Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

Adam Clarke Commentary

That which ye have - That is, the pure doctrine of the Gospel, hold fast till I come - till I come to execute the judgments which I have threatened.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

But that which ye have … - All that there is of truth and purity remaining among you, retain faithfully. Compare Revelation 3:11.

Till I come - To receive you to myself, John 14:3.

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible

Nevertheless that which ye have, hold fast until I come.

The coming here is not the Second Advent. "It was necessary to hold fast to the Christian profession until Christ came in visitation through the trials soon to confront the churches."[93]

ENDNOTE:

[93] J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 46.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

But that which ye have already,.... Which was something good, even the faithful word, the form of sound words, the mystery and doctrine of faith; this they had received from Christ and his apostles; they had it in their hearts, and a comfortable experience of the truth and power of it, and had made a profession of it, which they now held, and are here exhorted to hold fast:

hold fast till I come; meaning the coming of Christ, either at the Reformation by Luther, Calvin, and others, which began at the close of this church state, when the hands and hearts of those professors would be more strengthened, which seems to be the first sense of the words; or to judge Jezebel, destroy antichrist, which will be by the brightness of his coming; till which time the doctrine of the Gospel is to be held fast: and such an exhortation will be always necessary, since, till then, there will be always more or less an opposition to it, and attempts made to wrest it out of the hands of its professors, to cause them to hesitate about it, and to intimidate them in the profession of it, by loading them with reproaches, calumnies, and persecution.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

that which ye have already — (Judges 1:3, end).

hold fast — do not let go from your grasp, however false teachers may wish to wrest it from you.

till I come — when your conflict with evil will be at an end. The Greek implies uncertainty as to when He shall come.

Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament

Howbeit (πλην — plēn). Common after ουκ αλλο — ouk allo as a preposition with the ablative (Mark 12:32), but here a conjunction as in Philemon 1:18.

Hold fast (κρατησατε — kratēsate). First aorist active imperative of κρατεω — krateō either ingressive (get a grip on) or constative (hold on as a single decisive effort). See present imperative κρατει — kratei in Revelation 3:11 (keep on holding).

Till I come (αχρι ου αν ηχω — achri hou an hēxō). Indefinite temporal clause with αχρι ου — achri hou (until which time) with modal αν — an and either the future active indicative or the first aorist active subjunctive of ηκω — hēkō (usual idiom with αχρι — achri in Revelation as in Revelation 7:3; Revelation 15:8; Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:5).

Vincent's Word Studies

Hold fast ( κρατήσατε )

See on Mark 7:3; see on Acts 3:11.

Till I come ( ἄχρις οὗ ἂν ἥξω )

The conditional particle ἂν marks the time of His coming as uncertain.

Wesley's Explanatory Notes

But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

What ye — Both the angel and the church have.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Ver. 25. Hold fast] κρατησατε, hold by strong hand, tug for it, with those that would take it from you.

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible

Revelation 2:25. Till I come.— That is, either in judgment upon these corrupters, or at the great consummation of all things. See the next verse.

Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament

Revelation 2:25. πλὴν) Amos 3:2, רק. Septuagint, πλὴν.— ἄχρις οὗ ἂν ἥξω) ἤκω, derived from the preterite of the verb ἵημι, already in the present involves the preterite [I am come, I am present]. And so the future, ἥξω, I will be present, ch. Revelation 3:3, is nearer than the present ἔρχομαι itself, when taken alone. Thus, ἥκω, ἥκει, ἥκουσι, John 8:42; John 2:4; John 4:47; 1 John 5:20; Luke 15:27; Mark 8:3, note. Whence, Hebrews 10:7; Hebrews 10:9, ἥκω is used for the preterite באתי, Psalms 40:7; and thus the Septuagint everywhere: Numbers 23:1 (or Numbers 22:36); Deuteronomy 33:2; Joshua 23:14-15; Judges 16:2; 1 Samuel 16:2; 1 Samuel 29:6; 1 Samuel 29:10; 2 Samuel 3:23. There is a remarkable instance in Ecclesiastes 5:14, ἐπιστρέψει, ὡς ἥκει.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

But that which ye have already; than you already groan under. Or, no other precepts than what you have had from the apostles: the precepts of God are called burdens, Matthew 11:30 Acts 15:28.

Hold fast till I come; hold fast your profession, your faith and holiness, till I come to judgment.

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

‘However what you do have, hold fast until I come.’

