The first letter, to the church of Ephesus...
1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’ Revelation 2
So who is this? Is it to a church in Ephesus, an area in Asia minor? Or dose it represent something else?
The letter starts out with a simple introduction…and then moves immediately to the heart of the letter…
2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
This church is obviously a church that is working, they are laboring, they have patience and cannot bear the things that are evil. In the next sentence, it says something that no other letter says…it says this church has the ability to test, and recognize a true apostle,
And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
...and there is only one church that had this ability.
All of the apostles had died by the year 100AD, with John probably being the last one alive. With this being the case, who then could recognize an apostle? There is only one church that can fit this description, and that church…is the church in the book of Acts. The first church.
3. and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
And this letter fits them perfectly, they are working, they are laboring to spread the message, they have patience, and they still have the ability to recognize an apostle…because they were taught by them.
Then the letter say’s this…
4. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
They have left their first love, which is what? What have they left? What is it the Messiah wants them to return to?
The apostle Paul wrote 70% of the new testament, and if you know it, you have seen that Paul was always trying to remind the churches of something. He was constantly trying to draw them back from somewhere. He was always trying to remind them of what they were taught, because they kept falling away…
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
Galatians 3
Over and over again, all throughout Paul’s teachings, he was trying to draw them back to salvation through faith, and not through the works of the law. Regardless of whatever book you choose to read, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians etc…he was always reminding them of the same thing, faith. Salvation is only found through faith in the Messiah, and no where else. Follow the law as much as you want to, it will not help. And Paul was always trying to remind them of this simple fact, because he knew they would fall away. He knew that eventually, the message would become twisted, and he knew eventually people would come to believe a lie.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. Timothy 4
Paul already knew these things would happen, and he warned about it more times than I can count.
The next part of the letter discusses their reward…
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’
This is a great reward for their service and faith. This same thing is mentioned in Genesis, this is what was offered to us in the garden, as the cure to what had happened to Adam…
22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”
You will see how great this reward is, as you watch the rewards grow weaker and weaker. Great attention should be given to the rewards, because it shows the state of that particular church, and what their message was, or better yet...how strong it was, how much of it carried truth. Because as you will soon see, the church and its message become corrupt, and the rewards will reflect the same. It is only when the message regains its strength, that the rewards will grow stronger.
‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’ Revelation 2
So who is this? Is it to a church in Ephesus, an area in Asia minor? Or dose it represent something else?
The letter starts out with a simple introduction…and then moves immediately to the heart of the letter…
2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
This church is obviously a church that is working, they are laboring, they have patience and cannot bear the things that are evil. In the next sentence, it says something that no other letter says…it says this church has the ability to test, and recognize a true apostle,
And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
...and there is only one church that had this ability.
All of the apostles had died by the year 100AD, with John probably being the last one alive. With this being the case, who then could recognize an apostle? There is only one church that can fit this description, and that church…is the church in the book of Acts. The first church.
3. and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
And this letter fits them perfectly, they are working, they are laboring to spread the message, they have patience, and they still have the ability to recognize an apostle…because they were taught by them.
Then the letter say’s this…
4. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
They have left their first love, which is what? What have they left? What is it the Messiah wants them to return to?
The apostle Paul wrote 70% of the new testament, and if you know it, you have seen that Paul was always trying to remind the churches of something. He was constantly trying to draw them back from somewhere. He was always trying to remind them of what they were taught, because they kept falling away…
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
Galatians 3
Over and over again, all throughout Paul’s teachings, he was trying to draw them back to salvation through faith, and not through the works of the law. Regardless of whatever book you choose to read, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians etc…he was always reminding them of the same thing, faith. Salvation is only found through faith in the Messiah, and no where else. Follow the law as much as you want to, it will not help. And Paul was always trying to remind them of this simple fact, because he knew they would fall away. He knew that eventually, the message would become twisted, and he knew eventually people would come to believe a lie.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. Timothy 4
Paul already knew these things would happen, and he warned about it more times than I can count.
The next part of the letter discusses their reward…
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’
This is a great reward for their service and faith. This same thing is mentioned in Genesis, this is what was offered to us in the garden, as the cure to what had happened to Adam…
22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”
You will see how great this reward is, as you watch the rewards grow weaker and weaker. Great attention should be given to the rewards, because it shows the state of that particular church, and what their message was, or better yet...how strong it was, how much of it carried truth. Because as you will soon see, the church and its message become corrupt, and the rewards will reflect the same. It is only when the message regains its strength, that the rewards will grow stronger.