Today we find ourselves in chapter 2 of Revelation. Because of the depth and clear division of the chapters in Revelation, I will be departing from my normal routine of covering one chapter a day and cover several of the chapters in parts. For instance, in chapter 2 we start looking at Jesus’ judgment of the seven churches in Asia. He looks intently at 4 churches in chapter 2 and then 3 churches in chapter 4. Instead of trying to force in an introspective look at all 4 churches in one study, chapter 2 will have 4 parts, one for each church. Today I will focus on an intro to chapters 2 and 3 (which is the second division of the three divisions found in the book of Revelation) and then touch on the first church Jesus examines, Ephesus. Basically, I’m saying I don’t want us to miss anything and instead of writing 20,000+ characters a day, I’m just going to shorten up each day and take longer to cover the book.
As I mentioned above there are three major divisions in the book of Revelation. Chapter 1 is the first division and it covers the person of Jesus and the intro/prologue for the book. Chapters 2 and 3 are the second division and in it we see Jesus examining 7 specific churches in the area of Asia minor. The third, and by far the largest division, is chapters 4-22 and it is there we witness from Heaven the program that Jesus will use to usher in the arrival of His final kingdom on Earth. Today, chapter 2 starts the second division and in it we find Jesus examining four of the seven churches; Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira.
It’s important to look at each church carefully because these are not just historical connotations from Jesus, but have great emphasis for us today as well. You see, these seven churches not only represent the churches of that day, but they represent the churches of our day as well. If you go to a church that teaches the Word of God today, it will fit into one of these 7 models. The only question is, which one?
It’s also important to note the overall mention of the church in the book of Revelation. In chapters 1-3, the church is mentioned and amazing 19 times. But from chapters 4-20 it is mentioned only once. One time. Where did the church go? Well, it went to heaven. The rapture took place. We see a beautiful picture of how God will take His church out of the world in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians:
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” Thess 4:16-17
When Jesus comes again to this planet, His first order of business is to remove His church, the church of course being the body of Christ, those that believe in Jesus. This will be done in what is called the rapture. The word rapture is based on the Greek “harpazo” which means to "snatch away." Since the second order of business in Jesus' return is the Great Tribulation, Jesus will remove His bride, the church, first so that they will not need to endure the horrible event.
As we move into Jesus’ judgment of the seven churches, lets note the format and content that is present within each. Not surprisingly we will find the number 7 come up again. In my introduction to the book of Revelation you might recall the amazing patterns within the book of Revelation. 3 major divisions with each having subpoints of seven. Here we see under the second division, the 7 churches, and each church is addressed with 7 subpoints. Amazing organization from God here in Revelation. Let's look at the 7 points used to address each church:
1) They all start with “to the angel of the church in…and then the name the city” This is to whom they are addressed and this would be the leader or pastor (shepherd) of the church. This directly relates back to v 1:16 “In His right hand He held seven stars..” which He then Himself explains in v 1:20 “the seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches.”
2) Next, Jesus introduces Himself in each letter. Each time He uses a different title or description of Himself. In the letter to Smyrna He calls himself “The words of the first and last, who died and came to life.” In the letter to Pergamum He refers to Himself as “The words of Him who has the sharp two-edged sword.” and so on for each church.
3) Next He has a commendation for the church. These are the things they are doing that pleases Jesus.
4) He then addresses the concern or condemnation He has about the church. These are the things being done that displeases Jesus. Every church has a concern or condemnation except Smyrna and Philadelphia.
5) He then has a command for the church. This command is an action that can reconcile their error to Himself. It’s a fix for the problem.
6) He closes each letter with “he who has ears let him hear.” This is specific to believers and followers of Jesus. As believers we are anointed with the Holy Spirit and thereby gifted with the ability to hear directly from God. If you have these Holy-Spirit ears, listen to the Word of God.
7) He ends each letter with a promise started by, “to the one who conquers.” Obedience and repentance to Jesus carries a reward and He shares a different promise to each church if they obey His commands.
Once again, the organization and systematic outline that God uses here in the book of Revelation is amazing. How funny that possibly the most organized book in all of God’s Word is thought by many to be a jumbled bunch of randomness. Amazing things are revealed when you jump in and study God’s Word personally instead if just taking other’s opinions of it!
