re 1:17, Re 2:8, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, 1 Corinthians 15:45, Philippians 2:6-11 — This study takes a step of faith in siding with Codex Alexandrinus.
Given the context of Revelation and the pattern for identifying the Father at Revelation 22:13 and other passages, a drift toward “the first and the last” at 1:17 and 2:8 seems the more probable drift than a drift toward “firstborn.” Based on this study’s research, Alexandrinus shows greater overall accuracy than the other manuscripts, and that merit carries weight when judging “firstborn” the more likely reading. And having Jesus share a title with the Father, when Revelation keeps their identities distinct while still divine up to the disputed 22:13, makes Alexandrinus the less likely witness to have drifted from a theological standpoint. That drift toward converging the Father and the Son is not a guess — the tradition shows it happening. At 1:11 the Textus Receptus adds “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” to the speaker’s words, an addition absent from the early codices and from the Majority Text alike — and the addition carries the very title in question. The sharing of the Father’s titles demonstrably grew over time, which makes the drift away from “firstborn” the highly likely one. The context of both verses points the same way: at 1:17 and 2:8 the title stands beside Jesus becoming dead and living again — firstborn-of-the-dead territory — and Revelation has already named him “the firstborn of the dead” at 1:5. On that reading, “the firstborn and the last” may be pointing to 1 Corinthians 15 as the main connection here: the firstfruits of the dead and the last Adam. Paul already places both halves of the pairing on Jesus, so the phrase “firstborn and last” is not an awkward one.
Re 1:17, Re 2:8, Re 22:13 — At Revelation 1:17 and 2:8, NA28 prints “the First and the Last” (ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος), a reading directly preserved in Codices Sinaiticus and Ephraemi. Codex Alexandrinus instead reads “the Firstborn and the Last” (ὁ πρωτότοκος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος); hence [Firstborn/First]. P98 is missing this portion, so we cannot decide between the readings. At 22:13, NA28 prints “the First and the Last,” as preserved in Sinaiticus, whereas Alexandrinus omits both articles and reads “First and Last”; hence [the] First and [the] Last.
Re 2:8, Re 13:14 — ἔζησεν — is alive or did live
The KJV/TR opens "I know thy works, and…"; the critical text reads οἶδά σου τὴν θλῖψιν — "I know your tribulation" — without the works clause.
Re 9:20, Re 14:13, Re 18:6, Re 20:12-13, Re 22:12 — The "works" mentions in 9:20, 14:13, 18:6, 20:12-13, and 22:12 seem related to those of the seven churches in 2:2, 2:9, 2:13, 2:19, 3:1, 3:8, and 3:15.
Re 2:9, 2 Corinthians 8:9
Re 2:9, Re 3:9
Two details here anchor larger patterns. First, testing and tribulation are welded in one clause — "that you all may be tested; and you all will have tribulation ten days" — and the same testing word returns in "the hour of testing" in 3:10. The book itself pairs the two ideas. Second, this testing is counted — ten days — a local, bounded tribulation for one church, while Philadelphia, Smyrna's mirror, is kept out of a designated world-wide hour (3:10). The two crown churches carry the two modes: a counted tribulation endured unto death with a crown of life promised (2:10), and a designated hour escaped with a crown held fast (3:11). Ten counted days here, a great one at the span's opening (7:14), and a greatest at the middle (Matthew 24:21) — tribulation comes in types and degrees.
Re 1:17, Re 2:10
Re 2:10, Re 12:11 — "unto death" (ἄχρι θανάτου,)
Re 2:10, Re 3:11
Re 2:7, Re 2:11, Re 2:17, Re 2:29, Re 3:6, Re 3:13, Re 3:22, Re 13:9 — "Ear, let him hear" (ἔχει/ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω) is specific to the 7 churches. When we see it again here, we see the same idea, "My people hear me! Do not worship the beast. Even if you must rest." This does not mean that the 7 churches are specifically present at this time; all the other links in Revelation must be considered alongside this phrase. The phrase "let him hear" appears to be for those who hear God, that is, the saints in general.
