Letter to Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7)
(V1) "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks."
(V1) The Lord introduces Himself to the church in Ephesus as the One who holds the seven stars (the angels or messengers) of the seven churches in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven lampstands (the churches themselves). See Chapter 1 for more similarities of His introduction to the Ephesus church.
(V2) "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou has tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and has found them liars:"
(V2) In this verse the Lord commended them for their good works. In fact, they were increasing daily in good works. Plus they had the ability to discern false Apostles and to deal with them accordingly. In reality, I don't know a pastor that would not jump at the chance to have this church. In the real world, many of the mega churches have become nothing but colossal sit-ins. While they sit-in the warm plush sanctuary of their own titanic structurre, there are hungry multitudes under the shadow of their steeples sleeping on cold concrete and dying lost.
(V3) "And hast borne, and hast patientce, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and has not fainted." (V4) "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
(V 3,4) "For the sake of the name of Christ, they had endured trials and adversity while tirelessly performing their daily labors. But the tragedy of the church of Ephesus was that they had lost their first love. The fire of their affection had gone out. The glory of it's early days had lost its glow. The true motive for all worship and service was missing. They were still sound in doctrine and active in service but the love they once knew had faded away.
(V5) "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
(V5) Then by the way of instruction He warns the church to return and repent and do their first works or else he would remove the church and it would no longer exist.
(V6) "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."
(V6) He commends them again concerning the hatred deeds of the Nicolaitans. Though no one knows for sure who these people were, some think they were followers of a man named Nicolas. Others point out that the name means "rule over the laity" and see in this a reference to the rise of the clerical system.
(V7) "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
(V7) In this verse He encourages those who have ears to hear God's word to listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. A promise is then extended to the overcomer. Generally speaking, an overcomer in the New Testament is one who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (See 1 John 5). In other words, a true believer. His faith enables him to overcome all the temptations and sinful enticements that would lure a Christian off the straight and narrow way. Perhaps in each of the letters the Word has an additional thought connected with the condition in that particular church. According to William MacDonald in the Believers Bible Commentary, "an overcomer in Ephesus may be one who shows the genuineness of his faith by repenting when he has backslidden from his first love." All that do such things shall eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. This tells all overcomers that they will live in the paradise of God. Ephesus is often taken to describe the church soon after the death of the Apostles. In most modern churches today you will find 60 percent of the congregation comprise the gossiping section while the other 40 percent eyes the pastor to make sure he toes their mark and walks the committee line.
In closing, you will find information about the beginning of the church of Ephesus. The church of Ephesus was established by the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey. In Acts Chapters 18-20 we find a lengthy but very valuable description of it. There the beloved Apostle entered into a synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. (Acts 18:19). Among the other notables who labored with Paul were a Jewish couple named Aquila and Priscilla and because they were of the same craft as Paul (tentmakers) he abode with them. And we must also add to the roster, Apollos, a Jew, who was an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures. Time cannot erase the indelible touch that John the Apostle of Love added to this church.
Dear Reader: There is one question that I want to ask you from the depths of my heart, "Are YOU Rapture ready??
Next week's blog: Letter to the Church in Smyrna
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