This is a great opportunity for us to learn from them – what they did right and what they did wrong and how the Lord looks at our churches.
THE LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES:
Each letter has its own distinctive characteristics, but there are similarities:
- Each message begins with “I know your works . . . “
- Each offers a promise, “to him that overcomes . . .”
- Each has the same concluding sentence, “he that hath and ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
- Most of the messages contain words of warning as well as a promise to those who hear and respond appropriately.
- These messages are letters of reproof, rebuke, instruction and reassurance.
Let’s begin with chapter 2, verse 1.
v.1, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:”
- v.1a, “to the angel” - remember, we said that this was a human messenger, not a heavenly angel because:
o Angels don’t receive reprimands.
o Angels aren’t heads of churches.
- This first message is being sent to the church at Ephesus.
- What do we know about Ephesus?
o It was a major city of Asia Minor.
o It had a busy seaport.
o It was the location of the great temple of Artemis (the goddess Diana):
§ There were 1000 temple prostitutes at this temple.
§ Silversmiths made their living by making idols to sell to visitors.
o It is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
o Paul had visited Ephesus around A.D. 53, about 43 years before this letter in Revelation was sent to them.
o Paul remained in Ephesus for several years and preached the gospel so effectively, according to Acts 19:10, “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”
o This large city was so thoroughly stirred by Paul’s message that in acts 19:11-41, those same silversmiths created a riot because their business of making shrines of Artemis was threatened.
o This church had a long history and was the most prominent one in the area.
- vv.1b-c, “The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:”
o Who is this?
o We know from our last study that this is Jesus, the Lord of the Church.
o He is in the midst of all His churches. He sees all that is going on in His churches. He has control of His churches.
o There is no question as to who is dictating this message to John.
v.2, “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;”
- v.2a, Jesus says, “I know your deeds”:
o “know” in the Greek text means a complete knowledge; totally familiar.
o As Lord of the churches, Jesus knows, completely, what’s happening in each church:
§ What they’re going through and how well they are doing.
- “deeds”, is the Greek word, ergon, which means “to work” with the idea of expending a lot of energy:
o This church was diligent in its service to the Lord and Jesus acknowledges that fact.
o He also acknowledges their toil:
§ “toil” means laborious toil; stress and trouble.
o Next, He talks about their “perseverance”:
§ “perseverance” is defined as: to continue to bear up despite difficulty and suffering.
- v.2b, “and that you cannot endure evil men”:
o This phrase has the idea that they hated those who were evil. They were repulsed by the wicked and the sinful of their day. They couldn’t stand to be around them.
o Can you relate to that?
- v.2c, “and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;”
o They tested all those who would come and proclaim themselves to be “apostles.”
o Discovered that they were not!
o An “apostle” was one chosen specifically by Jesus Christ:
§ Before or after His resurrection.
- They were laboring, or toiling, with patience. They were hating what is evil or wicked; readily detecting false teachers and false teaching. These were the anti-gospel teachers and their teachings. These are the characteristics that are sorely needed in the church today:
o Too often there is a failure to serve the Lord patiently.
o Too often there is a tendency to compromise both with moral and theological evil.
o Too often there is an open acceptance of false teachers for several reasons:
§ Some don’t know the Bible well enough to be able to challenge them.
§ Some don’t want to be labeled as “intolerant.”
§ Some believe, “Well, after all, we all serve the same God”:
a. Islam
b. Mormons
c. Jehovah’s witnesses
d. Buddhists
e. New agers
o Some don’t believe biblical doctrine is important enough to take a stand:
§ They say, “That’s just your interpretation.”
§ Or, “We should seek unity at all costs.”
o The Ephesians were not willing compromise, and Jesus commends them for that.
v.3, “and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.”
- “Perseverance,” in the Greek text, means to continue to bear up despite difficulty and suffering.
- Through all their difficulties, the Ephesians persevered:
o They endured for the highest of reasons: for the sake of Jesus’ name.
o And they had done so without having grown weary.
- They had not yielded to disappointment, ingratitude or criticism from others.
- They remained:
o Faithful to the Lord, loyal to His Word, and to the work to which He had called them.
o However, they had done something that Jesus needs to point out to them.
v.4, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
- Despite all the praiseworthy things found in the Ephesian church, the penetrating, Omniscient, Lord of the Church had spotted something that they needed to correct:
o It appears that their service had degenerated into mechanical doing.
- At one time, according to Ephesians 1, 3, & 6, they were a very loving church:
o Forty years later the affection of the first generation of believers had gone cold.
- The current generation was maintaining the doctrine handed down to them but …….
- They had left their first love:
o They were lacking a deep devotion to Christ.
o How the Church today needs to heed this same warning, that orthodoxy and service are not enough.
o Plans and programs are not enough.
o Christ wants believers’ hearts as well as their hands and heads.
