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SUBJECT: Revelation 2:9 and Revelation 3:9 “Say they
are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan”
QUESTION: Who are these being spoken of?
ANSWER:
First the verses:
Revelation 2:9
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou
art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they
are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Revelation 3:9
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which
say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will
make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know
that I have loved thee.
Now the commentaries:
Revelation 2:9
[Of them which say
they are Jews] Who profess to be Jews. The idea seems
to be that though they were of Jewish extraction, and
professed to be Jews, they were not true Jews; they indulged
in a bitterness of reproach, and a severity of language,
which showed that they had not the spirit of the Jewish
religion; they had nothing which became those who were under
the guidance of the spirit of their own Scriptures. That
would have inculcated and fostered a milder temper; and the
meaning here is, that although they were of Jewish origin,
they were not worthy of the name. That spirit of bitter
opposition was indeed often manifested in their treatment of
Christians, as it had been of the Saviour, but still it was
foreign to the true nature of their religion. There were
Jews in all parts of Asia Minor, and the apostles often
encountered them in their journeyings, but it would seem
that there was something which had particularly embittered
those of Smyrna against Christianity. What this was is now
unknown.
It may throw some light on the passage,
however, to remark that at a somewhat later period-- in the
time of the martyrdom of Polycarp-- the Jews of Smyrna were
among the most bitter of the enemies of Christians, and
among the most violent in demanding the death of Polycarp.
Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. 4:15) says,. that when Polycarp was
apprehended, and brought before the proconsul at Smyrna, the
Jews were the most furious of all in demanding his
condemnation. When the mob, after his condemnation to death,
set about gathering fuel to burn him, "the Jews," says he,
"being especially zealous, as was their custom-- [malista]
(grk 3122) [prothumoos] (grk 4290), [hoos] (grk 5613)
[ethos] (grk 1485) [autois] (grk 846)-- ran to procure
fuel." And when, as the burning failed, the martyr was
transfixed with weapons, the Jews urged and besought the
magistrate that his body might not be given up to
Christians. Possibly at the time when this epistle was
directed to be sent to Smyrna, there were Jews there who
manifested the same spirit which those of their countrymen
did afterward, who urged on the death of Polycarp.
[But are the
synagogue of Satan] Deserve rather to be called the
synagogue of Satan. The synagogue was a Jewish place of
worship (compare the notes
on <Matthew 4:23>), but the word originally
denoted "the assembly" or "the congregation." The meaning
here is plain, that though they worshipped in a synagogue,
and professed to be the worshippers of God, yet they were
not worthy of the name, and deserved rather to be regarded
as in the service of Satan. "Satan" is the word that is
properly applied to the great evil spirit, elsewhere called
the devil. See the notes on <Luke 22:3>, and <Job 1:6>.
~from Barnes' Notes
*****
Revelation 2:9
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but
thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue
of Satan.
[Thy works, and]--
so 'Aleph (') B; But A C, Vulgate, and Coptic, omit.
[Tribulation]--
owing to persecution.
[Poverty]--
owing to `spoiling of their goods. '
[But thou art rich]--
in grace. Contrast Laodicea, rich in the world's eyes, poor
before God. `There are both poor rich-men, and rich poor-men
in God's sight' (Trench).
[Blasphemy of them]--
blasphemous calumny of thee arising from them, etc.
[Say they are Jews,
and are not]-- Jews by national descent, not
spiritually of "the true circumcision." The Jews blaspheme
Christ as `the hanged one. ' As elsewhere, so at Smyrna,
they bitterly opposed Christianity; at Polycarp's martyrdom
they joined the pagans in clamouring for his being cast to
the lions; and when there was an obstacle to this, for his
being burnt alive; with their own hands they carried logs
for the pile.
Synagogue of Satan
- Only once is "synagogue" in the New Testament used of the
Christian assembly, and that by the apostle who longest
maintained the union of the Church and Jewish synagogue
(margin, <James 2:2>). As the Jews opposed Christianity, and
it more and more rooted itself in the Gentile world,
"synagogue" was left altogether to the former, and
Christians appropriated the honourable term "Church:"
contrast an earlier time, when the Jewish theocracy was "the
church in the wilderness" <Acts 7:38>. Compare <Numbers
16:3; 20:4>, "congregation of the Lord." The Jews, who might
have been "the Church of God," had now, by their opposition,
become the "synagogue of Satan." So `the throne of Satan'
<Revelation 2:13> represents the pagan's opposition; "the
depths of Satan" <Revelation 2:24>, the opposition of
heretics. ~from Jamieson,
Fausset, and Brown Commentary
*****
Revelation 2:8-11 (excerpt
from this commentary on the specific verse in question)
3. He knows the wickedness and the falsehood
of their enemies: I know the blasphemy of those that say
they are Jews, but are not; that is, of those who pretend to
be the only peculiar covenant-people of God, as the Jews
boasted themselves to be, even after God had rejected them;
or of those who would be setting up the Jewish rites and
ceremonies, which were now not only antiquated, but
abrogated; these may say that they only are the church of
God in the world, when indeed they are the synagogue of
Satan. Observe,
(1.) As Christ has a church in the world,
the spiritual Israel of God, so the devil has his synagogue.