So what we’ll do as we look at each one of the churches is study them using these 7 points. Well, we will not use all seven since there’s no need to repetitively study who they’re addressed to or “he who has ears let Him hear.” So that means for each church we will look at 5 points:
1) How Jesus describes himself
2) The commendation
3) The concern or condemnation
4) The command
5) The promise
Let’s jump in and look at Jesus’ letter to the church at Ephesus:
“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. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 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. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 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.”
Jesus’ description of Himself. “‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.” This is fully explained in v 1:20. The seven stars are the leaders or pastors (shepherds) of these seven churches that He is addressing here in chapters 2 and 3. He holds the 7 stars in his right hand. Jesus is thoroughly in control and caring for the churches and the churches are His servants. He next mentions the 7 golden lampstands. This refers back to v 1:12-13. We talked about this in the Revelation 1 - Introduction lesson, it hearkens directly back to the lampstand in the tabernacle as Moses was leading the Israelites through the desert. The central base of the lamp symbolizes Christ as the firm foundation of the church. The lampheads symbolize the Holy Spirit that gives light to the world. It says that ‘He walks among the lampstands.” Jesus walks among His churches to be close and to inspect their works just as He is doing here among the lampstands.
Commendation. Jesus commends the church at Ephesus for many of their positive actions, specifically their "toil and patient endurance." The Greek word for toil denotes "labor to the point of exhaustion." This is really working hard for Christ. We always had outdoor physical stuff to do around the church when Margie and I served in Maui for 2 years. I mean think about it, it’s sunny and hot year round so nothing ever stops growing. You had to mow, trim, and pick up palm fronds even in December. I was always recruiting the church youth to help out and it started a saying around the chirch, “when was the last time you sweated for Jesus?” The Ephesians toiled, worked hard, and sweated for Jesus. They also were praised for their patient endurance. This was having patience in the midst of trying circumstances and trials and remaining faithful. They also did not tolerate evil men. They held a high standard of righteous behavior and did not tolerate sin within the body of Christ. They tested those who claimed to be preaching the gospel against the true gospel and if it didn’t match up perfectly, they called the teacher false. We should be doing this in our churches today. They had not grown weary of serving Jesus. They hated the work of the “Nicolaitans.” This was a group that openly and pridefully embraced their sin and they led the church into the same ways of thinking. The Ephesians not only shunned them but hated them for this. Just as Jesus hates sin, so did they. And all of these things they did for the sake of the name of Jesus. The Ephesians had a lot of great things going for them.
The concern. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” The Ephesians had started out totally enamored and in love with Christ. This love had waned. The honeymoon was over, real life had set in and their current love could not be compared to the love they had at first. They were carrying out their Christian responsibilities like robots, doing good but not with the love of Jesus they had before. This is so true of many churches today. We have programs galore to serve the body ran by tons of people that serve for many "Christian" reasons, but I have one simple personal question for you about why you do what you do for your church...do your hands and feet move purely out of love for Jesus Christ?
Command. “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.” So how do you combat a lost or fading love for Jesus? How do you reclaim the fire for Christ? Jesus says to first remember. Do you remember what it was like when you first accepted Christ? The joy, the love, the overwhelming desire to be in His Word, share in fellowship, and then share the great news of what He did in your life with others? Christ says to simply remember this feeling and go back there. To repent and go back to serving the way you did at first. Repent means to turn around. To stop going in the direction you are going and do a 180 degree turn. You see when we repent, we turn from the sinful direction we are going, and we move towards Christ. And if they didn't comply, Jesus says He will remove their lamp from the lampstand. That would be the equivalent of the flame being snuffed out or the wick cut. This is saying that Jesus would close the church.
Promise. “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” This speaks of our eventual and eternal home in Heaven in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ who sits at His right hand. Jesus says when you get to Heaven He will allow you to eat from this tree, the tree of life. What a beautiful promise from Christ here to wrap up this examination of the church at Ephesus.
Please join me again tomorrow as we’ll use this same 5 point outline to look at Jesus’ examination of the 2nd of the 7 churches, the church at Smyrna.
I pray that your personal time studying God’s Word today is one of many. God desires a closer relationship with you. He wants to be a bigger part of your life, to be the center of all that you think, say, and do. And my friends, you draw closer to God by simply spending time with Him in His Word. Make it a priority in your life to spend time with God in His Word daily and I promise you...you’re life will never be the same.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8
photo ~ the main promenade at Southern Methodist Univeristy, Dallas, Texas, USA
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