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2022-05-15

Revelation:  A ‘Note’ to the Church in Ephesus

(Revelation 2:1a, NIV)

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write…”

I.  Introduction

     The glorified Christ walking among the seven churches instructed John to send the Revelation to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia—western Turkey.  He said, “…Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:11b, NIV).

     Jesus then dictated to John a personal note for the ‘angels’ [messengers] to deliver to and read to each of the seven churches.  Notice how each note was addressed:

• “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write…” (Revelation 2:1a, NIV)
• “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write…” (Revelation 2:8a, NIV)
• “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write…” (Revelation 2:12a, NIV)
• “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write…” (Revelation 2:18a, NIV)
• “To the angel of the church in Sardis write…” (Revelation 3:1a, NIV)
• “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write…” (Revelation 3:7a, NIV)
• “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write…” (Revelation 3:14a, NIV)

     No two of the churches were the same, so they each received a different note.  No two churches have the same set of strengths and weaknesses.  They are made up of radically different people. So, they are radically different churches with different needs—and Jesus dealt with them accordingly.  By the way, He still does the same thing today! 

II.  The Note to the Church in Ephesus

     The first note was dictated to the ‘angel’ [messenger] of the church in Ephesus to be read to the church in that city.  Jesus said, “To the angel [messenger] of the church in Ephesus write…” (Revelation 2:1a, NIV).

     Jesus began this ‘note’ by introducing Himself to the church.  He said, “…These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.” (Revelation 2:1b, NIV).  Jesus is the one who protected the seven messengers so they could deliver these personal notes to the seven churches.  He was also walking among the seven churches [lampstands—Revelation 1:20b, NIV].

     Therefore, He knew everything about the church—both their strengths and their weaknesses.  That’s why he could authoritatively declare, “I know your deeds [the personal behavior of each believer in the church], your hard work [the time and energy they spent on kingdom building] and your perseverance [They didn’t give up even when it was difficult to continue].  I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people [spiritual impostors who lied about God’s calling on their lives], that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  You have persevered [You didn’t quit.] and have endured hardships for my name [You faced dangerous circumstances because they refused to deny the name of Jesus], and have not grown weary. [You didn’t use the excuse—‘I’m tired!]” (Revelation 2:2-3, NIV).

     After highlighting the strengths of the church, Jesus then identified one glaring weakness.  He said, “Yet I hold this against you: ‘You have forsaken the love you had at first.’ [They didn’t love Jesus as deeply as they did when they first heard ‘His Story,’ believed it, and received the precious gift of eternal life.]” (Revelation 2:4, NIV).

     This was a big issue with Jesus because their love for Him would determine the consistency and intensity of their work for Him.  He said, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first…” (Revelation 2:5a, NIV).  The Greek word translated ‘repent’ means to change your mind!  They needed to change their minds about how critically valuable it is for believers to love Jesus!

     Jesus then issued a stern warning: “…If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5b, NIV).  This was a threat to remove His presence and power from the church so that it would ultimately cease to exist in Ephesus.  In short, the church would die.  Wow!  This clearly reveals how important it is for the church to do what it does, not out of a mechanical sense of duty, but because of a deep love for Jesus!  After all, He said to His disciples, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15, NIV).

     Jesus then circled back and highlighted one more strength exhibited by the church of Ephesus.  He said, “But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” (Revelation 2:6, NIV).

     The “Nicolaitans” referred to people associated with a movement in the early church begun by “…Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.” (Acts 6:5b, NIV).  He was one of the seven original deacons in the Jerusalem Church.  In direct conflict with the decision reached by the apostles and elders at the church in Jerusalem, the followers of Nicolas taught that it was acceptable to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.  The apostles and elders at Jerusalem wrote to the Gentile believers, “You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols...and from sexual immorality…” (Acts 15:29a…29c, NIV). Jesus hated the behavior that the Nicolaitans endorsed!

     Jesus’ next statement to the Church at Ephesus is enlightening.  He said, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches…” (Revelation 2:7a, NIV).  First of all, it is clear that in order to hear what the “Spirit says,” one must have ears capable of hearing spiritual information.  Those are the ears of a person who has the Holy Spirit living within them, giving them the capability of comprehending spiritual information.  Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (I Corinthians 2:14, NIV).

     Jesus clearly stated that the information in this ‘note’ was for the ‘angel’ [messenger] to deliver to “the church in Ephesus.”  He said, “To the angel [messenger] of the church in Ephesus write…” (Revelation 2:1a, NIV).  However, in this verse He referred to the material in this ‘note’ as “…what the Spirit says to the churches…” (Revelation 2:7b, NIV).  So even though some of the material in the Revelation is addressed to specific churches, it is intended for and beneficial to all the churches throughout the church age!

III.  Conclusion

     Jesus closed His ‘note’ to the Church in Ephesus with a wonderful promise.  He said, “…To the one who is victorious [the one who defeats the eternal consequences of sin by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ], I will give the right to eat from the tree of life [which in the Garden of Eden was the source of eternal life (Genesis 3:22, NIV)—a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ], which is in the paradise of God. [which is exactly where Jesus was when He gave the Revelation to the ‘angel’ to give to John]” (Revelation 2:7b, NIV).

     From the Book of Genesis, the first Book of the Bible, to the Book of Revelation, the last Book of the Bible, Jesus is described as ‘the tree of life’ which is the source of eternal life!  From the beginning to the end, Jesus is the source of eternal life.  That’s why Jesus Himself said, “…God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV).  To “believe in him” means to believe ‘The Jesus Story.’  You can’t believe ‘The Story’ unless you know ‘The Story.’  So, I want to tell it one more time…        



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