to think differently or afterwards · verb — aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
or
εἰei
G1487
if · conditional particle
else
μή,mē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
I will come
ἔρχομαίerchomai
G2064
to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 1st person singular
unto thee
σοίsoí
G4671
to thee
quickly
ταχὺtachu
G5035
shortly · adverb
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
will fight
πολεμήσωpolemēsō
G4170
to be (engaged) in warfare · verb — future active indicative, 1st person singular
against
μετ᾽met᾽
G3326
properly · preposition
them
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
with
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
the sword
ῥομφαίᾳrhomphaia
G4501
a sabre · noun — dative singular feminine
of
στόματόςstomatos
G4750
the mouth (as if a gash in the face) · noun — genitive singular neuter
my
μοῦmoû
G3450
of me
mouth
στόμαstóma
G4750
the mouth (as if a gash in the face)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of h…
Revelation 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in hi…
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove t…
Isaiah 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod…
Revelation 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
Revelation 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treade…
Revelation 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were fil…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Revelation 2:12-17
Here also we are to consider,
I. The inscription of this message. 1. To whom it was sent: To the angel of the church of Pergamos. Whether this was a city raised up out of the ruins of old Troy, a Troy nouveau (as our London was once called), or some other city of the same name, is neither certain nor material; it was a place where Christ had called and constituted a gospel church, by the preaching of the gospel and the grace of his Spirit making the word effectual. 2. Who it was that sent this message to Pergamos: the same Jesus who here describes himself as one that hath the sharp sword with two edges (Rev 1:16), out of whose mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. Some have observed that, in t…
The three oldest manuscripts read, "Repent, therefore." Not only the Nicolaitanes, but the whole Church of Pergamos is called on to repent of not having hated the Nicolaitane teaching and practice. Contrast Paul, Act 20:26.
I will come--I am coming.
fight against them--Greek, "war with them"; with the Nicolaitanes primarily; but including also chastisement of the whole Church at Pergamos: compare "unto THEE."
with the sword of my mouth--resumed from Rev 1:16, but with an allusion to the drawn sword with which the angel of the Lord confronted Balaam on his way to curse Israel: an earnest of the sword by which he and the seduced Israelites fell at last. The spiritual Balaamites of John's…
Will fight against them with the sword of my mouth - See on Rev 2:12 (note). He now speaks for their edification and salvation; but if they do not repent, he will shortly declare those judgments which shall unavoidably fall upon them.
John Gill on Revelation 2:16
Repent,.... This is said to those who were truly godly in those times, but still retained their communion with these corrupt men, and had not, as yet, separated from then; nor had they protested against these evil doctrines and practices, at least but very coldly, and had too much connived at them; and therefore are called upon to repent of their lukewarmness, negligence, and sinful compliances:
or else I will come unto thee quickly: in a providential way, to rebuke and chastise for such remissness, indifference, and evil communication:
and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth; of this sword; see Gill on Revelation 1:16. And it is observable, that Christ does not say, "I will…
The Church Fathers
"You also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and war against you with the sword of my mouth." He speaks of a sword. … The sword is the commandments of both Testaments by which the contemptuous are spiritually overcome. "For those who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law."
Then he says, Repent therefore; if not, I will come to you soon and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. O depth of the riches and wisdom, and goodness of God. (Rom. 11:33) For he did not say, "I am coming to fight against you," but rather, "I will fight against them," clearly referring to the Nicolaitans. For he spared among those in Pergamum who were faithful and devout.
Let us show from the Apocalypse that repentance unaccompanied by baptism ought to be allowed valid in the case of heretics. It is imputed to the angel of Ephesus that he has forsaken his first love. In the angel of the church of Pergamum the eating of idol sacrifices is censured, and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Likewise the angel of Thyatira is rebuked on account of Jezebel the prophetess, and the idol meats, and fornication. And yet the Lord encourages all these to repent and adds a threat, moreover, of future punishment if they do not turn. Now he would not urge them to repent unless he intended to grant pardon to the penitents. Is there any indication of his having said, Let them be rebaptized who have been baptized in the faith of the Nicolaitans? Or let hands be laid upon those of the people of Pergamum who at that time believed, having held the doctrine of Balaam? No, rather, "Repent therefore," he says, "or else I come to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Jezebel — Chaste, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Zidonians, and the wife of Ahab, the king of Israel (1 Kings 16:31). This was the “first time that a king of Israel had allied himself by marriage…
Pergamos — The chief city of Mysia, in Asia Minor. One of the “seven churches” was planted here (Rev. 1:11; 2:17). It was noted for its wickedness, insomuch that our Lord says “Satan’s seat” was there. The…
Alliance And Society With The Enemies Of God · Punishment of — Punishment of
Pergamos · One of the “seven congregations” in — One of the “seven congregations” in
Repentance · Commanded by Christ — Commanded by Christ
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Some in Pergamum were syncretists, combining Christianity with paganism and engaging in immoral activities. John compares them to Balaam, who lured Israel into sin (see Num 25:1-3; 2 Pet 2:15; Jude 1:11). • Nicolaitans: see study note on Rev 2:6.