- The Ephesians had sunk to the place where they were carrying out their Christian responsibilities with a declining love for the Lord and for others.
- In the battle to maintain sound teaching, moral and doctrinal purity, its possible to lose a loving spirit. Yet we need both.
- Prolonged conflict can weaken or destroy patience and affection.
- However, in defending the faith, we must guard against anything that would weaken our love for Jesus.
v.5, “‘Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.”
- Paul had once commended the church at Ephesus for its love for God and for others.
- That love is pictured at the height from which they had fallen:
o They were way up here. But they fell a long way.
o From a ministry sparked by love for God, it went to a ministry running on something else.
- Jesus called this church back to love:
o In Matthew 10:37, Jesus said that one’s love for God should be greater than his love for his closest relatives, including father, mother, son, and daughter.
- They needed to repent, to change their minds, to turn around, from their lack of love and go back to do the things they did at first:
o Love as they had originally loved, with enthusiasm and devotion to and for Christ.
- If they refused to repent, to change their ways, Christ said that He would come and remove the church’s lampstand from its place.
- For Jesus to remove a church’s lampstand from its place would mean the church would cease to be a church:
o He would effectively close the doors.
o Shut them down.
o It happens today all too frequently.
- Just as the seven branched candlestick in the temple gave light for the priests to see, the churches were to give light to their surrounding communities:
o To shine brightly and lead people to the Savior.
o That’s why we’re here.
o Programs are great, but they don’t save a person’s soul.
o If we’re not careful, programs can fuel the ministry instead of a deep love for Christ.
- Jesus warns them that their lights could go out.
- In fact, Jesus Himself would extinguish any light that did not fulfill its purpose.
- The church at Ephesus had to turn from of its sins:
o Change its mind; have a different attitude toward Christ
o Turn back to the love that they were once famous for.
v.6, “‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
- No one can say for sure what this cult was all about.
- The church father Irenaeus, who lived in the first part of the second century, says the heretical sect was started by Nicholas of Antioch, one of the seven original deacons of Acts 6:5:
o Many of the early church fathers support this view.
- It is said that Nicholas abandoned true Christianity and went with the cult turning it into a licentious, lawless religion:
o It sought to link Christianity and paganism with a form of Gnosticism.
o It appears that they were a Gnostic sect.
o Gnostics believe that the spirit good and that matter bad.
o Jesus, as well as the congregation at Ephesus, “hated” this group and their deeds.
- “Hate” in the Greek text means to dislike strongly, with the implication of loathing and hostility:
o The tense of the word “hate” is present active, which means, “I hate right now.”
- Who would have thought that they would hear the word “hate” coming from the mouth of sweet Jesus?
o He hates anything that tries to alter the truth of the gospel message.
o He hates the false teachers.
o He hates the false teachings.
o He hates those who would try to lead his Church astray.
o Is that a little hard to wrap your mind around?
v.7, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’”
- “He who has an ear . . . .” means to listen carefully:
o There is a sense of sober responsibility here to listen to God’s voice in Scripture.
o The Church as a whole, and the individual, is urged to respond to the exhortation and warning.
o Remember, the blessings come when you read, hear and heed.
o So get back to loving God and others as Jesus commands.
- “let him hear what the spirit says to the churches”:
o The words of the Spirit are the words of Christ.
o Part of the triune Godhead.
- “to him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life”:
o The promise is addressed to “him who overcomes.”
o This promise mentioned for “overcomers” is not a message to a special group of Christians distinguished by their spirituality and power in contrast to genuine Christians who lack these qualities.
o It’s a general description of that which is normal; that which is to be expected among those who are true followers of the Lord.
o Those in the Ephesian church who were genuine Christians, and by this definition had overcome the unbelief and sin of the world, they are promised the right to the tree of life – which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
o The phrase, “to those who overcome” identifies all true believers.
o Because all true believers will remain faithful to Christ no matter what the cost.
o In 1 John 5:4-5, the apostle John explains it this way, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
o Jesus will grant to all believers to eat or partake of, the tree of life that now resides in the paradise of God.
- The “tree of life,” first mentioned in Genesis 3:22, was in the Garden of Eden.
o Later it reappears in the New Jerusalem where it bears abundant fruit (Rev. 22:2).
- According to Genesis 3:22, those who eat of it will never die:
o This promise should not be thought of as a reward for only a special group of Christians, but as a normal expectation for all Christians.
- “The paradise of God” is more than likely another name for heaven.
- This encouragement toward true love would have reminded them of God’s gracious love and provision for salvation and eternal life.
- Love for God is not produced by legalistically observing commands, but by responding to one’s knowledge and appreciation of God’s love for us:
o We love Him because he first loved us.
o We all need to remember who our first love should be – Jesus our Savior.
May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you as you continue to learn more and more about Who He is and His great love of His people.
By His Grace,
Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D., D.Min.
