Rev. 2:17 To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the hidden manna. What kind of victory are we talking about here? He who overcomes The one who overcomes I will give to sit with me

It's time now to remind about the war. About the war that Christ began on earth, saying: "Do not think that I came to bring peace to earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34). About the war that each of us enters into on the day of Baptism, denying Satan three times.

Epiphany

This is a war with the devil. But not with that caricatured devil, usually depicted with hooves and horns, but with that evil, the manifestations of which we see everywhere and everywhere. The whole Church, all the host of Christ fights against him. We, like a soldier in any war, have a specific task and a specific enemy. Evil, nesting in ourselves in the form of various vices, passions, bad habits, shameful inclinations, ugly character traits, is our enemy. Those who have entered the struggle against this internal enemy no longer have the desire to fight against external evil, to judge and correct someone. God forbid, at least to correct yourself.

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Epistles to the churches: Ephesian (1-7), Smyrna (8-11), Pergamon (12-17) and Thyatira (18-29), consisting of conversion, praise and censure, admonition, and the promise of reward.

. Write to the angel of the Ephesian church: thus says He Who holds the seven stars in His right hand, Walking in the midst of seven golden lamps:

I know your deeds, and your labor, and your patience, and the fact that you cannot bear the depraved, and I tested those who call themselves apostles, but they are not, and I found that they are liars;

You endured a lot and have patience, and you have labored for my name and did not faint.

From the second chapter begins the presentation of the very letters that St. John had to write and send to the churches of Asia Minor. All seven epistles in their external form are very similar to one another and equally consist of an inscription, an introduction, the main part, an appeal and a reward. The inscription indicates the name of the church; in the introduction, the Lord appeared to John with an attribute corresponding to the state of this church; the main part talks about its advantages and disadvantages; the appeal is a call to the perfect life, the reward is the retribution for this life.

In the first place among the seven churches is Ephesus, as the closest to Fr. Patmos. Ephesus is a glorious old city on the shores of the Ikarian Sea between Smyrna and Miletus. - The Lord addresses the Primate (Angel) of the Ephesian Church, pointing to His attributes: seven lamps and seven stars, and says: I know your works, that is, all your life, as the discovery 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 morality, and those uncalled and malicious preachers. And the Ephesians, with their obviously not quite clear Christian dogmatic knowledge, needed a lot of love and devotion - Ap. Paul and John, in order to remain with their former Christian teaching and not betray him.

. But I have against you that you left your first love.

. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; but if not, I will come to you soon, and I will remove your lamp from its place, if you do not repent.

Obviously, their love, which manifested itself in deeds 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, to repent of their present coldness and return to their former deeds of love. In the 5th Art. The Lord threatens the Ephesians with His punishing visit, threatens with deprivation of His saving grace. The lamp in question here is with her archpastors and blessed gifts. The Lord threatens to take all this away from the Ephesians, to transfer it to another place. - Now, on the site of the ancient magnificent Ephesus, from behind a heap of ruins, the small village of Aia-Soluk rises, where there is a mosque built from the former church of I. Theologian. This is how this lamp of primitive Christianity was removed from its place.

. However, it is good in you that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

But comforting and encouraging the Ephesians, the Lord praises them for their aversion to the heresy of the Nicolaitans, descended from the Antiochian proselyte Nicholas, one of the seven deacons of the Jerusalem church. In Ephesus, the Nicolaites were hated and expelled, since in their teaching of licentiousness they represented the exact opposite of the prudent restraint of Ephesian Christians, who generally did not tolerate dissolute.

. He who has an ear, let him 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 that joins the message of the Ephesian church is common in Holy. Scripture call for mindfulness (;). 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 when assimilating the revelation. - The reward is consistent with the previous portrayal of the virtues of the Ephesian Christians. For their strict abstinence and hatred of the incontinent Nicolaitans, they are promised as a reward to eat the fruits of the tree of life. In relation to this tree of life, one can take for that blessed tree, which in the future life in New Jerusalem will constitute one of the conditions and sources of bliss, just as in the first paradise the tree of life was such ().

. And write to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna: thus says the First and Last, who was dead, and behold, he is alive:

Smyrna is one of the oldest cities in Asia Minor. Smirnskaya arose after 70 years. Smyrna still retains the dignity of the metropolis and in its outward state 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 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.

. i know your deeds, and sorrow, and poverty [but you are rich], and slander from those who say about themselves that they are Jews, but they are not like that, but a satanic bunch.

