Apocalipse 2
William Barclay · Citado em PreceptAustin
Apocalipse 2
Barclay - Paradise is a lovely word to describe a thing of serene beauty. In the Septuagint, paradise has two uses. First, it is regularly used for the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8, 3:1). Second, it is regularly used of any stately garden. When Isaiah speaks of a garden that has no water, it is the word paradise that is used (Isaiah 1:30). It is the word used when Jeremiah says: ‘Plant gardens and eat what they produce’ (Jeremiah 29:5). It is the word used when the preacher says: ‘I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees’ (Ecclesiastes 2:5). Our minds must turn to the words of Jesus to the dying and penitent thief: ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise’ (Luke 23:43). We are in the presence of mysteries about which it would be irreverent to dogmatize; but is there any better definition of paradise than to say that it is life forever in the presence of our Lord? As Ray Palmer’s hymn, ‘Jesus, these eyes have never seen’, has it: When death these mortal eyes shall seal, And still this throbbing heart, The rending veil shall thee reveal All glorious as thou art— ....and that is paradise.
Apocalipse 2
Barclay comments that "“Martus is a most interesting and suggestive word. In classical Greek martus never means a martyr in our sense of the term. It always means a witness. A martus was one who said: ‘This is true, and I know it.’ It is not until New Testament times that martus ever means martyr.” Martus in the Revelation - Rev. 1:5; Rev. 2:13; Rev. 3:14; Rev. 11:3; Rev. 17:6 Killed (put to death)(615)(apokteino from apó = intensifies meaning + kteíno = slay) means to kill outright or to put to death in any manner. To kill someone results in a state of separation. Apokteino in Revelation - Rev. 2:13; Rev. 2:23; Rev. 6:8; Rev. 6:11; Rev. 9:5; Rev. 9:15; Rev. 9:18; Rev. 9:20; Rev. 11:5; Rev. 11:7; Rev. 11:13; Rev. 13:10; Rev. 13:15; Rev. 19:21 C H
Apocalipse 2
Barclay - THE longest of the seven letters is written to the least important of the seven cities. Nonetheless, the problem which faced Thyatira and the danger which threatened it were those which were universally involved in the position of the Christians in Asia. Thyatira lay in the long valley connecting the valleys of the Hermus and the Caicus rivers through which the railway runs today; and it was its geographical position which gave it its importance. (1) Thyatira lay on the road which connected Pergamum with Sardis and went on to Philadelphia and to Laodicea, linking up with both Smyrna and Byzantium. That was the road by which the imperial mail travelled; and it was crowded with the commerce of Asia and the east. Therefore, first and foremost, Thyatira was a great commercial town. (2) Strategically, the importance of Thyatira was that it was the gateway to Pergamum, the capital of the province. The first we hear of Thyatira is that it is an armed garrison, protected by a company of Macedonian troops, placed there as an outpost to defend Pergamum. The difficulty was that Thyatira was not capable of any prolonged defence. It lay in an open valley. There was no height that could be fortified; and all that Thyatira could ever hope to do was to fight a delaying action until Pergamum could prepare to meet the invaders. "No threat of persecution hung over the Thyatiran church" (3) Thyatira had no special religious significance. It was not a centre either of Caesar-worship or of Greek worship. Its local hero god was called Tyrimnus, and he appears on its coins on horseback armed with battle-axe and club. The only notable thing about Thyatira from the religious point of view was that it possessed a fortune-telling shrine, presided over by a female oracle called the Sambathē. Certainly, no threat of persecution hung over the Thyatiran church. (4) What, then, was the problem in Thyatira? We know less about Thyatira than about any other of the seven cities and are, therefore, seriously handicapped in trying to reconstruct the situation. The one thing we do know is that it was a great commercial centre, especially of the dyeing industry and of the trade in woollen goods. It was from Thyatira that Lydia, the seller of purple, came (Acts 16:14). From inscriptions discovered, we learn that it had an extraordinary number of trade guilds. These were associations for mutual profit and pleasure of people employed in certain trades. There were guilds of workers in wool, leather, linen and bronze, makers of outer garments, dyers, potters, bakers and slave-dealers. Here, we think, was the problem of the church in Thyatira. To refuse to join one of these guilds would mean to give up all prospect of commercial existence. Why should a Christian not join one of these guilds? They held common