2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2:2 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:
2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.
2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
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 thycandlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Despite all appearances to the contrary, we are celestial, spiritual beings first. We descended from heaven into matter and into this world. These outer influences have taken hold on us. They possess us. We feel completely terrestrial and physical subjects of this world. This chakra reflects that loss. It must reverse its focus on worldly realities to include spiritual realities, remembering that it originally loved the spiritual things and the Father of the Gods, who is a spirit.
2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolatianes, which I also hate.
Nicolatians is from the Greek words meaning, “Conquer the people” and represent thoughts that delight in the lower nature and do not enforce spiritual consciousness or living.
2:7 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, which is in the midst of the paradise of the gods.
In its final comment to this center, the Spirit promises that if this center cleanses itself, becoming more spiritual in nature, then it will be allowed to eat from the Tree of Life again in the Paradise of the gods. In other words, it will regain its immortality and its companionship with the gods in Paradise, which was first lost in the Garden in Genesis.
2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
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.
As the Spirit turns its attention to the church of Smyrna, it identifies itself as being the first self and the last self, which was dead and is now alive again. It acknowledges that this center, the navel or lower abdomen chakra, has suffered much tribulation, poverty, and slander from those who say they are true spiritual seekers but are of “the synagogue of Satan.”
2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Edgar Cayce calls the second spiritual center and its connection to the sixth center the “seat of the soul.” The soul is the subconscious mind that descends early in life as the ego begins forming. It abides in the autonomic nervous system of the body and directly affects the endocrine glands and their hormones. Their primary points of contact are the second and sixth chakras. The spirit is aware of the soul’s poverty and tribulation in a purely physical world and a physically-dominated body, with little or no spiritual nourishment. When we are predominantly in our outer egos and conscious minds, our soul suffers and starves. Despite this, the Spirit says that the soul is rich and it should not fear its trials and imprisonment in the body because at the death of the body, symbolizing the death of Materialism, the Spirit will give it “the crown of life.”
2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
The Spirit warns that this center allows fear to take hold of it, but it must let go of fear. The Spirit promises that if this center stops being afraid and doubting the truth, it will not suffer the “second death.” Cayce says that the second death is when those who have gained understanding again fall away into self-exaltation, accentuating the ego rather than the soul-self, and suffer the death of truth a second time. If this spiritual center lets go of fear, it will never fall away again, and thereby never again suffer death of the truth.
2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where the Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where the Satan dwelleth.
As the Spirit approaches this third center, it describes itself as the one with a two-edged sword, revealing this center’s power to wield a weapon that can cut for good or evil. The Spirit acknowledges that this center held fast to “my name” and did not deny “my witness, my faithful one”; even though this center is “where the Satan’s throne is” and “where the Satan dwells.” Within each of us is both the Holy One and the Evil One, fighting for control of the individual psyche. Thus this center is a most dangerous and potentially powerful chakra. Given the energy of the powerful solar plexus and the adrenal glands’ “fight or flight” hormones, this is understandable. In many yoga texts, its power is often identified as second only to the crown chakra. According to Cayce, during physical growth and even during meditation, if the balance is maintained, the energy of the life-force, crosses the solar plexus each time it passes to another center.
2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Baalam to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
But this center is also the place of anger, impulsive reactions, and spirit-killing urges. The Spirit identifies its weaknesses and vices as eating things “sacrificed to idols” and committing “acts of immorality.” Uncontrolled, the Spirit says that this center throws “stumbling blocks” in the way of our spiritual efforts. It must stop this. If it does, then the Spirit promises that it will “eat of the hidden manna” and “receive a new name.” Cayce says that “my name” in verse 2:13 refers to our eternal name that uniquely identifies each of us from among the rest of Creation. Somehow deep within each of us, the Spirit says that we have not fully denied this aspect of ourselves. We have not killed the witness to our spiritual nature ¬ a witness that whispers within our own conscience. If we spiritually cleanse this center, then a new name will be given to us, a name that only we who receive it will know. The disciple John receives his name written upon a white stone, indicating that it will endure, or as we would say, “it’s written in stone.”
2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolatians, which thing I hate.
As earlier stated, the Nicolatians symbolize thoughts that empower the lower nature and reject the spiritual consciousness. The solar plexus chakra is one of the energy centers that tend to energize these tendencies.
2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
The “sword of my mouth” refers to the power of focused thought. This fights against the thoughts of the lower nature, which are random impulses and chaotic thoughts. The spiritual consciousness, at this stage of development, must fight against the thoughts of the lower nature.
2:17 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 hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
The manna refers to this center’s desires for self-gratification, often symbolized as bread; yet, as Yeshua so wonderfully put it, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of the gods. These words from the gods' mouth, Cayce says, are the hidden manna. As the Spirit warned, it will come upon this center “quickly with the sword of my mouth” if it doesn’t overcome its negative influences. This center is extremely important in our overall soul growth. To subdue the powerful urges and anger that this center can produce and to awaken and nourish its power for grace, forgiveness, and kindness is critical. Each of us wields a sword of great destructive or constructive power. Mastering our control over it physically and mentally is a spiritual achievement.
2:18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of the gods, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
In other words, it has the vision of the spirit and the understanding that only comes from being tested in the furnace of daily life.
2:19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
It acknowledges that the heart chakra has charity, faith, patience, service, and good works; the most recent works being greater than the first works.
2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
But it also has one major issue with this center: it lives life without love and spirit, seeking only gratification and pleasure. This is represented by the false prophet Jezebel, whose motto is to get all you want no matter how you obtain it and by acts of fornication, which is sex without love, here representative of living physically without spiritual ideals.
2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
This is a promise of Yeshua to purify the heart chakra of it’s lower nature. This is the same lower nature symbolized earlier by the “Nicolatians”.
2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Then the Spirit warns that unless the heart center changes its ways and holds fast to the good that remains, it will suffer “great tribulation” in the bed it has made for itself.
2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Yeshua says that he will destroy all manifestations of the lower nature, removing it from the heart chakra, just as he does with the other chakras.
2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of the Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Only the energy that is not pure needs to be worked on. Everything else about this chakra can be left alone. When Yeshua says that some (energy) here has not “known the depths of the Satan”, he means that the this energy of the Heart has never hated, or been jealous, or rejected Spirit.
2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
The church of Thyatira represents the Heart chakra. It must remain as pure as possible during the rest of the spiritual process described here.
2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
The energy of this chakra being given “power over the nations” means that the individual, through this chakra, can affect the entire chakra system.
2:28 And I will give him the morning star.
The morning star is a bright planet seen in the eastern horizon before sunrise. Venus is the most brilliant planet in our solar system and for half of the year appears as the morning star. In Astrology, Venus represents love, harmony, and beauty.
2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
This statement is made many times throughout this prophesy. When the text mentions having “the ear”, it means being able to understand how to properly interpret allegory and parable, which Yeshua was so fond of using during his life. This understanding is also what metaphysical schools mean when they say someone is “initiated”.