SEVEN CHURCHES (1): EPHESUS (REVELATION 2:1-7)

(Message by Tanny Keng)

1. Revelation  

a) John wrote Revelation while a prisoner on the Island of Patmos, approximately 85-95 A.D. Its purpose is to give encouragement and hope for all Christians to continue watching for the return and triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also is to warn of the Final Judgment that nonbelievers will endure on that Last Day.

b) John wrote that Revelation is special because,“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).

c) A brief view of the Book of Revelation. It gives you some basic understanding of the book of Revelation. 

2. Message To Ephesus 

Revelation 2:1-7
2 “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:

2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Therefore remember 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. 6 Yet this you do 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 grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’ 

3. From Christ To The Ephesians

a) Ephesus

i) The chief city of the province of Asia. The city today is in ruins, an extensive archaeological site of interest. Paul worked with the church there for about two years on his third missionary journey.

b) The One who 

i) Jesus calls himself here "the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands" . He is present with the churches. We should live and act as in the presence of Jesus.

4. The Exhortations

a) Toil And Test 

i) The problem of false apostles making false claims and teaching false things caused the Ephesians to work hard and long challenging and exposing the deceptions.

b) Weary 

i) The Ephesians did "not grow weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9). They endured for the sake of Christ's name (his authority and reputation).

c) Left First Love 

i) Their labor, although untiring, was not from the heart. They did it perhaps because they felt obliged to obey the Lord and keep up appearances. They had not grown weary, but they had lost their first love. We can practice our faith energetically, yet let it slip from our hearts. We don't stop being Christians, but we stop loving to be Christians. This is a first step to apostasy.

d) Remember And Repent 

i) Jesus threatens them severely and calls on them to recall their former genuine love and return to it, otherwise he will "come" to punish them and will disown them.

e) Nicolaitans 

i) This appears to be a sect whose deeds and doctrines were abhorrent to Jesus, and to the Ephesians. The Ephesians were heartfelt about this at least. They may have left their first love, but they still maintained their hate. Jesus acknowledges and commends this. We often forget that, whilst love is necessary, so is hate. We should both love the truth and hate the error.

5. The Promise

a) Tree of Life 

i) The tree of Life in the Paradise of God is shown to John at the end of his visions (Revelation 22:1-2). We remember too that before the fall there was a tree of life in the paradise of Eden. Jesus went into heaven to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-6). Jesus holds out the blessed assurance of hope in eternal life. This hope can revive faith and love.

The End ...