Ezekiel 32 – Egypt’s pharaoh is again compared to a crocodile, snorting, churning the waters and muddying its streams (32:2). God’s net will be thrown over this crocodile and its carcass will be scattered, leaving the country in darkness. The world will be shocked at the fate of Egypt.

Egypt will go down to Sheol and there meet with those who have died in battles before – Assyria, Elam [ancient civilization in SW Iran], Meshech, Tubal, Edom, the princes of the North and the Sidonians.

One is reminded of the many works of literature that also are built on the premise that there is a dark abode, beneath the earth and beyond time where the personages of the past may be encountered suffering judgment for all the bad things they did in life.

Revelation 2 – The messages that are to go to “the angel” watching over these churches is are as follows:

To Ephesus – The beginning image here is the image of one holding the seven stars in his right hand, surrounded by seven gold lamp-stands. Ephesus was the religious capital. They are praised for their patience and discernment – they tested some who called themselves apostles but were not. They have suffered tirelessly, but the “have less love now than [they] used to” (2:4). They need to repent and be as they were at first.

They loathe what the Nicolaitans are doing, which is good. No certainty exists as to what the Nicolaitans practiced that was thought though some seem to think they were associated with promiscuity. Wikipedia says Hippolytus of Rome (170-235), disciple of Irenaeus, wrote it was product of a deacon Nicolas, hence the name.

The Ephesians are praised for just sticking to the more ethically conservative gospel that was considered authentic.

To Smyrna: No introductory symbol in this letter unless it is just the resurrected Christ, “the First and the Last, who was dead and has come to life again” (2:8). They are poor and have had many trials. The Jews have accused them unfairly, and they will face an ordeal, but they are encouraged not to be afraid. The ordeal will be short, and “even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize” (2:11).

To Pergamum: Message from the one with the sharp, double-edged sword [judgment]: Satan is enthroned where they live but they hold firmly to Christ. Antipas [the bishop] was killed in Pergamum. Some there are “followers of Balaam” (Nicolaitans); they must repent. To “those who prove victorious I will give the hidden manna and a white stone—a stone with a new name written on it, known only to the man who receives it” (2:17).

To Thyatira: The introductory symbol here is of the burning eyes and feet like burnished bronze [divine knowledge and permanence]: The Thyatirans are charitable and devoted but they encouraged the woman Jezebel, “who claims to be a prophetess,” and she is luring people to eat food sacrificed to idols. It is “I who search heart and loins and give each one of you what your behavior deserves” (2:21).