meals. These would very often be held in a temple; and, even if not, they would begin and end with a formal sacrifice to the gods, and the meat eaten would be meat which had already been offered to idols. Further, it often happened that these communal meals were occasions of drunken revelry and slack morality. Was it possible for a Christian to be part of such occasions? Here was the problem at Thyatira: the threat came from inside the church. There was a strong movement, led by the woman referred to as Jezebel, which pleaded for compromise with the world’s standards in the interests of business and commercial prosperity, maintaining, no doubt, that the Holy Spirit could preserve them from any harm. The answer of the risen Christ is uncompromising. Christians must have nothing to do with such things. Revelation 2:19 'I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. know: Rev 2:2,9,13 love: 1Co 13:1-8 Col 3:14 1Th 3:6 2Th 1:3 1Ti 1:5 1Pe 4:8 2Pe 1:7 perseverance: Rev 2:3 your deeds of late: Rev 2:4 Job 17:9 Ps 92:14 Pr 4:18 Joh 15:2 2Pe 3:18 Revelation 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries A BUSY GROWING CHURCH In the diagram above, Charles Swindoll depicts the makeup of the three groups (this is easy to miss but note Rev 2:22-23 and then the two groups in Rev 2:20 and Rev 2:24) in the church at Thyatira writing "Though a strong remnant kept themselves pure, other believers in the church of Thyatira tolerated the wicked words of “Jezebel” and her followers." (See Insights on Revelation) Steve Lawson titles Rev 2:18-29 "Devil With a Blue Dress On," but I might change "blue" to purple given that Thyatira was known for purple dye. Lawson goes on to way "If there is a watchword that describes the American mindset today, it is the word tolerance (ED: HE SAID THAT IN 1994! WHAT DO YOU THINK HE WOULD SAY TODAY - 2023? "TOLERANCE ON STEROIDS!"). We Americans worship at the shrine of tolerance. In the shaping of public opinion and the forging of national policy, we esteem the broad-mindedness which says any and all values, if sincerely held, are equally valid. There are no absolutes today. The only absolute is that there are no absolutes! We tolerate everything except intolerance! Tolerance. Webster defines the word as "the allowable deviation from a standard; sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing or conflicting with one's own." That, in a nutshell, is America. A broad-mindedness as wide as America itself. An openness that embraces almost anything morally, politically, or educationally. Gallup...says that 67% of Americans today (1994) believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth. In other words right and wrong varies from situation to situation. It may be wrong for me, but right for you....If it feels good, do it! The consequences are terrifying....Francis Schaeffer has properly described our modern-day mindset when he said "Modern man has both feet firmly planted in mid-air. Charles Colson has said,"Our moral senses have been permanently neutered. We have undergone a moral lobotomy!"...Like ancient Israel, we have become a people who have forgotten how to blush. Nothing shocks us. Tragically, we have become desensitized toward sin.....This was the tightening squeeze that the church at Thyatira felt--the crunch of remaining intolerant in a tolerant society. Sadly, the world was influencing this congregation more than they were influencing the world. In reality, this church was being duped into believing that they could live like the world and still be the church! (Borrow this pithy book - Final Call) I know - Of course He did because He had eyes like a flame of fire. Your deeds (ergon), and your love (agape) and faith (pistis) - Notice that in some ways the church at Thyatira surpassed the church at Ephesus because Christ commends Thyatira for their love, the very thing Ephesus had left (Rev 2:4). In fact, and somewhat surprisingly, none of the previous 3 churches and none of the following 3 churches are commended for their love! In John 13:35 Jesus emphasizes how importance love is declaring “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” On the other hand, love depleted Ephesus did not tolerate false teachers. Jesus commends Thyatira's deeds which would support that that they are John 15:5 "abiding in the Vine" deeds and John 15:8 "God glorifying" deeds. His commendation of their love indicates these were Spirit filled believers who were bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22+). His commendation of their faith at least suggests they were feeding to a degree on the Word of God (although no mention of true doctrine is stated in this letter - only false doctrine of Jezebel) because Paul writes "faith (pistis) comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Ro 10:17+). A T