11 saying, What thou seest write in a book, and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: These things saith he that has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
John to the seven assemblies which [are] in Asia: Grace to you and peace from [him] who is, and who was, and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits which [are] before his throne;
And to the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: These things saith the holy, the true; he that has the key of David, he who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open:
And to the angel of the assembly in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, he that has his eyes as a flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass:
And to the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write: These things says the first and the last, who became dead, and lived:
Salute the brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the assembly which [is] in his house. And when the letter has been read among you, cause that it be read also in the assembly of Laodiceans, and that *ye* also read that from Laodicea.
And Jehovah answered me and said, Write the vision, and engrave it upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.
Thus speaketh Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, Write thee in a book all the words that I have spoken unto thee.
And he says to me, Write, Blessed [are] they who are called to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb. And he says to me, These are the true words of God.
And he that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he says [to me], Write, for these words are true and faithful.
And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write: and I heard a voice out of the heaven saying, Seal the things which the seven thunders have spoken, and write them not.
Even as I begged thee to remain in Ephesus, [when I was] going to Macedonia, that thou mightest enjoin some not to teach other doctrines,
And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead; and he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; *I* am the first and the last,
I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith [the] Lord God, he who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
If, [to speak] after the manner of man, I have fought with beasts in Ephesus, what is the profit to me if [those that are] dead do not rise? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.
And it came to pass, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper districts, came to Ephesus, and finding certain disciples, he said to them, Did ye receive [the] Holy Spirit when ye had believed? And they [said] to him, We did not even hear if [the] Holy Spirit was [come]. And he said, To what then were ye baptised? And they said, To the baptism of John. And Paul said, John indeed baptised [with] the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him that was coming after him, that is, on Jesus. And when they heard that, they were baptised to the name of the Lord Jesus. And Paul having laid [his] hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve. And entering into the synagogue, he spoke boldly during three months, reasoning and persuading [the things] concerning the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and disbelieved, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he left them and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this took place for two years, so that all that inhabited Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. And God wrought no ordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even napkins or aprons were brought from his body [and put] upon the sick, and the diseases left them, and the wicked spirits went out. And certain of the Jewish exorcists also, who went about, took in hand to call upon those who had wicked spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches. And there were certain [men], seven sons of Sceva, Jewish high priest, who were doing this. But the wicked spirit answering said to them, Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with; but *ye*, who are ye? And the man in whom the wicked spirit was leaped upon them, and having mastered both, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who inhabited Ephesus, and fear fell upon all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many of those that believed came confessing and declaring their deeds. And many of those that practised curious arts brought their books [of charms] and burnt them before all. And they reckoned up the prices of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. Thus with might the word of the Lord increased and prevailed. And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in his spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, After I have been there I must see Rome also. And having sent into Macedonia two of those ministering to him, Timotheus and Erastus, he remained himself awhile in Asia. And there took place at that time no small disturbance about the way. For a certain [man] by name Demetrius, a silver-beater, making silver temples of Artemis, brought no small gain to the artisans; whom having brought together, and those who wrought in such things, he said, Men, ye know that our well-living arises from this work, and ye see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great crowd, not only of Ephesus, but almost of all Asia, saying that they are no gods which are made with hands. Now not only there is danger for us that our business come into discredit, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be counted for nothing, and that her greatness should be destroyed whom the whole of Asia and the world reveres. And having heard [this], and being filled with rage, they cried out, saying, Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians. And the [whole] city was filled with confusion, and they rushed with one accord to the theatre, having seized and carried off with [them] Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, fellow-travellers of Paul. But Paul intending to go in to the people, the disciples suffered him not; and some of the Asiarchs also, who were his friends, sent to him and urged him not to throw himself into the theatre. Different persons therefore cried out some different thing; for the assembly was tumultuous, and the most did not know for what cause they had come together. But from among the crowd they put forward Alexander, the Jews pushing him forward. And Alexander, beckoning with his hand, would have made a defence to the people. But, recognising that he was a Jew, there was one cry from all, shouting for about two hours, Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians. And the townclerk, having quieted the crowd, said, Ephesians, what man is there then who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper of Artemis the great, and of the [image] which fell down from heaven? These things therefore being undeniable, it is necessary that ye should be calm and do nothing headlong. For ye have brought these men, [who are] neither temple-plunderers, nor speak injuriously of your goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the artisans who [are] with him have a matter against any one, the courts are being held, and there are proconsuls: let them accuse one another. But if ye inquire anything concerning other matters, it will be settled in the regular assembly. For also we are in danger to be put in accusation for sedition for this [affair] of to-day, no cause existing in reference to which we shall be able to give a reason for this concourse. And having said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
But a certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, who was mighty in the scriptures, arrived at Ephesus.
and he arrived at Ephesus, and left them there. But entering himself into the synagogue he reasoned with the Jews. And when they asked him that he would remain for a longer time [with them] he did not accede, but bade them farewell, saying, [I must by all means keep the coming feast at Jerusalem]; I will return to you again, if God will: and he sailed away from Ephesus.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Revelation 1
Commentary on Revelation 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Revelation of ST. John the Divine
Chapter 1
This chapter is a general preface to the whole book, and contains,
Rev 1:1-2
Here we have,
Rev 1:3-8
We have here an apostolic benediction on those who should give a due regard to this divine revelation; and this benediction is given more generally and more especially.
Rev 1:9-20
We have now come to that glorious vision which the apostle had of the Lord Jesus Christ, when he came to deliver this revelation to him, where observe,