Revelation 2
v1. "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
v2. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
v3. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
v4. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
v5. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
v6. But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
v7. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
First love/crush… Miss Hudson.
Schoolgirls letter to her mother - its all about perspective.
The speaker : Lord Jesus Christ
Revelation 1:12-16 - I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
Both these passages speak of Jesus in the fullness of His post-resurrected glory, although these mere words cannot do ultimate justice to Him. He is our speaker here, commanding John to write. Jesus is not aloof, impersonal and distant. He knows intimately about His church and His people. Nothing is secret to Him. See v1 where he walks around.
The angel : The angel mentioned in v1 could also mean messenger or it could mean a guardian angel or a saint. As with much of Revelation and the figurative language, there is no certainty as to what is meant.
The author : There is much debate as to the author of the Book of Revelation. Most attribute it to the Apostle John, and that is who I believe wrote it.
Ephesus : Ephesus was located on the coast, and was a transportation hub and an administrative and commercial centre. It was home to the temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and as such was a centre of mystical cult worship. There was also 6 temples set up for worship of Roman emperors such was its importance.
We know a lot about the church of Ephesus from the New Testament. It was established by Paul on his third missionary journey, and it was from this church that Paul called the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus when he was on his way to Jerusalem (Acts 20:16f). Tradition tells us, that Ephesus became the residence of the Apostle John both before and after his exile, that he was their bishop. So if tradition is right on this aspect, then can you imagine the sense of excitement built up in the Ephesian congregation. John has sent us a letter. Our John. What does it say? Quick. Hurry up and read it. Boy, were they in for a shock.
1. Commendations
The Lord Jesus is always gracious and here he commends the church. He sees the work being done by the church in Ephesus. They work hard (v2). They tirelessly persevere through hardships (v3). Their doctrine, teaching and belief system is orthodox and correct. They tolerate neither evil or the men who perpetrate evil (v2, 6). They use discernment when required (v2). The Ephesian church had refused to allow apostasy and immorality to go on in the church. They exercised church discipline when
men refused to respond to God‘s Word. Most of his sermons were based on one thing - “love”. Love Christ and love one another.
2. Forsaken & forgotten
The church in Ephesus was orthodox in theology, practice, and service, yet something was missing which, if not corrected, would ruin their light-bearing capacity. They no longer have their “first love” (v.7), it has been left behind. Again, many people have a theory about what this love is. Is it their love of Christ? Is it their love of others? I personally think its both, and the reason I say this is because loving Christ involves loving others, just as loving others truly depends on loving Christ. They have also forgotten something. The local church is married to Christ, but there is always the danger of that love growing cold. Like Martha, we can be so busy working for Jesus that we have no time to love Him. Christ is more concerned about what we do with Him than for Him. Labour is no substitute for love. To the public, the Ephesian church was successful; to Christ,
it had fallen.
3. Counsel
For all its outward appearances, the church of Ephesus was super-spiritual. However, they were guilty of something that is not necessarily seen outwardly. Jesus sees the heart, and in the Ephesian church, He did not see love. So Jesus tells them to do three things in which to restore their marriage.
a. Remember (v5a) : Reflect, go back and recall the past. Jesus is saying, remember the way it used to be in your relationship with Me. This process of looking back is also a call to recognize one’s true condition. We can’t very well confess sin if we don’t clearly see it for what it is. Has our Christian life lost some of its excitement and joy? Are we finding our Christian work rather boring and dull, even to the point of drudgery? Have we lost the joy of the Lord, if so, it is because we have left the position of devotion and occupation with Christ.
b. Repent (v5b): Recognize one‘s previous decision, opinion, or condition as wrong, and to accept and move towards a new and right path in its place. Repentance includes confession of sin with a view to stopping the bad behaviour so it can be replaced with what was right.
c. Repeat (v5b): Jesus commands them, “Do the things you did at first.” Go back to when you first turned to me and repeat them. As well as continuing to work for me, it would include such things as honest confession of sin, prayer, Bible study, reading, meditation, memorization, fellowship with believers, being occupied with Christ and refocusing all of our life on Him, the faith rest life, reckoning on our position in Christ, etc. In your dealings with people, have an attitude of love as well as service.
4. Challenge (v5c): After the commendations, then the counsel, comes the challenge. If they refuse to remember, repent and repeat, the church will be destroyed. There zeal is again commended in v6, but that is not enough. They must love again. Love Christ and love their neighbours. For without love, your survival as a church is dependent. Did the Ephesian church listen? Well today, there is neither church nor city, so apparently they didn’t.
5. Overcomers (v7): for the individual that overcomes. For the individual that remembers, repents and repeats, there is the promise of everlasting life (v7)
6. Situation today
We live in times when churches are closing and congregations are dwindling. Yet not all are. Some churches are thriving and growing. Those churches that close or are facing dwindling congregations, are they churches that have forgotten their first love? Are they so efficient and zealous for God, that they have forgotten to love their neighbours and therefore by proxy forgotten to love Jesus. Or are they churches that declare love for their neighbours yet neglect to love Jesus by following His commands. No wonder there are churches in decline if they don’t love, they are writ for destruction if the church of Ephesus is anything to go by. Two months ago, in The Times they had a report about churches and church growth. The study showed that those churches where the Word of God was faithfully preached and actively showing love to others, there was a steady increase in congregational growth. However, it also showed that the churches that were closing or had dwindling congregations, were those that didn’t take God’s word seriously and were therefore neglecting their love for Christ.
Conclusion
Where is St James today? Do we want it to be like the Church of Ephesus? Why do you do the things you do for the church? Is it motivated out of love for Christ and for others? Or is it motivated out of some vain self satisfying glory and duty?
Let us all, each one of us, remember, repent and repeat, as we go about in our service for God. By no means stop what you are doing for Him, but go about it even more fervently with a love that is reminiscent of your first love of Him. Don’t treat Jesus as a “first crush”, easily forgotten. That is not what He requests. He requests we treat him as a “first love”, showing that in our adoration of Him and in our love for all those around us. Let us pray.
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