/ 1 Unto the angel of the church of Luke 8:16 No man, when he hath Ephesus: The church at Ephesus had / Ephesus write; These things saith lighted a candle, covereth it been the most influential and / he that holdeth the seven stars in with a vessel. or putteth it leading church of the area during / his right hand, who walketh in the under a bed; but setteth it on the time of the Apostle Paul as he / midst of the seven golden candle- a candlestick, that they which spent a number of years there. It / sticks; enter in may see the light. was a center for missionary work / 2 I know thy works, and thy labor, Psalms 1:6 For the Lord knoweth II Peter 2:1&9 But there were false by Timothy, the Apostle John, Aquila / and thy patience, and how thou the way of the righteous: but prophets also among the people, and Priscilla, and Apollos. A large / canst not bear them which are evil: the way of the ungodly shall even as there shall be false and influential church despite its / and thou hast tried them which say perish. teachers among you, who privily location in a rich and influential / they are apostles, and are not, and Jeremiah 29:8-9 For thus saith shall bring in damnable heresies, pagan center. Ephesus was a / hast found them liars: the Lord of hosts, the God of even denying the Lord that brought center of Diana worship at the / Israel; Let not your prophets them, and bring upon themselves beautiful temple of Artemis, one / and your diviners, that be in swift destruction. of the seven wonders of the ancient / midst of you, deceive you, The Lord knoweth how to deliver Grecian world. As written, it long / neither harken to your dreams the godly out of temptations, and withstood the influences of false / which ye cause to be dreamed. to reserve the unjust unto the day doctrine by false prophets. Unfort- / For they prophesy falsely of judgment to be punished: unately, its enthusiasm for the Word / unto you in my name: I have II Thessalonians 1:4 So that we our- was diminishing and its influence / not sent them, saith the Lord. selves glory in you in the was to falter and the area event- / 3 And hast borne, and hast Ecclesiastes 7:8 Better is the churches of God, for your ually became deserted. Scholars who / patience, and for my name's sake end of a thing than the begin- patience and faith in all your see the letters to the churches as / hast laboured, and hast not ning thereof: and the patient persecutions and tribulations having a a prophetic significance / fainted. in spirit is better than the that ye endure: often propose that this church is / proud in spirit. Hebrews 12:5-6...My son despise not symbolic of the Apostolic age of / 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat Psalms 51:12-13 Restore unto me thou the chastening of the Lord, the first century. / against thee, because thou hast the joy of thy salvation; and nor faint when thou art rebuked Why does a church leave its first / left thy first love. uphold me with thy free Spirit. of him: love? Most often it is because / 5 Remember therefore from whence Then will I teach transgres- For whom the Lord loveth he they have allowed the love of / thou art fallen, and repent, and sors thy ways; and sinners chasteneth and scourgeth every something else to work its way into / do the first works, or else I will shall be converted unto thee. son whom he receiveth. first place. Most often this is / come unto thee quickly, and will I John 2:15-17 Love not the world, love of things of this world such / remove thy candlestick out of his neither the things that are in the as wealth and power. Also pride / place, except thou repent. world. If any man love the world, and self love can cause one to / 6 But this thou hast, that thou Proverbs 6:16-19 These six things the love of the Father is not in forget the desires of the Lord and / hatest the deeds of the Nicolait- doth the Lord hate: yea, seven him. the desire for self gratitude / ans, which I also hate. are an abomination unto him: For all that is in the world, replaces the desire to please the / A proud look, a lying tongue, the lust of the flesh, and the Lord. / and hands that shed innocent lust of the eyes, and the pride Scholars have long debated the / blood, of life, is not of the Father, sect of the "Nicolaitans" and its / A heart that deviseth wicked but is of the world. significance. The word can be / imaginations, feet that be And the world passeth away, and broken down in two parts, nikao, / swift in running to mischief, the lust thereof: but he that which is to conquer, overcome or / A false witness that speaketh doeth the will of God abideth prevail and, laos, the people. / lies, and he that soweth dis- for ever. From this many scholars interpret / cord among brethren. it to refer to a group that sets / 7 He that hath an ear, let him Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the Matthew 11:15 He that hath ears to themself up as being religiously / hear what the Spirit saith unto Lord, ye children of Israel: hear, let him hear. superior or more pious than the / the churches; To him that ever- for the Lord hath a contro- I John 5:4 For whatsoever is born people. Possibly similar to the / cometh will I give to eat of the versy with the inhabitants of of God overcometh the world: and practices of the scribes and Phari- / tree of life, which is in the the land, because there is no this is the victory that over- sees that Jesus so strongly condem- / midst of the paradise of God. truth, nor mercy, nor know- cometh the world, even our faith. ned. Others see this as being the / ledge of God in the Land. Grecian equivalent of "followers / of Balaam". / / Genesis 2:8-9 And the Lord God Luke 23:42-43 And he said