REVELATION- 2:1-7
This is likely a bit different study in Revelations that you might think. It begins with Jesus telling John to write seven letters to seven churches. Our lesson is about only one of these churches- Ephesus, where Paul spent three years on his third missionary journey (Acts 20:31). Ephesus had done some good things but had lost their first love. We will try to determine who was the Ephesian’s first love and how it happened. It can be easy to lose sight of what brought us to our good habits and lose the motivation to continue doing what we know is right. This is especially troubling when applied to our walk with Christ. A steady routine to life is not a bad thing, but sometimes that routine can become a rut or even worse.
Read Revelations 2:1-4
We have talked about Ephesus previously but a bit more background may help us understand why Jesus selected Ephesus as the first city for John to write about. The city of Ephesus was the largest city in the Roman province of Asia. Being a free city, it had self-rule granted by Rome. The most famous structure was the temple of the goddess Artemis (Greek name) or Diana (Roman name). The magnificent temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. East met West there, and Ephesus became the center of Gnosticism and the mystery religions. When John wrote, the emperor cult also was evidently strong in Ephesus.
As verse 1 indicates, the letter came from the glorified Christ. The church received commendation for their “works”, their “toil” (labor), and their “patience endurance” (steadfastness). Also, in their favor, they did not tolerate “evil men” and proved that certain self-proclaimed apostles were false. Whether these people included libertine Gnostics, Judaizers, or other heretical groups, we can only guess. These false teachers were indeed causing the church problems by trying to draw people away from their faith (Acts 20:29-31). Paul had written in his letter to Ephesians that he knew the church had resisted thee false teachers. John spent much of his ministry in this city and knew that they had resisted false teaching (v.2).
Revelations uses a lot of symbolism and phrases that are not easily understood, like “seven stars”, “seven gold lampstands”, and who is the “angel” to whom John wrote the letter. The one who “walks among the seven gold lampstands” – which is the seven churches- is Jesus (1:11-13). Jesus holds the “seven stars in His right hand”- which are the messengers of the churches- indicating His power and authority over the churches and their leaders. Ephesus had become a large, proud church, and Jesus’ message would remind them that He alone is the head of the body of believers.
To further support this, Jesus instructed John to “write to the angel of the church in Ephesus”. There are two thoughts on who the “angel” is: 1) An angelic being who had specific responsibilities assigned for the church, and 2) a human messenger not a supernatural being. The difficulty with believing the first option is- why would John write a letter to an angelic being. The Greek word can refer to human messengers as well as angelic beings. In this case, it would apply if John were writing the letter to the pastor of the church who would read it to the entire church. So it is clear this letter was written to the church.
Does God care about our church? If we are tempted to doubt it, look more closely at these seven letters. The Lord of the universe knew each of these churches and its precise situation. In each letter, Jesus told John to write about specific people, places, and events. He praised believers for their successes and told them how to correct their failures. Just as Jesus cared for each of these churches, he for ours. He wants it to reach its greatest potential. The group of believers with whom we worship and serve is God’s vehicle for changing the world, Take it seriously- God Does. Many believe John’s writing of Ephesians and the other 6 churches were only about those 1st Century churches. However, this was also about warnings that Jesus knew would exist in future churches. So Jesus was telling us and all churches after those in the 1st Century about specific problems to watch for and to prevent them from controlling our church.
Verse 3 implies that the Ephesian Christians were both sound and faithful in doctrine. Yet the Lord registered a complaint against them by saying “that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (v.4). While some limit their neglect to their love for Christ and the proclamation of the gospel, their problems seem to have been broader. Since love was to be the main distinction of Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35), perhaps they had largely ceased to demonstrate love toward one another and toward their opponents.
