Revelation Study Series 2 - God's Mysterious Plan Fulfilled Series

Last week we left with John seeing the Son of God, Jesus Christ in all His holiness and glory. He fell down as dead, out of reverent fear and awe.

Jesus was holding seven stars in His right hand...and there were also seven golden lampstands.

He told John that those stars were angels, messengers to the churches and that the lampstands represent specific churches…

He gave John a message for them. And, it serves as a message for us as well…

Revelation 2:1-5

1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.

3 You have patiently suffered for Me without quitting.

4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love Me or each other as you did at first!

5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to Me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

Ephesus was a great and grand city.

It is written that...“In the time of the Romans it bore the title of "the first and greatest metropolis of Asia." -Easton’s

It was the New York of its day.

Ephesus had a spectacular amphitheater...was one of the largest in the world...it could seat up to 50,000 people.

As great a city as it was, Ephesus’s pride rested in its temple to the false goddess Diana.

Diana was the goddess of hunting and the moon. She was associated with wild animals and woodland. She was believed to have power to talk to and control animals as well as the moon in Roman mythology.

Diana was known to be the virgin goddess and looked after virgins and women.

The temple for Diana took 220 years to build and is one of the seven great wonders of the world.

Again, Ephesus was a great city, a grand city...but, it was a lost city!

Revelation 2:2

2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.

God was well aware of how they had lived out their faith!

The church had prospered.

Many came to know about the Lord, and many came to accept the Lord.

It has been said that this church, in this time period...probably did more for evangelizing the world than any other church has in any other time in history...including the present.

They were busy, they were busy for the Lord. They didn’t waiver in their beliefs.

Evidently there were many who falsely claimed to have a word from God.

Yet, these believers who came together...knew better...they didn’t buy into everything they were told.

They proved everything by the Word!

Tim LaHaye writes...(writer of the Left Behind Series)...

“The current church of Jesus Christ needs to heed this message, for there are many false apostles “going about disguised as servants of Jesus Christ” who are really enemies of the cross, seeking their own personal gain.

The ecclesiastical sickness of “ecumania” (a one-world church regardless of one’s faith), which has caught the fancy of many church leaders, has a deadening effect upon the true Church wherever it is found.

We can expect this trend to continue with increasing ferocity until the Lord comes. We have every right today to test men to see if they are of God. If their teachings are not consistent with and faithful to the Word of God, they should be rejected.” -Revelation, p. 25 *(written in 1973)

“It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe something. We all worship a higher power in one form or another. Let’s come together. Can’t we all just get along.” That’s not the Bible!

The early church didn’t practice that philosophy...and the Lord commended them, praised them for it!

Revelation 2:3

3 You have patiently suffered for Me without quitting.

You’ve been faithful. Any of us would like to hear the Lord praise us for that!

Yet, in spite of all of the praise…

The Lord had a very strong message/rebuke/complaint for them…

Revelation 2:4

4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love Me or each other as you did at first!

You don’t love Me like you used to. And, you don’t love others like you used to.”