SEV Biblia, Chapter 2:7
El que tiene oído, oiga lo que el Espíritu dice a las Iglesias: Al que venciere, dar a comer del rbol de la vida, el cual est en medio del Paraíso de Dios.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Revelation 2:7
Verse 7. He that hath an ear] Let every intelligent person, and every Christian man, attend carefully to what the Holy Spirit, in this and the following epistles, says to the Churches. See the note on Matt. xi. 15, where the same form of speech occurs. To him that overcometh] To him who continues steadfast in the faith, and uncorrupt in his life; who faithfully confesses Jesus, and neither imbibes the doctrines nor is led away by the error of the wicked; will I give to eat of the tree of life. As he who conquered his enemies had, generally, not only great honour, but also a reward; so here a great reward is promised tw vikwnti, to the conqueror: and as in the Grecian games, to which there may be an allusion, the conqueror was crowned with the leaves of some tree; here it is promised that they should eat of the fruit of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God; that is, that they should have a happy and glorious immortality. There is also here an allusion to Gen. ii. 9, where it is said, God made the tree of life to grow out of the midst of the garden; and it is very likely that by eating the fruit of this tree the immortality of Adam was secured, and on this it was made dependent.
When Adam transgressed, he was expelled from this garden, and no more permitted to eat of the tree of life; hence he became necessarily mortal.
This tree, in all its sacramental effects, is secured and restored to man by the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. The tree of life is frequently spoken of by the rabbins; and by it they generally mean the immortality of the soul, and a final state of blessedness. See many examples in Schoettgen. They talk also of a celestial and terrestrial paradise. The former, they say, "is for the reception of the souls of the just perfect; and differs as much from the earthly paradise as light from darkness." The Epistle to the Church at Smyrna.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 7. He that hath an ear , etc.] Such who have new ears given them, as all have who are made new creatures; such who have their ears circumcised, and opened by the Spirit of God; who hear with understanding, affection, and faith; who try what they hear, and approve, embrace, and retain that which is good. Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; let such hearken, and listen with attention to what is said by the Spirit, in what goes before, and follows after, in this epistle, designed for the use of all the churches; from whence it appears, that this epistle was endited by the Spirit of God, and is of divine inspiration; that it was not intended for the single use of the church at Ephesus, but of all the churches; and not of the seven churches only, though the Alexandrian copy reads, to the seven churches: but of all the churches in that period of time, which the Ephesine church represents; and which may also be useful to the churches of Christ in all other ages and periods of time. And moreover, it may be concluded from hence, that there are in this epistle, and so in all the rest, for the same words are subjoined to them all, some things which are parabolical and prophetic, and not obvious to everyone's understanding and view; for a like expression is used by our Lord, when he had delivered anything in a parabolical way, or was obscure; (see Matthew 11:15 13:9). To him that overcometh : the false apostles, false teachers, and their doctrines; coldness, lukewarmness, and remissness in love; the impure tenets and practices of the Nicolaitans: will I give to eat of the tree of life ; by which is meant Jesus Christ himself, in allusion to the tree of life in the garden of Eden; and is so called, because he is the author of life, natural, spiritual, and eternal; and because of his fruit, the blessings of life and grace, that are in him, of which believers may eat by faith, and which they find to be soul quickening, comforting, strengthening, and satisfying; and which are Christ's gift to them, even both the food they eat, and the faith by which they eat, are his gifts. So Christ, under the name of Wisdom, is called the Tree of life, in ( Proverbs 3:18); and this is a name which is sometimes given by the Jews to the Messiah f53 : which is in the midst of the paradise of God ; as the tree of life was in the garden of Eden, ( Genesis 2:9). The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read, the paradise of my God; the God of Christ, as well as of his people; and by which may be meant, either the church on earth, which is as a paradise, ( Song of Solomon 4:12); in the midst of which Christ is, affording his gracious presence, and reaching forth his grace, and the benefits of it, to his people; or heaven, (see Gill on 2 Corinthians 12:4), said to be of God, because it is of his preparing, and where he dwells, and in the midst of which Christ, the Tree of life, is; and this shows, that he is to be come at by faith, and his fruit to be eaten, and lived upon; and he is to be beheld and enjoyed by all his saints, as he is now, and will be more perfectly hereafter.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-7 - These churches were in such different states as to purity of doctrin and the power of godliness, that the words of Christ to them wil always suit the cases of other churches, and professors. Christ know and observes their state; though in heaven, yet he walks in the mids of his churches on earth, observing what is wrong in them, and what they want. The church of Ephesus is commended for diligence in duty Christ keeps an account of every hour's work his servants do for him and their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. But it is not enoug that we are diligent; there must be bearing patience, and there must be waiting patience. And though we must show all meekness to all men, ye we must show just zeal against their sins. The sin Christ charged thi church with, is, not the having left and forsaken the object of love but having lost the fervent degree of it that at first appeared. Chris is displeased with his people, when he sees them grow remiss and col toward him. Surely this mention in Scripture, of Christians forsakin their first love, reproves those who speak of it with carelessness, an thus try to excuse indifference and sloth in themselves and others; ou Saviour considers this indifference as sinful. They must repent: the must be grieved and ashamed for their sinful declining, and humbl confess it in the sight of God. They must endeavour to recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and must pray as earnestly and watch as diligently, as when they first set out in the ways of God If the presence of Christ's grace and Spirit is slighted, we may expec the presence of his displeasure. Encouraging mention is made of what was good among them. Indifference as to truth and error, good and evil may be called charity and meekness, but it is not so; and it is displeasing to Christ. The Christian life is a warfare against sin Satan, the world, and the flesh. We must never yield to our spiritual enemies, and then we shall have a glorious triumph and reward. All wh persevere, shall derive from Christ, as the Tree of life, perfectio and confirmation in holiness and happiness, not in the earthl paradise, but in the heavenly. This is a figurative expression, take from the account of the garden of Eden, denoting the pure satisfactory, and eternal joys of heaven; and the looking forward to them in this world, by faith, communion with Christ, and the consolations of the Holy Spirit. Believers, take your wrestling lif here, and expect and look for a quiet life hereafter; but not til then: the word of God never promises quietness and complete freedo from conflict here.
