Revelation 2:1-7 - Ephesus (Lesson)

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' "

The things which are...

     The book of Revelation was written to believers at large, although it was directed to seven specific churches. God delivered this book to the churches by imparting the message to His Son, Jesus Christ, who then passed it along to angels, who in turn told it to John, who wrote it down and mailed it to the seven churches, and from there it spread throughout all of Christendom. Chapter 1:20 of Revelation ends the section named in chapter 1 and verse 19, "the things which have been", and chapter 2 commences the section entitled "the things which are". This section is further broken down into seven sections; each section is mini-letter composed to one of the seven churches to which the entire book is addressed. These churches are: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. At this point, a question can be raised: Why these seven churches? God does not explain to John to us why, but we can hypothesize. A feasible reason could be that it is because although these churches were not all the biggest and best churches (even though some were), they represented the gamut of church conditions that God wanted the universal church to be aware of and know how to respond to. All seven letters are written with a similar construction. Each is composed with a Commission, Commencement, Commendation, Condemnation, Command, Coming, and Challenge; although, there are a few letters missing an element of this list or with a couple elements switched in order. We will be studying the first of the seven churches, Ephesus, and chapter 2 verses 1-7 are written to this particular church.

     The Commission to the church of Ephesus reads: "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:" In all probability, the word angel refers to the leader of the church. The Greek word angelos most often means a literal angel and, except for some of the uses in chapters 1-3, refers to real angels everywhere else in the book of Revelation. The reasons why it must refer to the human leader of the church at Ephesus are: 1) the letter was delivered to people, not angels; otherwise, we would have never gotten a copy, 2) nowhere else in Scripture is there any reference to angels who guard particular churches, 3) there is no reason why an angel should be criticized for having lost its first love, and 4) angels can't be promised access to the tree of life since they can already get to it.

     The City of Ephesus was the situated on the western edge of what is now Asia Minor, three miles up the Caytar River from the greatest harbor in the Aegean Sea. This did not prevent the city from doing big ocean business though because there was a man-made canal extending up the river to the city so that ships and such could still travel back and forth. Because of its ideal location for trade, people flocked to the city causing the population to rise as high as possibly one-half of a million residents at one point in its history. In addition to the metropolis' sea trade convenience, it was also perfectly located for over land business, one road extended to the north through Sardis, another west through Laodicea to Babylon, another north through Smyrna and Pergamum, and a fourth went south to the fertile Meander Valley.

     The Citizens of Ephesus were also highly skilled in various fields. This city was the home of the Library of Celsus, a gigantic library constructed at the personal expense of Celsus with dimensions of 70ft x 80ft and with a capacity for roughly 1,500 scrolls. Ephesus was also known for its unique terrace houses which were built into the side of a hill; they looked like stairs with the roof of the lower house doing double duty as the terrace for the next house up. The Ephesians also constructed intricate aqueducts which were subdivided into four major sections and which supplied fresh water to the whole city and to public bath complexes.

     The Corruption of Ephesus had reached grand proportions despite these societal advancements. Many people were actively engaged in sorcery and black magic, Acts 19:19 records only those people who were converted as burning a collection of incantation books valued at 50,000 pieces of silver. The crowning achievement of the city, both structurally and immorally was the Temple of Artemis for the Greeks or Diana for the Romans (they worshiped the same goddess, but by different names). This temple had 127 marble pillars, 37 of which were gold plated and embedded with precious stones by various kings, massive statues, giant folding doors, and dimensions of 427 ft x 220 ft. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, another of which was the Great Pyramids in Egypt. The goddess Diana was not a magazine model, but rather a bison shaped goddess covered with breasts with which she was supposed to suckle her followers into higher levels of spiritual ecstasy. The temple was filled with female prostitutes which would lead visitors to the same kinds of "spiritual" highs as Diana did. Added to this, it was a safe haven for robbers and criminals who would camp out there because kings could not get them at the temple. This turned out to be a very convenient location for the robbers among them as well because Longnecker in his commentary on the book of Acts notes that:

"The Temple of Artemis was also a major treasury and bank of the ancient world, where merchants, kings, and even cities made deposits, and where their money could be kept safe under the protection of deity."

It is no wonder that the Lord sent Paul, sent Timothy, sent Apollos, sent Aquila and Priscilla, and probably sent John all to Ephesus. If any city needed evangelism, it was this place.