In the words of Art. The Lord raises the Smyrnians to the thought of His providential omniscience. He sees human sorrow and material poverty; but appreciates both patient Christian hope and devotion to God, which are here called Christian wealth. The Apocalypse calls the Jews a satanic gathering, thereby making it clear that he means the Jews who have become in decisive enmity towards Christianity. And their synagogue administration made the Jews especially strong and harmful in this case ().

. Do not be afraid of anything that you have to endure. Behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison to test you, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Smyrnians in the near future were to undergo great sorrows, special misfortunes and persecutions. But now the Myrrh people hear that the Lord Almighty looks at them with His all-seeing eye. 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 in prison will occur at the instigation of the devil (). But God, who allowed the devil in the near future to raise a persecution against the Christians of Smyrna, will limit his activities to a short time. For Christians, death itself should not be terrible, which will be the lot of some of them during persecution. - This will only be a transition to a new blessed and eternal life: the crown is a symbol of reward and glorification (;).

. He who has an ear [to hear], let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.

After the usual proclamation of attentiveness, the Smyrnaian Christians are given the promise of a reward: deliverance from the second death. The second is exactly Gehenna (;). It is death and the second and the other (special). It comes only for those who will undergo 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 Christians of Smyrna, persecuted for their faith.

. And write to the Angel of the Church of Pergamon: thus says He who has a sword sharp on both sides:

Pergamum, to the Angel of the church of which the Lord turns in the 12th century, in ancient times was the main city of Media and for some time even the capital of the Pergamon kingdom. The Christian in Pergamum, although it was 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. In the expression of the Lord's appeals to the Bishop of Pergamon, a special property of the Divine word is indicated, which is manifested in admonition, in warning and in calling a person to repentance and self-correction.

. i know your deeds, and that you live where the throne of Satan is, and that you contain My name, and you have not renounced My faith even in those days in which you, where Satan lives, killed My faithful witness Antipas.

In words: "Throne of satan" refers to the special position of Pergamum in the spread of pagan religion. In Pergamum, at the temple of Aesculapius, an extensive scientific and religious society was formed - an institution where the priests were the exclusive doctors of all diseases. 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. The Lord praises the Christians of Pergamon for the fact that, despite their disadvantageous position among the most rude and fanatical pagan population, they remained true Christians. The indication of a particular historical fact of Antipas' martyrdom is a clear confirmation of the firmness of the faith of the Pergamon Christians. - Antipas, who took the place of the Pergamon bishop, was martyred about 93 by being burned in the insides of a red-hot bull.

. But I have a little against you, because you have the teachings of Balaam held there, who taught Balak to lead the children of Israel into temptation, so that they eat what was sacrificed to idols and commit fornication.

So you also have the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which I hate.

To the praise for merit is added the reproach consisting in the reproach of the Pergamon Christians for their condescending attitude towards the Nicolaites, who are likened to Balaam in their licentiousness. The Nicolaites did not actually belong to the Pergamon Christian society; they were evidently excommunicated from him, although they lived in the same city.

. Repent; but if not, I will soon come to you and fight them with the sword of my mouth.

A warning, a call for a stricter attitude towards the Nicolaitans, is meant only for faithful Christians. A more severe threat is pronounced towards heretics. If they do not repent, then the Lord will visit Pergamum with His avenging right hand and smite the heretics with the sword of His mouth. By this sword one can understand the extraordinary action of the providence of God, sometimes striking the wicked according to one saying of His almighty word.

. 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 but the one who receives.

Comparison of the two rewards - the hidden manna and the white stone - clearly indicates that these reward items are only symbols. The hidden manna can be understood as the body and blood of Jesus Christ, which the believers eat in the sacrament of the Eucharist. So this reward applies not only to the future life, but also to the present one, consisting in the teaching of the mysterious Divine grace. - The white stone with the inscription should remind the readers of the Apocalypse of the stone that was issued both at the trial to denote acquittal or accusation, and during the competition at the games as an expression of reward. And under it is symbolically depicted the judgment of God's judgment over every Christian, according to which judgment he receives either a punishment or a reward. Here, on earth, and there, in heaven, this reward is special for everyone (no one knows, except for the one who receives it), as a blissful state of his spirit.

. And write to the Angel of the Church of Thyatira: thus says the Son of God, whose eyes are like a flame of fire, and his feet are like a Chalcolibian:

Thyatira, where the fourth epistle of the Lord is appointed, is a small Lydian town in Asia Minor, and was a Macedonian colony. It is currently a Muslim town; the number of Orthodox Christians is small, and the only one of them stands in the middle of the cemetery and is almost completely rooted in the ground. In addressing the Thyatira Christians, the Lord points to the properties of His Divine nature with his epithet: 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 (the Justice of God).

. i know your deeds and love, and service, and faith, and your patience, and that your last deeds are greater than the first.

