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"EPHESIS" DUTY WITHOUT LOVE Revelation 2:1-7 RETURN ~ Revelation Main Index Home ~ Index 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; I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 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. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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. Revelation 2:1-7 (KJB) 1. DESTINATION Ephesus was a large city with an excellent harbor, and it was known at this time as the marketplace of Asia. It was also a banking center because of its great vault in the Temple of Diana, which was considered the safest place in Asia Minor. Ephesus was also an important religious city.The temple of Diana (or Artemis, as the Greeks called her) was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The goddess, Diana, was the patron of all the prostitutes and, with her image, represented fertility and sexuality. Many writers in ancient times described the immorality of the city. One pillar in the Ephesian economy was the production of silver images of Diana by the many silversmiths who plied their trade their. Devotees of this goddess brought much gain to the city as discussed in Acts: Acts 19:23-27. Acts 19:23-27 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty." (NIV) Black magic was also widely practiced in Ephesus. Paul met these occultists head on and led some of them to Christ as savior: Acts 19:13-19 The Christian church at Ephesus was extremely well-taught, having had Paul, Apollos, Timothy, and John as pastors. The Book of Ephesians in the New Testament was written by Paul to the Ephesiasian saints while he was in prison in Rome about A.D. 60. 2. DESCRIPTION OF CHRIST Jesus describes Himself here as the One who "holds the seven stars (messengers) in His right hand." Each church "messenger" was both protected and held accountable for faithfully conveying God's message of grace and coming judgment. As the Lord walks among the churches, He is intimately aware of their thoughts and attitudes. He sees what they have had to endure, where they have succeeded, and where they have failed. This intimate knowledge becomes extremely important in His evaluation of their affections and motives. 3. COMMENDATION There was much in this church to commend and praise. The believers were zealous of good works and service for the Lord. Twice the letters speaks of how they labored for the Name of Christ. These saints knew how to trust the Lord consistently under trial, which is the meaning of the word PATIENCE. They had held up under stress and been faithful. Doctrinally speaking, these believers were not only competent but militant in their stand against false teaching. This was evidenced by their examination and expulsion of false apostles who had come to them. They also labeled immorality exactly for what it was and cast out the Nickelodeons--false teachers who claimed the actions of your body didn't affect your spirit, so go out and sin up a storm! Or, as our modern theologians might say, do whatever feels good, the end justifies the means. From all outward appearances, the church of Ephesus certainly looked like a model church, worthy of a high commendation. 4. REBUKE Despite all these "PLUSES" the Lord discerned a deadly danger creeping into their attitudes: they had "left their first love", Christ Himself! Though outwardly warm, they were inwardly cold! Day after day they went through the right routines, said the right words, dished out the right spiritual platitudes--shriveling up a little more inside! No wonder Christ rebuked them, for He alone could see their inner motivation. No husband would be happy for very long with a wife who didn't really love him, no matter how well she cooked his meals and did the housework. Of course, today we have adapted to a mentality that no longer considers cooking and cleaning as woman's work. Could this be partly the reason the church today no longer sees itself as the bride of Christ, the cooker of meals and house cleaners for our Lord. We no longer raise our children – we ship them off to others whom we would often not trust to come into our home when we were not there. And Christ wasn't happy with His bride in this church either. She was a cold fish! I've seen this pattern develop in both churches and individuals, and it seems to be the special weakness of those who are Biblically well-taught. I wouldn't for a moment suggest that the deep teaching of God's Word promotes spiritual coolness. However, any prolonged study of the Bible which doesn't produce a greater love for Christ is unprofitable. 5. EXHORTATION The Ephesians are exhorted by Christ to REMEMBER and REPENT. These are two very significant words because many Christians suffer from short memories! Each time they get into a hassle they forget how Christ brought them through the last one. They forget how He met their needs for so many things in the past, and that since He was faithful then He will be the same in the present crisis! Jesus tells the Ephesians to REMEMBER that love is the only acceptable motivation for Christian living. He urges them to REPENT of their loveless Christian duty and to get of their "works trip," returning instead to the love which they had when they first came to know Him--when they were flushed up with the wonder and excitement of their new relationship with Him. 6. PROMISE To the one who listens and overcomes, Jesus promises that he will eat of the "Tree of Life" in God's everlasting paradise. You will see in Chapter 21 just what a fantastic promise this is! The Apostle John tells us in another writing that "the overcomer" is the one who believes in Jesus as the Son of God and has received him as Savior and Lord. 1 John 5:4-5 7. PROPHETIC APPLICATION [ A.D. 33-100] (see Jesus' parallel in Matthew 13:3-8 ; & 16-17– The Sower) The Ephesian church is a prophetic picture of the Apostolic church. Like the church of Ephesus, the dominant historical characteristics of this era were correct doctrine, circumspect conduct, and zealous labor for the Lord, but waywardness in heart attitudes. As their love for Christ began to wane, they more and more served out of a sense of duty. In their own estimation, their acceptance by the Lord depended on their performance for Him. This opened the door to legalism. One of the crucial issues for a vital faith is pure motives. As we remember how Christ has loved us, our natural response is to love Him in return. 