While many in the church are doing well, they must be careful to maintain their vigilance so that they maintain their position before God, in order to be ready for when He comes. Jesus is clearly concerned lest they be overrun by this menace.

It is perhaps significant that the church of Thyatira appears to have reached a very low ebb in the second century AD, so much so that some denied its very existence. Tertullian (late second century AD) tells us that some sects rejected Revelation because they denied the existence of a church at Thyatira, and Epiphanius (fourth century AD) knew of some who said the same. But it is unlikely that the first century wave of evangelism failed to establish some sort of church there, for churches were formed everywhere in that area. It may well, however, be that the effects of Jezebel destroyed the church so that by the second century it no longer existed.

Foy E. Wallace's Commentary on the Book of Revelation

5. "But that which ye have already hold fast till I come" --2:25.

The mention of the "rest" in Pergamos referred to those of their number who were holding to the truth against the Jezebel pagan philosophies and Nicolaitane doctrines, and they were exhorted to hold fast to these truths until the rendering of the judgment against the evil elements in the church, and the execution of the judgments pronounced, in the events that were to follow. The statement "till I come" has no reference to the second advent of Christ. Jesus did not deceive the church at Thyatira into believing that his Second Advent and the Judgment Day would occur during their life time. The admonition referred to his coming in the events of judgment against the Jezebel paramours there. Again, it is solid proof that the things mentioned had fulfillment in the period of their own lives, the time to which the apocalypse belonged.

Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Revelation 2:25. But what ye have hold fast until I shall have come. It is important to notice the change of expression in the original for the ‘coming’ spoken of. Twice already in this chapter (Revelation 2:5; Revelation 2:16) have we read of a coming of the Lord, but on each of these two occasions it was closely associated with, and limited by, the words ‘unto thee.’ These ‘comings’ therefore referred not so much to the final coming as to special judgments in which it was foreshadowed: this refers rather to that in which all special judgments culminate, the Second and final Coming. Again we see another trace of the climactic nature of these Epistles.

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

already. Omit.

come = shall have come.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

That which ye have already - (Jude 1:3, end.)

Hold fast do not let go from your grasp however they try to wrest it from you Hold fast - do not let go from your grasp, however they try to wrest it from you.

Till I come - when your conflict with evil will end [ achris (Greek #891) hou (Greek #3757) an (Greek #302) heexoo (Greek #2240), implies uncertainty when He shall come].

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

that

3:3,11; Acts 11:28; Romans 12:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Hebrews 3:6; 4:14; 10:23

till

1:7; 22:7,20; John 14:3; 21:22,23; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 11:26; 2 Peter 3:10

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 8:5 - they hold;  Matthew 25:5 - the;  Galatians 5:1 - Stand;  2 Timothy 1:13 - Hold;  Titus 1:9 - Holding;  Revelation 2:13 - thou holdest;  Revelation 21:7 - overcometh

E.M. Zerr's Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament

Hold fast, or maintain their disconnection with these evil things. Till I come is equivalent to saying "until death."

Hanserd Knollys' Commentary on Revelation

Revelation 2:25

Revelation 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

That doctrine of faith, that command of holy life, which ye have already received from Christ and his apostles, was the yoke and burden of Christ which he would lay upon them; And the yoke of Christ is easy, and his burden light { Matthew 11:28-30} and Christ will put no other burden upon them, only chargeth them to hold fast that doctrine and commandment which they had received, till he come.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

25.But—Closely following upon the last words. That purity is theirs now, only hold it fast.

Till I come—Till the hour when your final account with me shall be settled.

We have elsewhere remarked, (1 Corinthians 15:23,) that while the Greek word parousia always designated, unequivocally and solely, Christ’s second advent, yet the words come and coming often refer to other interpositions and spiritual presences. The hour of death is never spoken of as such a coming. (See our note, John 14:3.) Yet perseverance to the end of our probation is perseverance even to the judgment day. Note on Matthew 24:13. So, (Revelation 2:10,) faithfulness unto death is faithfulness unto the final reward. And (Revelation 2:11) overcoming in life is verbally connected, instantaneously, with the eternal deliverance. The two things— the probation and the reward, the life passed and the coming to judgment—are connected as antecedent and consequent, irrespective of time. The intermediate time is dropped out of thought, and the close of life and the commencement of the eternal state are joined in unbroken connection. For the Thyatirans to hold fast until their closing hour, was to hold fast till I come. So next verse.

 

The Bible Study New Testament

25. But you must hold firmly. To the gospel of Christ which the apostles had taught them.