Over a period of time, the church in Ephesus had steadfastly refused to tolerate sin among the members. This was not easy in a city noted for immoral sexual practices associated with the worship of the goddess Artemis. We are living in times of widespread sin and sexual immorality. It is popular to be open-minded toward many types of sin, calling them personal choices or alternative life-styles. But when the body of believers begins to tolerate sin in the church, it is lowering the standards and compromising the church’s witness. This caused those involved to “lose” their first love- the love of their witness and of the church and its members, and their charitable spirit. It is also likely that their love for the Lord had dimmed as they tried to maintain doctrinal purity to labor in an environment where persecution was growing stronger every day.
Read Revelations 2:5-7
The Ephesians were told to return to a passionate love for Christ. The cure consisted in remembering their former state, repentance, and putting love into practice again (v.5a). Otherwise, Christ would remove their “lampstands from its place” (v.5b). This meant, of course, that their church would cease to exist, which, in fact, it eventually did. Just as the seven-branched candlestick in the Temple gave light for priests to see, the churches were to give light to their surrounding communities. But Jesus warned them that their lights could go out. In fact, Jesus Himself would extinguish any light that did not fulfill its purpose. The church needed to repent of its sin.
The second commendation included their hatred of “the works of the Nicolaitans”, which Christ also hated (v.6). We should note that the hatred was directed toward their deeds, not the people themselves. Although the Nicolaitans perhaps were the same as the Balaamites (v.14) or the followers of Jezebel (v.20), one tradition holds that Nicolaus, one of the seven (presumably deacons) defected from faith (Acts 6:5). Perhaps the Nicolaitans were libertine Gnostics. The name Nicolaitans is held by some to be roughly the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word for “Balaamites”. Balaam was a prophet who had induced the Israelites to carry out their lustful desires (2:14 and Numbers 31:16).
So who were the Nicolaitans? They were “believers’ who compromised their faith in order to enjoy some of the sinful practices of Ephesian society (sound familiar to some today?). When we want to take part in an activity that we know is wrong, we may make excuses to justify our behavior, saying that it isn’t as bad as it seems or that it won’t hurt our faith. This is what the Nicolaiatans did regularly. Christ has strong words for those who look for excuses to sin. Today we have those who will say I had no choice that is the way we were made. There is always a choice. If we have a choice not to be a drunkard or not to give in to drugs, there is a choice to resist any sin, including homosexuality.
Through John, Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for hating the wicked practices of the Nicolaitans. Note that they didn’t hate people, just the sinful actions. We should accept and love all people but refuse to tolerate any evil. God cannot tolerate sin, and He expects us to stand against it. The world needs Christians who will stand for God’s truth and point people toward right living.
The exhortation of verse 7 serves as both an encouragement and a warning. To anyone in the church who would heed His words, Christ promised: “To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (v.7). The military figure of conquest is prevalent in Revelation. According to 12:11, believers overcame Satan “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death”. We read in 1 John 5:4 that faith “is victory that overcomes the world”. Thus, the overcoming life includes faith in Christ and faithfulness in living godly lives as we proclaim His redemptive message even at the cost of our physical lives.
The “paradise of God” reminds us of the Garden of Eden and Adam’s failure (Gen. 3:1-24). Those who “eat of the tree of life” are the ones partaking of the living bread (John 6:51). Two trees had been in the Garden of Eden- the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). Eating from the tree of life brought eternal life with God, eating from the tree of knowledge brought realization of good and evil. Certainly eating from the tree of knowledge by Adam and Eve was disobeying God command. So they were excluded from Eden and barred from eating from the tree of life. Eventually, evil will be destroyed and believers will be brought into a restored paradise. Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus, in the new earth, everyone will eat from the tree of life and live forever.
Sometimes Christians go through the motions rather than doing what they do out of love for Christ and love for people. True awaking involves remembering one’s first love and repenting of the deeds that are one without that love.
REVELATION: A DEEPER LOOK INTO THE MEANING
THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS IS FILLED WITH SYMBOLISM AND PHRASES THAT ARE NOT EASY TO UNDERSTAND. THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD BOOKS ON REVELATION AND HEAVEN. THIS IS JUST ONE FOR YOU READING TIME.