unto Jesus, Smyrna: The suffering church, the / planted a garden eastward in Lord, remember me when thou church of persecution: For the / Eden; and there he put man comest into thy kingdom. poor struggling church of Symrna / whom he had formed. And Jesus said unto him, Verily there is no word of condemnation, / And out of the ground made I say unto thee, Today shalt thou only words of encouragement that / the Lord God to grow every be with me in paradise. their tribulation will only be for / tree that is pleasant to the Romans 6:9 Knowing that Christ being a short time. They endured severe / 8 And unto the angel of the sight, and good for food; the raised from the dead dieth no persecution from both the Jews and / church in Smyrna write; These tree of life also in the midst more: death hath no more dominion the Roman leaders. Polycarp, the / things saith the first and the of the garden, and the tree of over him. bishop of Smyrna, a pupil of the / last, which was dead, and is knowledge of good and evil. Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew, Apostle John, was burned alive at / alive. Ezekiel 20:27 & 31 Thus saith the which is one outwardly; neither the age of 86. The reward for this / 9 I know thy works, and tribul- Lord God; Yet in this your is that circumcision, which is church was a "crown of life" / ation, and poverty, (but thou art fathers have blasphemed me, in outward in the flesh: Many scholars believe that it is / rich) and I know the blasphemy of that they have committed a But he is a Jew, which is one symbolic of the persecuted church / them which say they are Jews, and trespass against me. inwardly; and circumcision is of the first through fourth cent- / are not, but are the synagogue of For when ye offer your gifts, that of the heart, in the spirit, uries. They point out that there / Satan. when ye make your sons to pass and not in the letter, whose were ten major periods of persecu- / through the fire, ye pollute praise is not of men, but of God. tions during this time by the Roman / yourselves with all your idols, Romans 8:35&37 Who shall separate us rulers. The city itself was noted / even unto this day: from the love of Christ shall for its beauty and as being the / 10 Fear none of those things which Proverbs 8:35-36 For whoso findeth tribulation, or distress, or birthplace of Homer. Its name / thou shalt suffer: behold, the me findeth life, and shall persecution, or famine, or naked- means the anointing oil, "myrrh", / devil shall cast some of you into obtain favor of the Lord. ness, or peril or sword? which was commonly used as an / prison, that ye may be tried; and But he that sinneth against Nay, in all these things we are embalming oil for the dead. The / ye shall have tribulation ten days: me wrongeth his own soul: all more than conquerors through him city today is the large thriving / be thou faithful unto death, and I they that hate me love death. that loved us. city of Izmir. / will give thee a crown of life. Proverbs 13:13-14 Whoso despiseth James 1:12 Blessed is the man that / 11 He that hath an ear, let him the word shall be destroyed: endureth temptation: for when he Pergamos: A church that had been / hear what the Spirit saith unto the but he that feareth the comma- is tried, he shall receive the infiltrated by false doctrines / churches; He that overcometh shall ndment shall be rewarded. crown of life, which the Lord hath from the influence of the pagan / not be hurt of the second death. The law of the wise is a promised to them that love him. cultures surrounding the church. / fountain of life, to depart I John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh This church was located in the / from the snares of death. the world, but he that believeth capital center for the Roman / that Jesus is the Son of God? providence of "Asia", a center / 12 And to the angel of the church Isaiah 11:4-5 But with right- Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet for roman culture and religions. / in Pergamos write; These things eousness shall he judge the of salvation, and the sword of A city famous for its large libr- / saith he which hath the sharp sword poor, and reprove with equity the Spirit, which is the word ary and the invention of writing / with two edges. for the meek of the earth: and of God: parchment. A center for temples / 13 I know thy works, and where thou he shall smite the earth with Titus 1:9 Holding fast the faithful to many pagan gods and Roman Emp- / dwellest, even where Satan's seat the rod of his mouth, and with word as he hath been taught, that erors. A center of pagan healing / is: and thou holdest fast my name, the breath of his lips shall he may be able by sound doctrine practices at the temple of Aescul- / and hast not denied my faith, even he slay the wicked. both to exhort and to convince apius, the god of healing and medi- / in those days wherein Antipas was And righteousness shall be the gainsayers. cine, the symbol for which was a / my faithful martyr, who was slain the girdle of his loins, and II Peter 2:15 Which have forsaken serpent, an import from ancient / among you, where Satan dwelleth. faithfulness the girdle of his the right way, and are gone Babylon. Many of the Babylon pract- / reigns. astray, following the way of ices and religions moved from Babylon / 14 But I have a few things against Numbers 31:16 Behold, these Balaam the son of Beor, who to Pergamos and later to Rome. This / thee, because thou hast there them caused the children of Israel, who loved the wages of unright- symbol is still evident in the mod- / that hold the doctrine of Balaam, through the counsel of Balaam, eousness. ern day symbol for the medical