1 John 4:9-10 THE SECOND CHURCH: SMYRNA 1. POOR AND PERSECUTED, BUT RICH Revelation 2:8-11 Smyrna was about forty miles north of Ephesus and was considered the safest seaport of its time.Alexander the Great personally planned the city, and it was called "the ornament of Asia" because of its beauty and splendor. Many Jews lived there, yet Smyrna was overwhelmingly pagan. On one end of the main street, the "street of gold," stood theTemple of Zeus, and at the other end stood theTemple of Cybele, "the mother of the gods." Smyrna was also the center of the emperor worship in the Roman Empire, boasting a temple to Tiberius Caesar. 2. DESCRIPTION OF CHRIST Since the believers of Smyrna were experiencing severe suffering and even martyrdom, Jesus refers to Himself as the One who had suffered and died but is now alive. Because He conquered death, they will too; as the First and the Last He has already tasted death for each believer and removed its sting! 3. COMMENDATION The Lord assures the Smyrnanean believers that He knows about their faithful service despite great persecution and poverty. They are actually very rich in His sight, even though they have lost everything in this life for His sake, because they are earning eternal rewards. The Smyrnanean believers were victims of the "ten percenter." These people reported Christians to the Roman government and were rewarded with ten percent of the "heretics" property. The believers were thus often wiped out financially, and many ended up martyred or in prison. Eventually the Christians were given only one choice – bow to Caesar as Lord or be put to a horrible death. Faithful believers answered with the vow that is forever written in God's hall of fame: "JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, AND NONE OTHER." In denying that Caesar was divine, the Jews were as persecuted as the Christians, since it was unthinkable for a devout Jew to worship anyone but Jehovah. In an attempt to take some of the heat off themselves, some Jews evidently turned in Christians to the officials and caused a great deal of persecution for them. Jesus said that these were not true Jews, for they did not believe in Jehovah-God and His Messiah. If they had, they would not have allowed Satan to inspire hatred for the Christians. After all, the Jews had more in common with Christians than with the worshipers of Caesar. 4. REBUKE There is not one word of rebuke to the Smyrna church, which in itself suggests a great lesson. A Church or individual suffering persecution for his faith is usually more devout and faithful than a comfortable, untested believer. An European Christian leader once said that during his frequent trips behind the Iron Curtain to visit the churches he found amazing examples of faith and devotion to Christ. One church that was undergoing considerable persecution said they were praying for God to send persecution upon their Western brothers so they too might be purified! Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch survivor of Nazi gas chambers, told of another thrilling triumph in persecution. A group of believers was meeting in an Iron curtain country when the church door burst open and two Russian soldiers with submachine guns strode in. They said they would give five minutes for anyone who wished to renounce Christ to leave, and that those who stayed would be shot immediately. As each person searched his heart for the courage to face death, a few got up and left. The officers then walked to the door of the church, locked it, and turned to the congregation with these words, "Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are believers too, but we did not want to worship where everyone was not completely committed to Christ and willing to die for Him. May we become part of your fellowship?" 5. EXHORTATION The believers at Smyrna were encouraged by Jesus to face the coming trials and suffering for "ten days." Jesus said they would be given a "crown of life" as an eternal reward. We will look further at believers crowns in Chapter 4. Many Bible interpreters believe that the "ten days of persecution" apply prophetically to the ten eras of persecution under ten diabolical Casers: 1. Nero A.D. 64-58 2. Domitian A.D. 90-95 -the one who exiled John to Patmos 3. Trajan A.D. 104-117 4. Aurelius A.D. 161-180 5. Severus A.D. 200-211 6. Maximus A.D. 235-237 7. Decius A.D. 250-253 8. Valerian A.D. 257-260 9. Aurelian A.D. 270-275 10. Diocletian A.D. 303-312 6. PROMISE The one who heeds the message and overcomes by faith is promised that though he may die physically, he will never face "the second death" – eternal torment in hell. Revelation 20:14-15 7. PROPHETIC APPLICATION [ A.D. 33-100] SECOND DEATH "The second death" and "the lake of fire" in this passage are identical terms and are used of the eternal state of the wicked. It is "second" relatively to the preceding physical death of the wicked in unbelief and rejection of God; their eternal state is one of eternal "death (i.e., separation from God) in sins." John 8:21-24 The fact that the "second death" is not annihilation is shown by the comparison of Revelation 19:20 with 20:10. The words "forever and ever" (unto the ages of the ages, cp v. 10, are used of God in chapter 1, verse 18; Rev. 4:9; Rev.10:6; & Rev. 15:7, of the glory of God as in Galatians 1:5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen., etc), and plainly mean ETERNAL in the sense of unending. The suffering of the church at Smyrna was prophetic of the great era of persecution under the ten Caesars named above. The motives of the church were purified during this long and difficult period. Millions of Christians met cruel martyrs' deaths rather than renounce Christ or swear allegiance to Caesar as Lord. When I visited the ruins of the great coliseum in Rome, I was shown the foundation where it was still stained with the blood of martyrs. This was a period of tremendous witness and heroic faith. Even the wicked Roman Empire was finally shaken by the testimony of these Christians. RETURN ~ Revelation Main Index Home ~ Index