Greek Textus Receptus
ο 3588 εχων 2192 5723 ους 3775 ακουσατω 191 5657 τι 5101 το 3588 πνευμα 4151 λεγει 3004 5719 ταις 3588 εκκλησιαις 1577 τω 3588 νικωντι 3528 5723 δωσω 1325 5692 αυτω 846 φαγειν 5315 5629 εκ 1537 του 3588 ξυλου 3586 της 3588 ζωης 2222 ο 3739 εστιν 2076 5748 εν 1722 μεσω 3319 του 3588 παραδεισου 3857 του 3588 θεου 2316
Vincent's NT Word Studies
7. He that hath an ear, etc. Compare Matt. xi. 15; Mark iv. 9. The phrase is not found in John's Gospel. It is used always of radical truths, great principles and promises.
To him that overcometh (tw nikwnti) A formula common to all these Epistles. The verb is used absolutely without any object expressed. It is characteristic of John, occurring once in the Gospel, six times in the First Epistle, sixteen times in Revelation, and elsewhere only Luke xi. 22; Rom. iii. 4; xii. 21.
Will I give. This phrase has a place in every one of these Epistles. The verb is John's habitual word for the privileges and functions of the Son, whether as bestowed upon Him by the Father, or dispensed by Him. to His followers. See John iii. 35; v. 22, 27, 36; vi. 65; xiii. 3; xvii. 6. Compare Apoc. ii. 23; iii. 8; vi. 4; xi. 3.
Of the tree (ek xulou). The preposition ejk out of occurs one hundred and twenty-seven times in Revelation, and its proper signification is almost universally out of; but this rendering in many of the passages would be so strange and unidiomatic, that the New Testament Revisers have felt themselves able to adopt it only forty-one times out of all that number, and employ of, from, by, with, on, at, because of, by reason of, from among. See, for instance, chapter ii. 7, 21, 22; vi. 4, 10; viii. 11; ix. 18; xiv. 13; xv. 2; xvi. 21. Compare John iii. 31; iv. 13, vi. 13, 39, 51; viii. 23, 44; ix. 6; xi. 1; xii. 3, 27, 32; xvii. 5.
Tree, lit., wood. See on Luke xxiii. 31; 1 Pet. iii. 24. Dean Plumptre notes the fact that, prominent as this symbol had been in the primeval history, it had remained unnoticed in the teaching where we should most have looked for its presence - in that of the Psalmist and Prophets of the Old Testament. Only in the Proverbs of Solomon had it been used, in a sense half allegorical and half mystical (Proverbs. iii. 18; xiii. 12; xi. 30; xv. 4). The revival of the symbol in Apoc. is in accordance with the theme of the restitution of all things. "The tree which disappeared with the disappearance of the earthly Paradise, reappears with the reappearance of the heavenly." To eat of the tree of life expresses participation in the life eternal. The figure of the tree of life appears in all mythologies from India to Scandinavia. The Rabbins and Mohammedans called the vine the probation tree. The Zend Avesta has its tree of life called the Death-Destroyer. It grows by the waters of life, and the drinking of its sap confers immortality. The Hindu tree of life is pictured as growing out of a great seed in the midst of an expanse of water. It has three branches, each crowned with a sun, denoting the three powers of creation, preservation, and renovation after destruction. In another representation Budha sits in meditation under a tree with three branches, each branch having three stems. One of the Babylonian cylinders discovered by Layard, represents three priestesses gathering the fruit of what seems to be a palm-tree with three branches on each side. Athor, the Venus of the Egyptians, appears half-concealed in the branches of the sacred peach-tree, giving to the departed soul the fruit, and the drink of heaven from a vial from which the streams of life descend upon the spirit, a figure at the foot of the tree, like a hawk, with a human head and with hands outstretched.
In the Norse mythology a prominent figure is Igdrasil, the Ash-tree of Existence; its roots in the kingdom of Eels or Death, its trunk reaching to heaven, and its boughs spread over the whole universe. At its foot, in the kingdom of Death, sit three Nornas or Fates, the Past, the Present, and the Future, watering its roots from the sacred well. Compare chapter xxii. 2, 14,19. Virgil, addressing Dante at the completion of the ascent of the Purgatorial Mount, says:
"That apple sweet, which through so many branches The care of mortals goeth in pursuit of, Today shall put in peace thy hungerings." "Purgatorio," xxvii., 115-117.
Paradise. See on Luke xxiii. 43. Omit in the midst of. Paradeisov Paradise "passes through a series of meanings, each one higher than the last. From any garden of delight, which is its first meaning, it comes to be predominantly applied to the garden of Eden, then to the resting-place of separate souls in joy and felicity, and lastly to the very heaven itself; and we see eminently in it, what we see indeed in so many words, how revealed religion assumes them into her service, and makes them vehicles of far higher truth than any which they knew at first, transforming and transfiguring them, as in this case, from glory to glory" (Trench).