Re 2:11, Re 6:6, Re 7:3, Re 9:4 — Mentions of “not harming” or “not hurting” appear in Revelation 2:11, 6:6, 7:3, and 9:4. These references should not be treated as the same event or action simply because similar language is used. Revelation 7:3 and 9:4 may seem closely related because both involve the sealed servants of God, but they differ in the actors and purposes. In Revelation 7:3, the four angels are told not to harm the earth, sea, or trees “till” the servants of God are sealed. In Revelation 9:4, however, the locusts are commanded not to harm the grass, any green thing, or any tree at all, but only the men who have not the seal of God on their foreheads.
#3 Fornication - Message to Pergamum: Doctrine of Balaam
Important Note: Jesus will come to this church with the sword of his mouth. A mirror of Thyatira, false teachers, idols, and fornication.
The KJV/TR opens "I know thy works, and…"; the critical text reads οἶδα ποῦ κατοικεῖς — "I know where you dwell."
Re 9:20, Re 14:13, Re 18:6, Re 20:12-13, Re 22:12 — The "works" mentions in 9:20, 14:13, 18:6, 20:12-13, and 22:12 seem related to those of the seven churches in 2:2, 2:9, 2:13, 2:19, 3:1, 3:8, and 3:15.
Re 2:13, Re 3:8, 1 John 5:4-5 — Faith in Jesus and his name are deeply linked. This is the one who has faith in the name of the Son of God and believes in his name.
Re 2:7, Re 2:14, Re 2:20, Re 10:10, Re 17:16, Re 19:18 — Eat (ἐσθίω) - This word is used in 2:7 for eating of the tree of life for Ephesus, the first church. For Pergamum and Thyatira, the third and fourth churches (which run in parallel), the word refers to eating things sacrificed to idols. In 10:10, John eats the little scroll. In 17:16, the Mystery Babylon has her flesh eaten. In 19:18, the birds that fly eat the flesh of kings and others.
Re 2:14, Re 2:20
Re 2:14, Re 2:20
The bracket [the] follows the NA28’s own [τῶν]. Among the uncials only Codex Sinaiticus carries the article; Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus omit it, as do Westcott-Hort and the SBLGNT. The Majority Text and the Received Text carry it plainly.
Re 2:6, Re 2:15 — Pergamum has some evil teachers.
Re 2:5, Re 2:16
The KJV/TR reads "to eat of the hidden manna"; the critical text reads δώσω αὐτῷ τοῦ μάννα — "I will give unto him of the manna" — without the eating verb.
“Stone” here is ψῆφος (psēphos), a different word from λίθος, the book’s ordinary stone (4:3, 17:4, 18:12, 18:16, 18:21, 21:11, 21:19): a small, smoothed stone. Its only other New Testament occurrence is a vote — Acts 26:10, “I cast my ψῆφον against them.” What this stone is for, the text does not say; it says only what it is: white, with a new name written, which none knows except he who receives it.
Re 2:7, Re 2:11, Re 2:17, Re 2:29, Re 3:6, Re 3:13, Re 3:22, Re 13:9 — "Ear, let him hear" (ἔχει/ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω) is specific to the 7 churches. When we see it again here, we see the same idea, "My people hear me! Do not worship the beast. Even if you must rest." This does not mean that the 7 churches are specifically present at this time; all the other links in Revelation must be considered alongside this phrase. The phrase "let him hear" appears to be for those who hear God, that is, the saints in general.
#4 Fornication - Message to Thyatira: Jezebel
Important Note: A mirror of Pergamum, false teachers, idols, and fornication.
Re 1:15, Re 2:18, Re 10:1 — The Greek reinforces the shared fire imagery through the πυρ- word family. In Revelation 1:15, πεπυρωμένης comes from πυρόω, “to make fiery hot, burn, or refine,” a verb derived from πῦρ, “fire.” Revelation 2:18 repeats both the description of the feet as χαλκολίβανον (“burnished/fine bronze”) and the noun πῦρ in φλόγα πυρός (“a flame of fire”). Revelation 10:1 then describes the angel’s feet as στῦλοι πυρός (“pillars of fire”). Thus, the passages are linked by repeated fiery imagery and by the related Greek forms πυρόω–πῦρ–πυρός. The rare word χαλκολίβανον itself for brilliant bronze, however, does not contain the root πυρ-.