Those assemblies which are set up in opposition to the
truths of the gospel, and which promote and propagate
damnable errors,-- those which are set up in opposition to
the purity and spirituality of gospel worship, and which
promote and propagate the vain inventions of men and rites
and ceremonies which never entered into the thoughts of
God,-- these are all synagogues of Satan: he presides over
them, he works in them, his interests are served by them,
and he receives a horrid homage and honour from them.
(2.) for the synagogues of Satan to give
themselves out to be the church or Israel of God is no less
than blasphemy. God is greatly dishonoured when his name is
made use of to promote and patronize the interests of Satan;
and he has a high resentment of this blasphemy, and will
take a just revenge on those who persist in it.
~from Matthew Henry's
Commentary
*****
Revelation 2:8-11
(Revised Text)--
"And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These
things saith the first and the last, who became dead and
revived: I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (nevertheless
thou art rich), and I know thy reproach from
those who say they are Jews and are not, but are Satan's
synagogue. Fear not the things which thou art about to
suffer; behold, indeed, the devil is about to cast some of
you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have
tribulation ten days: be faithful unto the endurance of
death, and I will give thee the crown of life. He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches. He that evercometh shall not be hurt of the second
death."
Smyrna is a word three times translated in
the New Testament. (<Matthew 2:11; Mark 15:23; John 19:39>).
It signifies myrrh, an aromatic exudation from a thorny
tree, which furnished one of the ingredients of the holy
ointment, and was used by the ancients in embalming the
dead. It had associated with it the idea of something
grateful to God, and connected also with death and
resurrection. It well describes a Church persecuted unto
death, and lying embalmed in the precious spices of its
sufferings, such as the Church of Smyrna was. It was the
Church of Myrrh, or bitterness, and yet agreeable and
precious unto the Lord, holy in the midst of its
tribulations, and full of blessed hopes for the world to
which the resurrection is to bring the saints. Nothing of
complaint is said of this Church; but neither are any
special works or achievements enumerated to its praise,
while the presence of an evil synagogue is affirmed.
A poor Church, in the midst of persecution
and suffering, cannot be expected to do much. To endure
steadfastly is, then, all that can be looked for, and is
worthy of highest commendation. From two sources did these
troubles spring: from blaspheming Jews, and from intolerant
pagans; both actuated by the devil. When Polycarp was tried
and martyred (whom some
regard as the angel of the Church here addressed),
we are told that the Jews joined with the pagan in
clamouting for the good bishop's destruction, and were the
most forward in bringing the fuel for the fire which
consumed him. These Jews were blasphemers, in the enmity and
contempt which they felt and enacted against Christ and His
people; and they were false Jews, and a mere Satanic
synagogue, because of that blasphemy. "For he is not a Jew
which is one outwardly; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly"
(<Romans 2:28>). It was thus a two-horned antichrist by
which this little Church was gored, bereft, oppressed and
trampled; a Church destitute, powerless, crushed, but rich
in divine grace, pleasing to God, and comforted with joyous
hopes for the world to come, though having nothing but
suffering to expect in this.
~from Seiss' Apocalypse
*****
Now notice this from Vincent's Word Studies of the New
Testament
Revelation 2:9
[Blasphemy]
[blasfeemian (grk 988)]. See the note at <Mark 7:22>. Not
primarily direct blasphemy against God, but reviling at
believers.
[Jews].
Literally. Not Christians, as in <Philippians 3:3; Romans
2:28-29>. Actually Jews by birth, but not spiritually. The
title is not given them by the Spirit, nor by the seer, but
by themselves; and none would use that title except such as
were Jews by birth and by religion. The enmity of the Jews
against Christians is a familiar fact to all readers of the
book of Acts; and it is a matter of history that their
malignity was especially displayed toward the Church of
Smyrna. In the circular letter addressed by the Church of
Smyrna to the churches in the Christian world, it is related
that Jews joined with pagan in clamoring that Polycarp
should be cast to the lions or burned alive, and were
foremost [hoos] (grk 5613) [ethos] (grk 1485) [autois] (grk
846) ("as was their wont")
in bringing logs for the pile, and in the
endeavor to prevent the remains of the martyr from being
delivered to his Christian associates for burial.
[Synagogue of Satan].
For "synagogue," see the note on "assembly," <Jasmes 2:2>,
the only passage in which the word is used for a Christian
assembly. This fact goes to support the literal explanation
of the term "Jews." For "Satan," see the note at <Luke
10:18>. For John's use of the expression "the Jews," see the
note at <John 1:19>. The use of the word here in an
honorable sense, so different from John's custom, has been
urged against his authorship of the Book of Revelation. But
John here only quotes the word, and, further, employs it
without the article. ~from
Vincent's Word Studies of the New Testament
These commentaries should
make it clear especially with the constant reference to
Romans 2:28-29. |