The Lord praises the Thyatirians 1) for their mercy and love for their neighbors; 2) for the conscious assimilation of the dogmas of the Christian faith; 3) for patiently enduring earthly misfortunes and sorrows and 4) for the Christian striving for greater perfection in virtues.

. But I have a little against you, because you allow the wife of Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and mislead My servants, to commit fornication, and there is something sacrificed to idols.

For the Thyatirians, in their pure Christian life, indulgence toward Jezebel's wife was a moral hazard. Under this wife, one can see both a figurative designation of the Nicolaitian heresy, and a historical person, the famous woman Jezebel, who, falsely posing as a prophetess. inclined Christians to acts contrary to Christian morality, to the heresy of the Nicolaitans. Possessing the authority of a prophetess, she all the more strongly, boldly and more successfully persuaded many Christians to a depraved life and to neglect Christian discipline (there is something sacrificed to idols), and all churches will understand that I am the one who tests hearts and entrails; and will repay each of you according to your deeds.

The Lord gave time to repent for both Jezebel and the Thyatirians, but in vain. There was no repentance, and therefore in 22 v. the threat of the already impending judgment of God is expressed. Judgment and execution begins with Jezebel as the culprit of wickedness; she is afflicted with a disease that makes her bedridden. For those who committed adultery with her, and according to her teaching contain heretical teaching, the Lord threatens with great sorrow.

. But to you and others who are in Thyatira, who do not keep this teaching and who do not know the so-called depths of Satan, I say that I will not impose any other burden on you;

. keep only 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 teaching and temptations of the Jezebel sect. The Lord characterizes them as strangers to the teachings of this false prophetess and not knowing the so-called satanic depths. Under the depths of Satan, one must understand here the very philosophical system of heresy of Gnosticism, which must be called the depth of Satan, the highest manifestation of the devil's actions. The Gnostics boasted of their system of philosophy and considered everyone not involved in it to be pathetic ignoramuses. But the Lord notes that the Thyatirians should not be embarrassed, for the law of God, God's revelation, by following which they have already achieved significant moral perfection, is sufficient for their salvation.

. He who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, to him I will give authority over the Gentiles.

. and he will rule them with a rod of iron; like earthen vessels, they will be broken, as I also received power from my Father;

The reward will be awarded only to those who remain the winner in enduring suffering and labor until the end of their earthly career. Power over the pagans, as a reward for the Thyatirians, will be expressed in herding them with a rod of iron and in crushing them like earthen vessels. An iron rod is a symbol of solid power, earthen vessels are a symbol of weakness and insignificance. By pagans, one should understand generally people who do not belong to the Kingdom of God. Under the authority over the pagans (in fact, awards) means the high position of the righteous before all other people, both still here on earth (in the sense of the authority of their moral strength), so especially after death, when they, like glorified ones, act on those who live by their prayers and intercession before the throne of the Most High.

There are Bibles in which the words of Jesus Christ are highlighted in red. If you have a Bible like this, you will notice that there are very few verses in red in the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles, unlike the four Gospels. The writing of Acts and the Epistles of the Apostles was inspired by the same Holy Spirit, but the story is not narrated from the person of Jesus Christ. The situation changes in Revelation, the last book of the Bible. Here Christ again speaks for Himself. Therefore, in this section, I would like to draw your attention to some truths from the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation. These chapters record an appeal to the seven churches in Asia Minor. Jesus himself dictated letters to the Apostle John, which he commanded to be sent to these churches along with the entire book. It is amazing how little attention is paid to these messages of Jesus. I am familiar with the theory that these messages of Christ and the entire book of Revelation do not apply to us, but to future believers who will have to understand the meaning of what is written. We may not attach much importance to these messages and the book, since they are given to us only for our information. In the third appendix of this book, I give reasons why I consider this theory to be false.

Continuing the theme of the messages themselves, I want to draw your attention to the fact that all seven letters end with a promise for those who win. Let's read these promises:

Revelation 2: 7:
"To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

Revelation 2:11:
"He who overcomes will not suffer harm from the second death."

Revelation 2:17:
"To him who overcomes I will give to eat the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone and a new name written on the stone, which no one knows except the one who receives."

Revelation 2: 26-28:
« Who overcomes and keeps my works to the endTo him I will give authority over the Gentiles, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; like earthen vessels, they will be broken, as I also received power from my Father; and I will give him the morning star. "

Revelation 3: 5:
“He who overcomes will be clothed in white garments; and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. "

Revelation 3:12:
“He who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never go out again; and I will write on it the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from heaven from my God, and my new name. "

And Revelation 3:21:
"To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."

It is amazing what promises were made to the one who overcomes, who keeps the commandments of Christ, who keeps the works of the Lord and endures to the end. However, many people feel that they don't need to win anything. They are convinced that everything was already done in the distant past - at the time of the adoption of faith. They also believe that the field of faith not only started the moment they believed, but ended the same moment. If this were true, then Jesus would not need to talk about those who overcome. However, the Lord insists on the need to overcome. There will also be those who WILL NOT overcome the promised promises.

Take, for example, the promise recorded at Revelation 3: 5:

“He who overcomes will be clothed in white garments; and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. "

Jesus promised that our names would not be removed from the book of life if we overcome. Therefore, our names will be removed if we do not win. The book of life contains the names of those who await eternal life (Phil. 4: 3). They will dwell forever in the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:27). Those who are not included in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). In other words, only those people whose names are included in the book of life will receive eternal life. Jesus makes it clear that new names can be written in the book of life, and the names of those who do not seek to overcome, who retreat, can be removed. Thus, the writing of our names in the book of life does not mean that it cannot be deleted. Anyone who does not overcome, backslide, and does not repent (see subsequent study of Hebrews 6) will not be found in the book of life. I know that many are unwilling to hear this simple truth of God's Word. Personally, I'm not ready to ignore her and try to justify my innocence.

Art. 28-29 And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear (to hear), let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches

By the morning star or the one about whom the Prophet Isaiah speaks: "What a fall from the sky a day of the rising morning" (14:12) and promises to put her crushed under the feet of the faithful (Luke 10: 18-19; Psalm 90), or the day, mentioned by blessed Peter, and shining clearly in the hearts of the faithful (2 Peter 1:19), that is, the enlightenment of Christ. The Baptist John and Elijah the Thesbite are also called Dennitsa - one as the Forerunner of the first rising of the Sun of righteousness, and the other as the second coming. And we believe that the overcomers of the devil will have a part with them. There is nothing surprising in the fact that by the same name we call so opposed to each other; for we know from Scripture that under the name of the lion interpreted in different senses, Christ is also meant - Lion from Judas, and the antichrist - lion from Bashan. And one more thing: under the east, of course, is the beginning of the future day, which will dissipate the darkness real life- and the Angel preaching about him, for he will go before the Sun of righteousness, which has to enlighten the Saints and destroy the twilight of real life. - May we be enlightened by His rays by the grace of the Father with the All-Holy Spirit. Glory to Him forever. Amen.

Schmch. Victorine Petaviysky

Springy

And I will give him the morning star, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, Whom evening will never overtake, but He is eternal light, and He Himself always dwells in the light. The same can be understood differently: He promises the morning star, that is first resurrection, the morning star that casts out the night and proclaims light.

Treatise on Revelation.

Tyconium

and give him the morning star

Under the morning star, one should interpret and accept both Christ and the first resurrection in a similar way, since He turned away the darkness of errors by His appearance and, as His resurrection came in time, put the world darkness of the night into flight. For this star, just as it puts the end of the night, so also heralds the beginning of the day.

Fragments.

Ecumenius

And I will give him the morning star. The prophet spoke about Assyria, or about Satan: How you fell from the sky, day, son of the dawn! (Isa 14:12). And now [the Lord] calls him the morning star. So, He means that He will give Satan under the authority of His servants. Similarly, the apostle states: God will soon crush Satan under your feet... And [elsewhere]: you will step on the asp and the basilisk; you will trample the lion and the dragon

Hello Alexey!

When studying the Bible, it is best to use the principle that the Bible interprets itself. And above all, the immediate context must be taken into account. The word "overcomer" is used several times in the epistle to the seven churches, and as a conclusion the phrase sounds: "To the one who overcomes I will give to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne" ().

Many researchers of the book of Revelation believe that this phrase is the key not only to the message of the seven churches, but to the entire book of Revelation as a whole. In Revelation chapter 12, the universal battle between Jesus and Satan is figuratively presented (translated as the enemy). The book of Revelation shows us that the conflict that began in heaven has moved to earth and that Jesus defeated Satan both in heaven and on earth. And our battle, first of all a spiritual battle, consists in taking sides, so that at the Second Coming of Jesus we become winners or losers. Regarding that, we can assume that here we are also talking about the final victory at the Second Coming of Jesus (see the context of the verse). It speaks of "hidden manna", but if you recall the Old Testament, then God gave manna from heaven when God's people walked in the desert, that is, God took care of His people in a special way, and even in the desert people did not need food. And God promises to give the conqueror a taste of the heavenly, hidden manna, that is, He promises to give a person a joyful life according to heavenly laws.

Yours faithfully,
Vitaly

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