If 7 is the number of completion, Jesus' listing of only 6 qualities here helps emphasize that something is lacking.
Re 9:20, Re 14:13, Re 18:6, Re 20:12-13, Re 22:12 — The "works" mentions in 9:20, 14:13, 18:6, 20:12-13, and 22:12 seem related to those of the seven churches in 2:2, 2:9, 2:13, 2:19, 3:1, 3:8, and 3:15.
The KJV/TR includes ὀλίγα — "a little" (KJV "I have a few things against thee"); the critical text reads ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὅτι — "I have against you that…" — without it.
“[the woman/your woman]” — Codex Alexandrinus and Robinson-Pierpont read τὴν γυναῖκά σου; Sinaiticus, Ephraemi, the critical editions, and the Received Text read only τὴν γυναῖκα, “the woman.” With a possessive, γυνή is the ordinary Greek construction for a wife — the same construction as 19:7, “his woman has prepared herself” (ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ), and 21:9, “the bride, the woman of the Lamb” (τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀρνίου) — so Alexandrinus presents Jezebel as the wife of the messenger of Thyatira, and with σου the charge falls on him himself.
Re 2:14, Re 2:20
Re 2:7, Re 2:14, Re 2:20, Re 10:10, Re 17:16, Re 19:18 — Eat (ἐσθίω) - This word is used in 2:7 for eating of the tree of life for Ephesus, the first church. For Pergamum and Thyatira, the third and fourth churches (which run in parallel), the word refers to eating things sacrificed to idols. In 10:10, John eats the little scroll. In 17:16, the Mystery Babylon has her flesh eaten. In 19:18, the birds that fly eat the flesh of kings and others.
Re 2:14, Re 2:20
The KJV/TR closes the verse with "their deeds" (αὐτῶν); the critical text reads "her works" (αὐτῆς). Codex Alexandrinus carries the Received Text reading here, against Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Ephraemi, which read "her".
“[a bed/prison]” — Codex Alexandrinus alone reads φυλακήν, “prison” — the word of 2:10, “the devil is about to cast some of you into prison” — where Sinaiticus, Ephraemi, and every edition read κλίνην, “a bed.”
Both νεφρούς (kidneys) and καρδίας (hearts) are plural in Greek, reflecting an idiom for the totality of the inner life (“innermost parts and hearts”), which English translations often render in the singular for smoothness.
“Your” here is plural (ὑμῶν) — the churches as a body, which is why the same sentence says “unto each of you.” English cannot mark the difference between one and many in this word; the Greek does, so the number is recorded here rather than in the line.
The Received Text joins the two clauses with καί — "and who have not known" — where the critical text sets them side by side with none: Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Ephraemi, the Statistical Restoration, Westcott-Hort, NA28, SBL and Robinson-Pierpont all read ταύτην, οἵτινες with nothing between. Only Stephanus and the King James Received Text carry the conjunction, which is where the King James gets its "and which have not known."
The difference is small but it changes the joint. With καί the two descriptions are a list of two groups, or two things said of one; without it the second clause simply restates the first — the ones who do not hold this teaching, the ones who have not known the depths of Satan.
The verse's opening runs the other way, and the draft follows the critical text there too: the Received Text reads καὶ λοιποῖς, "and to the rest," while the critical text reads τοῖς λοιποῖς, "unto the rest," which is what stands above.
Re 2:27, Re 18:12
Re 2:28, Re 22:16
Re 2:7, Re 2:11, Re 2:17, Re 2:29, Re 3:6, Re 3:13, Re 3:22, Re 13:9 — "Ear, let him hear" (ἔχει/ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω) is specific to the 7 churches. When we see it again here, we see the same idea, "My people hear me! Do not worship the beast. Even if you must rest." This does not mean that the 7 churches are specifically present at this time; all the other links in Revelation must be considered alongside this phrase. The phrase "let him hear" appears to be for those who hear God, that is, the saints in general.
Important Note: This church is also shown to need to repent, and there is a promise of the tree of life.