Ephesus


Revelation 2:1-7
1“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.
2“‘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.
3I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
4But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
5Remember 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.
6Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7He 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 sins or failings [of the seven churches] seem to suggest a pattern or sequence. That is, each sin, when encountered in temptation and then in commission, leads to the following temptation or sin.
  1. When Christians leave their ‘first love’ for Christ (2:4),
  2. There then follows the sin, or at least the temptation, of fear (2:10).
  3. Fear then gives way or leads into the sin of attempting to serve both God and mammon,
  4. And thus the danger of idolatry as exampled by Balaam and Balak (2:14).
  5. The sin or temptation of idolatry can lead into the error of the teaching of Jezebel (2:20), which denies the uniqueness of Christianity, and which in turn gives way to a deadness (3:1) of faith and heart.
  6. Once this has happened there is no longer the desire to take full advantage of opportunities to serve others in proclaiming the Gospel (3:8).
  7. The final sin which results from these is that of being ‘lukewarm’ (3:16) in one’s relationship with the Lord Christ. Once this has happened, one is fit only to be separated from the Lord by being cast of out of his holy presence.”
Brighton, L. A. ©1999. Revelation (p. 62). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.

The first church addressed by Jesus is Ephesus. Ephesus ultimately became the provincial capital of the region within the Roman Empire. By the writing of Revelation it had a population of around a quarter of a million people. It was an important commercial center and was the hub of three great trade routes. The worship of the Roman Emperor flourished in Ephesus and during the reign of Domitian, which coincided with the writing of Revelation, persecution of the Christians was rampant. The church in Ephesus was known for its sanctity and steadfastness.

Details:
  1. The angel of the church: There is dispute as to exactly who this might be. Most commentators fall into two camps. 1. This is an actual angel – the guardian of that church; or 2. The bishop or head pastor of the church. Since the word ‘angel’ always refers to an actual angel in the rest of Revelation that is probably the cleanest interpretation.
  2. Jesus is the One who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven lampstands. The stars are the angels of the churches and the lampstands are the churches.
  3. Jesus commends the Ephesians for their ability to recognize false apostles and teachers. He also commends their patience in the face of the suffering they had to endure under the false worship of the Caesars.
  4. Their warning comes in regards to the loss of their “first love.” It appears they may have become lax in the passion for the Lord. This apathy is the deadly foundation of the sins mentioned against the next six churches.
  5. Finally comes the call for repentance.
As will be true with all of the warnings to the seven churches, we do well to heed them for ourselves. Anyone who has walked in the faith for more than a few months will be able to tell you that our one of our greatest enemies isn’t the devil; it’s our own feeble brains that grow bored or weary of everyday spirituality. We fall into complacency and that is the first step on the long slow road to a world of sin and pain. Losing sight of your passion for the Lord is tragic and 100% relatable, usually happening slowly and subtly. It’s the “frog in the kettle” syndrome. You don’t even know you’ve slid into that apathy until it owns you and things are out of hand.

But Jesus also gives the remedy: Repent! Recognize your need of His saving work and throw yourself at His feet – every day. Repent of letting other passions rise up and replace Him in your heart. Repent of entertaining sin and allowing yourself to wallow in it. Repent of forgetting your first love. He is faithfully there to forgive you every time and His Spirit will rekindle your fire.

Dear Lord Jesus, I can write about this with deep understanding for apathy is one of my greatest enemies. The words “I don’t care” slip from my mouth with ease and regularity. I am sorry for those times when I have allowed my apathy to take me over and I have forgotten my first love. Please forgive me and renew my spirit so that I am dedicated to You with every breath. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more