Mail Call: Ephesus Series

Mail Call: Ephesus

Revelation 2:1-7

February 19, 2023

Have you ever had someone looking over your shoulder trying to see what you were reading? Maybe you’re on a crowded plane and the person sitting next to you is as engrossed in your book as you are. Or you’re enjoying a cup of coffee, and someone seems to be checking out your emails with you.

One of the privileges we have as a church and it’s God’s gift to us, is to see the Bible as a book of letters. Letters written to others, in which we’re privileged to look over their shoulders and read them and learn more about ourselves and God.

As we move towards Easter, for the next 7 weeks we’re going to take a deeper look at Bible mail. We’re going to look at 7 letters which were postmarked to 7 different churches in the book of Revelation. We’ll see what was happening and how we can learn from these early churches.

If Jesus was to write a personal letter to you, what do you think it would say? Would He be praising you, warning you, or a little of both?

What about to our church - - - what might He say we’re doing right and doing wrong . . . what we should be doing and what, if any is our reward. That’s kind of the gist of these 2 chapters from Revelation 2-3.

Would Jesus be impressed by the things that impress others?

Would He mention the size of the congregation?

Would He notice how much money was given?

Or would He feel like an outsider?

Let me give you a couple of quick points, then we’ll jump in. These letters were written by the disciple John. He wrote them from the small Mediterranean island of Patmos. John was banished to this island by the Romans.

Here’s a map of where the letters were sent and where Paul was in relation to the churches. Each letter was written regarding specific situations the churches were facing. These churches were filled with real people struggling with real problems.

Though 2000 years separate us, their issues aren’t much different from ours.

The first letter went to Ephesus, it was a city with a population of about 250,000, making it the second largest city in the world. Ephesus was an important trade and religious center. They had the best harbors in Asia Minor.

Ephesus also had the temple of artemis or Diana, who was one of their central gods. The temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Paul spent two years there and was eventually run out of town. Over the years the church had been taught by Paul, Apollos, Timothy, and eventually by John. Not a bad group of pastors and teachers.

So, John gets to writing . . . and we’ll take this verse by verse . . .

1 “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:

Woe Pastor Michael, what’s going on here. You’ve read 1 verse and I’m lost. Now don’t worry, you see Jesus was really nice to us, because in the verse right before this, He told us what this means. In Revelation 1:20, He said - - -

20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this:

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. - Revelation 1:20

Jesus is really telling us this . . . I’m 100% qualified, I have the power and authority to tell you what’s going on in your churches, because I am always with you. In fact, I’m the author of the church. I see all that’s going on, I know you, I see you, and I have not forgotten you.

And just as Jesus loved these churches, He also loves First Baptist Church and wants us to be the church we’re called to be. Every letter follows the same general pattern. Let’s look at what was going on in the Church at Ephesus. Jesus said - - -

2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.

3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Isn’t that great to hear?! Any church would love to hear those words. You are hard working, you don’t tolerate wicked people, you make sure theology is correct. You are persevering. In fact, John says that 2 times. They’ve endured hardships and have not grown weary! WOW!! That’s great news!!