prof- / who taught Balak to cast a stumb- to commit trespass against the Jude 11 Woe unto them! for they have ession. Also present was the error / lingblock before the children of Lord in the matter of Peor, gone the way of Cain, and ran of Balaam where the love of monetary / Israel, to eat things sacrificed and there was a plague among greedily after the error of Balaam gain overcomes the desire for the / unto idols, and to commit forni- the congregation of the Lord. for reward, principles of truth. The mysterious / cation. Ezekiel 18:30-31...Repent, and Acts 8:22 Repent therefore of this Nicolaitans are also present. Many / 15 So hast thou also them that turn yourselves from all your thy wickedness, and pray God, if scholars believe that this church / hold the doctrine of the Nicolait- transgressions; so iniquity perhaps the thought of thine heart is symbolic of the fourth and fifth / ans, which thing I hate. shall not be your ruin. may be forgiven thee. centuries during which pagan pract- / 16 Repent; or else I will come Cast away from you all your Romans 13:4 For he is the minister of ices were allowed to infiltrate the / unto thee quickly, and will fight transgressions...and make you God to thee for good. But if thou church. The "sharp sword with two / against them with the sword of my a new heart and a new spirit: do that which is evil, be afraid; edges" separates the believer and / mouth. for why will ye die,... for he beareth not the sword in the non-believer, the believer to / 17 He that hath an ear, let him Psalms 78:23-25 Though he had vain: for he is the minister of his reward and the deceived to / hear what the Spirit saith unto the commanded the clouds from God, a revenger to execute wrath eternal death. White stones (pebb- / churches; To him that overcometh above, and opened the doors upon him that doeth evil. les) were used as a vote of innocence / will I give to eat of the hidden of heaven, John 6:50-51 This is the bread which in ancient courts of justice and many / manna, and will give him a white And had rained down manna cometh down from heaven, that a times in Biblical history the name / stone, and in the stone a new name upon them to eat, and had man may eat thereof, and not die. of the new believer was changed. / written, which no man knoweth given them of the corn of I am the living bread which came He that overcometh will receive the / saving he that receiveth it. heaven. down from heaven: if any man eat food and vote of eternal life from / Man did eat angels food: of this bread, he shall live for our Lord Jesus. / Daniel 12:10 Many shall be ever: and the bread which I give / purified, and made white, and is my flesh, which I will give Thyatira: With the introduction of / tried; but the wicked shall do for the life of the world. Christ as having "eyes like unto a / wickedly: and none of the flame of fire" we know that all is / wicked shall understand; but not well in Thyatira, for fire and / the wise shall understand. brass speak of judgment. The / Thyatirian church was seemingly / 18 And unto the angel of the church Psalms 37:7-9 Rest in the Lord, I Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the tolerating the false doctrine of / in Thyatira write; These things and wait patiently for him: Lord are over the righteous, and a prophetess who was leading them / saith the Son of God, who hath his fret not thyself because of his ears are open unto their into idolatry. To the false / eyes like unto a flame of fire, and him who prospereth in his way, prayers: but the face of the prophetess and her followers will / his feet are like fine brass; because of the man who Lord is against them that do evil. come tribulation and death. Is / 19 I know thy works, and charity, bringeth wicked devices to Luke 8:17 For nothing is secret, this the spirit of the "Mother / and service, and faith, and thy pass. that shall not be made manifest; of Harlots" that we study in / patience ,and thy works; and the Cease from anger, and forsake neither any thing hid, that shall chapter 17? It would appear so! / last to be more than the first. wrath: fret not thyself in any not be known and come abroad. Fortunately not all at Thyatira / wise to do evil. James 1:3-4 Knowing this, that the were being deceived by false teach- / For evildoers shall be cut trying of your faith worketh ing. For down through history / off: but those that wait upon patience. and in most every church, no matter / the Lord, they shall inherit But let patience have her per- what their faults, there are always / the earth. fect work, that ye may be per- a faithful few. The faithful few / 20 Notwithstanding I have a few I Kings 16:31&33 And it came to fect and entire, wanting nothing. often are not the seemingly great / things against thee, because thou pass, as if it had been a Acts 21:25 As touching the Gentiles to the eyes of man, nor the leaders / sufferest that woman Jezebel, which light thing for him to walk in which believe, we have written and of the church, most often they are / calleth herself a prophetess, to the sins of Jeroboam the son concluded that they observe no the quite humble workers who most / teach and to seduce my servants to of Nebat, that he took to wife such thing, save only that they often strongly uphold the principles / commit fornication, and to eat Jezebel the daughter of keep themselves from things of truth. To them will come the / things sacrificed unto idols. Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, offered to idols, and from blood, great rewards of "power over the / 21 And I gave her space to repent and went and served Baal, and and from strangled, and from nations". / of her fornication; and she repen- worshipped him. fornication. The city of Thyatira survives today / ted not. And Ahab made a grove; and II Corinthians 12:21 And lest, when as the modern city of Akhisar. / 22 Behold, I will cast her into a Ahab did more to provoke the I come again, my God will humble During the time of John it was a / bed, and them that commit adultery Lord God of Israel to anger me among you, and that I shall smaller but thriving industrial city / with her into great tribulation, than all the kings of Israel bewail many which have sinned noted for its crafts, including the / except they repent of their deeds. that were before him. already, and have not repented of dyeing of purple, the convert Lydia / Exodus 34:15 Lest thou make a the uncleanness and fornication was from Thyatira and was of this / covenant with the inhabitants and lasciviousness which they have occupation. There were also well / of the land, and they go a committed. known pagan temples located at / whoring after their gods, and Romans 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, Thyatira. To many scholars this / do sacrifice unto their gods, upon every soul of man that doeth church represents the church of the / and one call thee, and thou evil;... 6th thru 12th centuries which was / eat of his sacrifice; Hebrews 13:4 ...whoremongers and noted for its many corrupt practices, / Proverbs 6:32 But whoso commit- adulterers God will Judge. political infightings that often led / teth adultery with a woman I Corinthians 3:8 and every man shall to war and few evidences of the love / lacketh understanding: he receive his own reward according of Christ. / that doeth it destroyeth his to his own labour. / own soul. Whether you view the four letters / 23 And I will kill her children Psalms 7:9-11 O let the wicked- I Corinthians 2:10 But God hath we have looked at so far as being / with death; and all the churches ness of the wicked come to an revealed them unto us by his prophetic or as representing the / shall know that I am he which end; but establish the just: Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth continuing state of the church / searcheth the reins and hearts: for the righteous God trieth all things, yea, the deep things past and present, the conclusion / and I will give unto every one of the hearts and reins. of God. could be one of disappointment. / you according to your works. My defense is of God, which The early church had spread like / 24 But unto you I say, and unto saveth the upright in heart. Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the a wildfire following the evidences / the rest of Thyatira, as many as God judgeth the righteous, Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon of the resurrection of Christ and / have not this doctrine, and which and God is angry with the you no greater burden than these the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It / have not known the depths of Satan, wicked every day. necessary things; rapidly spread over the ancient / as they speak; I will put upon you world and almost as rapidly it / none other burden. began to lose its enthusiasm and / 25 But that which ye have already I Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; lapse into practices of the world. / hold fast till I come. hold fast that which is good. But is this really so surprising? / 26 And he that overcometh, and Jeremiah 1:10 See, I have this I John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh Through out the historical part / keepeth my works unto the end, to day set thee over the nations the world, but he that believeth of the Bible that presents the / him will I give power over the and over the kingdoms, to root that Jesus is the Son of God? history of Israel as an example, / nations. out, and to pull down, and to there are really few bright spots / destroy, and to throw down, to mixed in with many periods of lack / build, and to plant. of respect for God's world. Why / 27 And he shall rule them with a Psalms 2:8-9 Ask of me, and I I Corinthians 15:24-25 Then cometh then would we expect more from the / rod of iron; as the vessels of a shall give thee the heathen the end, when he shall have deliv- church. And indeed we have seen so / potter shall they be broken to for thine inheritance, and the ered up the kingdom to God, even far that the history of the church / shivers: even as I received of my uttermost parts of the earth the Father, when he shall have has not been much different. Why / Father. for thy possession. put down all rule, and all auth- is this necessary? Jesus said in / Thou shalt break them with a ority and power. Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter ye in at / rod of iron; thou shalt dash For he must reign till he hath the strait gate: for wide is the / them in pieces like a potter's put all enemies under his feet. gate, and broad is the way, that / vessel. II Peter 1:19 We have also a more leadeth to destruction, and many / 28 And I will give him the morning Job 38-7 When the morning stars sure word of prophecy; whereunto there be which go in thereat: / star. sang together, and all the ye do well that ye take heed, as Because strait is the gate, and / 29 He that hath an ear, let him sons of God shouted for joy. unto a light that shineth in a and narrow is the way, which lead- / hear what the Spirit saith unto dark place, until the day dawn, eth unto life, and few there be / the churches. and the day-star arise in your that find it." / hearts: Such a sad fact. All people are / searching for true love and so few / will find it, even many who are / part of the so called earthly church / will not find it. / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /