Revelation 2:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

NIV: Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

NASB: The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

CSB: "Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

NLT: 'Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

KJV: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

NKJV: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

Jesus concludes His letter to the church at Thyatira by challenging the recipients of these letters to hear what the Spirit says. Since all of the messages are included in a single written form, it seems that Jesus wants each church to read, and understand, the messages given to other churches, as well as to their own. Undoubtedly the followers of Jezebel (Revelation 2:20–21) would not heed the Spirit's message, but the faithful remnant would hear and obey it.

How one hears the Word of God is extremely important. James tells us we should not simply hear God's Word and immediately forget it. Instead, James calls for obeying what we hear. The hearer and doer of the Word, James declares, will be blessed in what he does (James 1:25).

In Matthew 7:24–27 Jesus compared two kinds of hearers of His words to two kinds of builders. The doer of Jesus' words is like a wise builder who constructed His house on a rock. When a heavy downpour and floods pushed against the wise man's house, it stood firm. However, a foolish man built his house on sand. When heavy rain fell and floods came, the foolish man's house collapsed. Similarly, a wise person will obey Jesus' words and enjoy a secure life, whereas a foolish person will ignore Jesus' words and experience ultimate calamity.

Revelation 2:18–29 reveals what Jesus instructed John to write to the church at Thyatira. Although the church exhibited commendable virtues, it allowed an evil woman—here referred to as Jezebel—to lead its members into immorality and idolatry. Jesus predicted strict punishment for her and her followers. The churches would know by Jesus' action that He searches the mind and heart and deals with everyone according to his or her works. Those who did not follow Jezebel's teachings would not be punished, but Jesus encouraged them to stay loyal to Him until His return, when He will rule the nations and permit the faithful to rule with Him.

The contents of Revelation 2 are miniature letters to four churches, dictated by Jesus to John. Ephesus and Smyrna were coastal cities, whereas Pergamum and Thyatira were inland cities. Three more such letters are in Revelation 3. Each of these messages contains a unique description of Jesus, a command, a promise. All but one—the church in Laodicea—receive some commendation. All but two of the seven letters—those to the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia—also contain a critical rebuke. Like churches today, most of the congregations addressed by Jesus had both good characteristics and at least one point which needed correction.

In chapter 1, John introduced his order from Jesus Christ: to write out a message to seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:9–11). Here in this chapter, John writes to the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum, and the church in Thyatira. Chapter 3 will continue with messages to the other three churches. The rest of Revelation will explain future events connected to the ''end times.''

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''