     Christ Commences the letter to the Ephesians with the greeting, "The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands." As we will see, the Ephesians' downfall was that they had left their first love, but Christ's greeting illustrates the fact that even if we leave Christ, He is still there caring for us. Here we see Him moving among the lampstands, as our Great High Priest, he would also be tending to those lampstands trimming, filling, and empowering us so that we can burn brighter for His name. He cares for us. Amidst the rioting, sensual confusion which occupied the city of Ephesus, this had to be a comforting thought for the Ephesians as they sought and succeeded to endure free from doctrinal error and withstand the many false teachings which swept through the city.

     The Commendation reads: "I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary." This church had held very tightly to the faith which was once for all delivered to it; this was the second generation of believers since the last great evangelist (probably Paul) had been there something like 30 or 40 years earlier and they were still doctrinally unstained. Just as the Ephesian believers had had to toil and endure patiently, so must modern believers today. Nothing has changed, obedience to Christ still requires work on our part and we are still enduring while patiently waiting for Christ's promised return. All of this is for the sake of Christ's name, we are not given the room to write off people who dislike us because of our personality as suffering for Christ, but only those who persecute us because they are trying to persecute the One within us. Also, purity in the church is a goal to be highly prized, we must diligently screen with discernment those who enter the church to see whether or not they are in the faith, Jude 3 points out that they come in overtly rather than openly. Tony Garland notes: 

"A key attribute of those who are not what they appear to be is their self proclamation. In the church of Thyatira, it was Jezebel who called herself a prophetess (Rev. 2:20). Paul says that they transform themselves , patterning their deceit after Satan who transforms himself into an angel of light. This transformation would be entirely effective if the church did not have the Word of God and gifts of spiritual discernment to expose such imposters (1Cor. 12:10). Spiritual discernment is necessary because the natural mind is ineffective in the spiritual realm where the seduction takes place (Mtt. 24:24; Mark 13:22; 2Th. 2:9-11; 1Ti. 4:1). The power of seduction by demonic spirits may be assessed by noting how easily deceiving spirits convince the kings of the earth to participate in the height of folly: going to war against God (Rev. 16:13-14)!"

The lives of false teachers seem to be normal at first glance, but one thing among others which are expanded in 2 Peter and Jude is that they are driven not by a passion for God's glory but for satisfaction of their craving for praise. Ignatius, the church father, also mentions the Ephesians resistance to false doctrine in The Letter of Ignatius to the Ephesians:

 "But I have learned that certain people ... have passed your way with evil doctrine, but you did not allow them to sow it among you. You covered up your ears in order to avoid receiving he things being sown by them"

     The Condemnation for the church follows next: "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first." The Ephesians had not just strayed or wandered away accidentally from the love that they had at first, they had abandoned it. This is different from losing their first love, this was purposeful, and if you leave something on purpose then there is opportunity to return to it. These believers had become so caught up in obeying the laws regarding abstinence from worldly things that they had left their relationship with Christ in the dust. The Christian cannot operate effectively when they are subject to this condition, their works must proceed from a relationship that is right with God. If we are to copy God the Son as "little-Christs" then we must know who He is and keep Him a constant and dynamic part of our lives. Also, those who believe that their good works will outweigh the bad on judgment day are sadly mistaken for despite the seemingly impeccable resume' of the Ephesian church, Christ still had something for them to work on and for which He rebuked them. Martha & Mary perfectly illustrate the plight of the church at Ephesus, Mary's relationship and service to Christ were correctly balance: relationship before service, but Martha's values were out-of-whack. Someone once said that "a routine can be like a rut which can be nothing more than a grave with the ends knocked out."

