Revelation 2:9

[sturmgeist]

Revelation 2:9

Your thoughts

[raven200]

Revelation 2:9

Your thoughts

2 ¶ I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.

4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

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 thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicola'itans, which I also hate.

7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, Gen. 2.9 · Rev. 22.2 which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

8 ¶ And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, Is. 44.6 ; 48.12 · Rev. 1.17 ; 22.13 which was dead, and is alive.

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.

What is your view on this?

[manxboz]

The word synagogue comes from a Greek word meaning "assembly of men" or "congregation," and it was used much like the English word "church." The "synagogue of Satan," then, is an assembly or congregation—a church—made up of the individuals who "say they are Jews, and are not." The term "Jew" is used here in a spiritual sense.

Notice the apostle Paul's definition of a spiritual Jew in Romans 2:29: "He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God." In this case, it is not one's physical race that counts, but his spiritual condition (Galatians 3:27-29; Romans 4:16). true Christians are spiritual Jews because Jesus says in John 4:22, "salvation is of the Jews."

Those in the "synagogue of Satan" say they are spiritual Jews—pretend to be real Christians—but are not. This false church was already developing in the days of the apostle John, masquerading as God's true church. It had congregations in the cities of Smyrna and Philadelphia in Asia Minor even at that early time. It and its daughter churches are further described in Revelation 17.

One of the hallmarks of Satan's activities is deception, particularly counterfeiting the things of God. "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers [servants] transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works" (II Corinthians 11:13-15). Jesus says we will know such false ministers by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20). Thus, we should make sure that the church we attend and its ministers are following biblical doctrines and producing the fruit of righteousness. Otherwise, it may well be a "synagogue of Satan."

[nambo]

Whilst its possible its reffering to Spiritual Jews, its equaliy possible its talking about real "Jews" and how certain factions of Christendom support Zionism and what Isreals ethnic cleansing in the Holy Land.
And dont forget Jesus told the Jewish leaders of his day thier Father was Satan.

Now, If you are looking for a mention of modern day Judaism and its actions in the book of Revelation, how about Babylon the Great?

Many Biblical scholars claim its Rome as Rome sits on 7 hills, some like the Jehovahs Witnesses say its appostate Christendom.
I allways find the Bible gives its own answers.

Revelation 18 is about the fall of Babylon the Great, the final verse says,

And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

Now lets look elsewhere in the Bible, to Jesus words to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem when he was there from Matthew 23

31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Notice how Jesus himself has put the blood guilt of all righteous men, even those from before Abraham, on the shoulders of the Jews, now did he change his mind 70 years later when he gave John the Revelation?, or does this same blood guilt identify Babylon the Great as Judaism/Jerusalem.

Note Jesus also assigns the death of the Propets to Jerusalem for they where killed before Rome or the Catholic Church came along,
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!

Now lets look at some other identifing features of who Babylon the Great is.

Revelation 17 “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

A Harlot who fornicates with the Kings of the Earth.
Now who where the only people to be called by God his wife?, Isreal
Fornicating?, fornicating is an illicite union, what other institutions can be described such for dealing with Kings of the Earth like Judaism?, when Isreal looked to the arms of neighbouring countries like Egypt for help instaed of relying on the hand of God, they where accussed of fornication.

4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet,
In the old Testament, Isreal is frequently described thus.

18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Now when John recieved the vision of the Revelation, he was transported into "The Lords Day", that doesnt mean the middle ages whe the Catholic Church reigned over the Kings of the Earth, it means the time of Jesus second coming and his destruction of Satans counterfiet One World Government.
Now who would you say reigns over the Kings of the Earth today?
Maybe you should google members of the American senate with dual nationaility with Israel?
Or how the Jew Lord Levy put Tony Blair in Power, or the recent article that David Cameron is a direct decendant of Moses, or the real current leader of the Labour party, Peter Mandalson is Jewish, never mind the Miliband brothers or Jack Straw.
Then again Iam sure you are aware of Rothchilds statement that if you control a countrys bank, you control the country,

Banks eh, what does Revelation 18 say about the merchants of the Earth when Babylon the Great falls, and imagine what would happen if all the Jewish banks in the world suddenly collapsed.

3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached[b] to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her just as she rendered to you,[c] and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges[d] her.

Notice God tells "his people" to come out of her, who are Gods people, surely not the Romans or the Sun worshipping Catholic Idolaters?, Gods people where allways the Jews.
You might also see the similarity with a certain scripture in Ishiah where Jeruslam was described as someone who says in her heart, I am no widow and will never see mourning.

Back to the merchants who we saw in the first verse become rich through her.

11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you,[e] and you shall find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’

And weve allready seen the final verse, For your merchants were the great men of the earth, and dont we just know how great and powerfull even the non-Jewish global commerce institutions are by the money leant them by the Jewish Usuary system.

Its Ironic that its Zionism that steers the Kings of the Earth to form this New World Order, then the beast of its own creation turns on it and destroy its rider

16 And the ten horns which you saw on[d] the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 1

The Jewish legend of the Gollim comes to mind.

[sturmgeist]

Good to see these comments!

What I was aiming at with Revelations 2:9 is the Khazar theory as described in chapter 6 of the book David Icke's Guide to the Global Conspiracy. How a large group of Jewish people (Ashkenazi) supposedly have Khazarian backgrounds.

As for the synagogue of Satan, occult secret societies come to mind like the Bohemian Club that is attended by a lot of prominent so-called Jews.

Might this have been (one of) the messages Revelation 2:9 was supposed deliver? That is my question.

[bendoon]

At that time the Edomites had converted to Judaism and were counted as Jews, even Herod was an Edomite.

From the Jewish Encyclopedia;

the Edomites were allowed to settle in southern Palestine. At the same time they were driven by the Nabatæans from Idumea. In southern Palestine they prospered for more than four centuries. Judas Maccabeus conquered their territory for a time (B.C. 163; "Ant." xii. 8, §§ 1, 6). They were again subdued by John Hyrcanus (c. 125 B.C.), by whom they were forced to observe Jewish rites and laws (ib. xiii. 9, § 1; xiv. 4, § 4). They were then incorporated with the Jewish nation, and their country was called by the Greeks and Romans "Idumea" (Mark iii. 8; Ptolemy, "Geography," v. 16). With Antipater began the Idumean dynasty that ruled over Judea till its conquest by the Romans. Immediately before the siege of Jerusalem 20,000 Idumeans, under the leadership of John, Simeon, Phinehas, and Jacob, appeared before Jerusalem to fight in behalf of the Zealots who were besieged in the Temple (Josephus, "B. J." iv. 4, § 5).

From this time the Idumeans ceased to be a separate people, though the name "Idumea" still existed the time of Jerome.



http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=45&letter=E&search=Edom

The Edomites are the descendants of Esau and have been in conflict with the (true) Israelites for 3500 years. Their descendants today are the Zionists who are bringing forth Satans NWO.

So in my humble opinion, the Synagogue of Satan can only be one people and thats the Edomites.