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Revelation 2:9
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7 a“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give bto eat from cthe tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’  

The Persecuted Church

8 “And to the1 angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says athe First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:  
9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are arich); and I know the blasphemy of bthose who say they are Jews and are not, cbut are a synagogue of Satan.  
10 aDo not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. bBe faithful until death, and I will give you cthe crown of life.  
11 a“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by bthe second death.” ’  

The Compromising Church

12 “And to the1 angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says aHe who has the sharp two-edged sword:  
13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
<< Revelation 2:8   Revelation 2:10 >>


Revelation 2:9

thy works, and—omitted in two oldest manuscripts, Vulgate, and Coptic. Supported by one oldest manuscript.

tribulation—owing to persecution.

poverty—owing to "the spoiling of their goods."

but thou art rich—in grace. Contrast Laodicea, rich in the world's eyes and her own, poor before God. "There are both poor rich-men, and rich poor-men in God's sight" [TRENCH].

blasphemy of them—blasphemous calumny of thee on the part of (or arising from) them.

say they are Jews, and are not—Jews by national descent, but not spiritually of "the true circumcision." The Jews blaspheme Christ as "the hanged one." As elsewhere, so at Smyrna they bitterly opposed Christianity; and at POLYCARP'S martyrdom they joined the heathens in clamoring for his being cast to the lions; and when there was an obstacle to this, for his being burnt alive; and with their own hands they carried logs for the pile.

synagogue of Satan—Only once is the term "synagogue" in the New Testament used of the Christian assembly, and that by the apostle who longest maintained the union of the Church and Jewish Synagogue. As the Jews more and more opposed Christianity, and it more and more rooted itself in the Gentile world, the term "synagogue" was left altogether to the former, and Christians appropriated exclusively the honorable term "Church"; contrast an earlier time when the Jewish theocracy is called "the Church in the wilderness." Compare Numbers 16:3; Numbers 20:4, "congregation of the Lord." Even in James 2:2 it is "your (not the Lord's) assembly." The Jews, who might have been "the Church of God," had now, by their opposition and unbelief, become the synagogue of Satan. So "the throne of Satan" (Revelation 2:13) represents the heathens' opposition to Christianity; "the depths of Satan" (Revelation 2:24), the opposition of heretics.




Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Revelation 2:9:

Hosea 5:3
Matthew 5:3
Hebrews 10:25
James 2:5
Revelation 2:24

 

<< Revelation 2:8   Revelation 2:10 >>

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