      The Command for the church ensues: "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." Dr. MacArthur said it right when he commented, "If the Lord has something against you, ... shake." Now, it might be said that the removal of the churches lampstand is the same thing as believers becoming non-believers, but that is not what it means at all. If Christ has to act judicially and literally "snatch" our lampstand away, then we are not fulfilling our purpose of holding up the light which shines into the darkness. That is the reason why Christ would take away the lampstand of our church, he does not want it to overshadow the light which He is by bringing dishonor to His name. If this does happen, then He will remove the lampstand and false believers will dissipate while true believers will relocate to other churches. The church cannot be real unless it is driven by the sincere, personal devotion to Christ of each of the believers in the body. John MacArthur uses this illustration: what would happen to a marriage if the husband said, "Honey, I don't love you anymore, but everything will still be the same." From this illustration we see that the husband could still take out the trash, bring home the paycheck, help raise the kids, and all that, but in his heart his devotion and love are no longer married to his wife. In the same way, we cannot be orthodox in both doctrine and duty and yet disregard our personal relationship to Christ and then expect to live a fulfilling Christian life.
     The rebuttal to this problem is very simple. Step 1, remember what it used to be like, think back to the early days after your conversion. Think about the fervent prayer, eager fellowship, deep teaching, overflowing joy, church involvement, and watchful witnessing; revert back to who you were and that time. Then, Step 2, repent of your decision (purposeful or gradual) to slip away from those things. Finally, Step 3, repeat those deeds which you used to do and grow in the grace and knowledge of God once again. I am not of the age to call myself a fully mature believer, but for those of you who are, try to keep new believers around. It's like older parents with young children, they keep you young. In the same way new believers will help to keep your spiritual life full of energy while at the same time you can be leading them into greater maturity; Christian fellowship is synergy at its best!
     We also see a reference to Christ's 2nd Coming, remember also to live for the future!


     Christ then doubles back and adds another point of commendation: the Ephesians hate the works of the Nicolaitans (yeah, go ahead and try to say that three times fast). I personally find it hard to believe that the Nicolaitans had much of a foothold in the Ephesian church given their reputation for high standards of purity, and it is interesting that verse 6 does not say the Nicolaitans had pervaded this church. It is quite possible, and I would venture probable, that the church in Ephesus was aware of and displeased with the Church of Pergamum which embraced their teachings. There isn't really any definite or concrete evidence as to what the Nicolaitans actually taught and practiced although some inferences can be drawn. In Acts 6, Nichola(u)s was ordained as a deacon of the church. It is feasible that he was not a true believer, came out as corrupt later on, and started the cult which was named after him. Some of the things which you might read about this group is that they assented to adultery, purposefully partook of food sacrificed to idols, and were destroyers of the people. This last tidbit of information comes from an investigation into the meanings of the word roots which comprise the word Nicholaitan. "Nico", from which we get the brand Nike, means to conquer, and "laitan" will readily bring to mind the English word laity or common people. Connected the word means "to conquer the common people" or "conqueror of the common people". Nichola(u)s may have used his position as deacon and taken advantage of the people he was supposed to shepherd. It is interesting that this Greek word has the same meaning as the Hebrew word Balaam, the person mentioned in close proximity in the letter to the church at Pergamum. This conjunction is where the first two ideas about the cult (adultery and sacrificed food) come from because these are teachings which Balaam used to pervert Israel. This cult may have been a sort of pre-Gnostic group which taught that its followers are able to understand deeper truth and rise to a higher level of spirituality (not unlike the worship of Artemis) and to Roman Catholicism which acknowledges a distinction between the clergy and laity.


     Lastly, the Challenge is given: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." The conqueror or overcomer part is seen in several different ways. First, if you do not follow the command then you will lose your salvation. Second, all saints will triumph through faith, in other words, the perseverance of the saints will ultimately lead to these blessings. Third, all believers automatically overcome the world by default when they become believers; this view is based upon 1 John 5:5. Fourth, there is a view that you will be rewarded for overcoming trials and temptations in your life. I would like to take a different angle on this, similar to but not exactly like, the first of these perspectives. I would entitle mine the Obedience view, that is, these are rewards for the one who responds in obedience to the commands from Christ delivered in the letter to the church. So for the Ephesian letter, I believe that this means that the believer who returns to their first love will be "granted to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." This is because believers are currently barred from the original tree of life, but we have been given another, the cross of Christ. This new tree is what brings us back into fellowship and communion with God the Father. The previous tree was closely associated with the sweet times of fellowship which Adam, Eve, and God had in the Garden of Eden. Now we have a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ which can again be close and will be closer when we reach paradise, the Greek word for which is a derivative from the word which was used to describe the Garden of Eden.

     In a nutshell, the Ephesian church had it all on the outside, but the inside was sadly lacking. Outside works should stem from a correct inside and must if they are to last. Christ saw the problem and knew the solution, so He commanded the church to return to their first love and right their Christian walk. We too must remember to keep our walk with Christ at a higher level of priority than our service for Christ (which is empty without the walk) if we are to endure until we reach eternal Paradise with God the Father.