I know thy works - For the eyes of the Lord are throughout the earth, beholding the evil and the good; and, being omnipresent, all things are continually open and naked before him. It is worthy of remark, that whatsoever is praiseworthy in any of these Churches is first mentioned; thereby intimating that God is more intent on finding out the good than the evil in any person or Church; and that those who wish to reform such as have fallen or are not making sufficient advances in the Divine life, should take occasion, from the good which yet remains, to encourage them to set out afresh for the kingdom of heaven. The fallen or backsliding who have any tenderness of conscience left are easily discouraged, and are apt to think that there is no seed left from which any harvest can be reasonably expected. Let such be told that there is still a seed of godliness remaining, and that it requires only watching and strengthening the things which remain, by prompt application to God through Christ, in order to bring them back to the full enjoyment of all they have lost, and to renew them in the spirit of their mind. Ministers continually harping on Ye are dead, ye are dead; there is little or no Christianity among you, etc., etc., are a contagion in a Church, and spread desolation and death wheresoever they go. It is far better to say, in such cases, "Ye have lost ground, but ye have not lost all your ground; ye might have been much farther advanced, but through mercy ye are still in the way. The Spirit of God is grieved by you, but it is evident he has not forsaken you. Ye have not walked in the light as ye should, but your candlestick is not yet removed, and still the light shines. Ye have not much zeal, but ye have a little. In short, God still strives with you, still loves you, still waits to be gracious to you; take courage, set out afresh, come to God through Christ; believe, love, obey, and you will soon find days more blessed than you have ever yet experienced." Exhortations and encouragements of this kind are sure to produce the most blessed effects; and under such the work of God infallibly revives.

And thy labor - He knew their works in general. Though they had left their first love, yet still they had so much love as excited them to labor, and enabled them to bear persecution patiently, and to keep the faith; for they could not tolerate evil men, and they had put fictitious apostles to the test, and had found them to be liars, pretending a Divine commission while they had none, and teaching false doctrines as if they were the truths of God.

know.

Revelation 2:9,13,19 I know your works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but you are rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews...

Revelation 3:1,8,15 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things said he that has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars...

Psalm 1:6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ...

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his. And...

Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which you have showed toward his name...

how.

Revelation 2:6,14,15,20,21 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate...

Galatians 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Ephesians 4:14 That we from now on be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men...

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you...

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God...

thou hast.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ...

1 John 2:21,22 I have not written to you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth...

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God...

Declension from First Love
But further, Christ says, "I know thy patience." Now there be some that labour, and they do it well. But what does hinder them? They only labour for a little season, and then they cease to work and begin to faint. But this church had laboured on for many years; it had thrown out all its energies--not in some spasmodic effort, but in a continual strain and unabated zeal for the glory of God. "I know thy patience." I say again, beloved, I tremble to think how few out of this congregation could win …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

The Dialogue against the Luciferians.
Introduction. This Dialogue was written about 379, seven years after the death of Lucifer, and very soon after Jerome's return from his hermit life in the desert of Chalcis. Though he received ordination from Paulinus, who had been consecrated by Lucifer, he had no sympathy with Lucifer's narrower views, as he shows plainly in this Dialogue. Lucifer, who was bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, first came into prominent notice about a.d. 354, when great efforts were being made to procure a condemnation …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

The Laodicean State of Christendom.
In Revelation two and three we have seven Epistles addressed to the seven churches in Asia. These Epistles--in keeping with the nature of the book in which they are found--are prophetic in their scope. They record the sentences of the Divine Judge who appears in the midst of these churches (see 1:13-20) inspecting and passing decisions. They contain a panorama of the Church's history. They give us a complete outline of the entire course of the Christian profession, of going from bad to worse, until …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return