Revelation 2: 1 – 7
This Great Light Of Mine
1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’
Ephesus was an important coastal city for pagans and Christians, for religious and secular reasons, including being the place Romans landed when about to take over the province of Asia. Its ancient population was about a quarter of a million.
Ephesus was about 1,000 years old, when Paul arrived in the summer of 52 AD. Beginning immediately with the Roman Caesar Augustus' reign (27 BC), Ephesus entered an era of prominence and prosperity which lasted into the second century AD. Augustus made it the capital of the Roman province of Asia and it received the coveted title, "First and Greatest Metropolis of Asia." Imperial patronage included constructing aqueducts, paving streets, and enlarging agoras. During the Augustan era Ephesus was the largest commercial center in Asia, in fact, the third largest city in the Empire, after Rome and Alexandria. Its location was one of the many reasons for its commercial growth. The Royal Road, build by the Persians to run from Ephesus to Susa, the Persian capital, made it a gateway to and from the interior.
The apostle Paul stayed and worked in Ephesus for 3 years. If you remember the book of acts chapter 19, Paul had an incidence at Ephesus, “1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all. 8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. 21 When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time. 23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.” 28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. 38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.”
Diana is also referred to as ‘Artemis’. You see the Ephesians worshiped her as the ‘mother of God’. After the Emperor Constantine declared Christianity to be the state religion, the Ephesians re-titled Diana to a new name – ‘Mary’ It is from these people where you get the term, ‘the Madonna and child’.
As we take a look at each letter to a specific church you will see a similar layout.
1. The things you saw:
a. Greeting from our Lord Jesus
b. One of His Identities
2. The things which are:
a. Current condition of the church
b. Problem that the Lord has against them
c. His solution to the problem
3. The things which shall be
a. His promise to obedience
b. Closing remarks
Now as we look at these letters we can see how they are valuable in four areas;
1. Addressed to the individual church
2. Was to be shared with the other 6 churches
3. Each letter is for our learning and application
4. Reflects an age of the Christian church. [ the letter of the Ephesians covers the church age from 31 AD to around 100 AD. ]
So, let us take a look at the letter to the Ephesians as verse 1 gives us the Greeting to the specific church and an identity of our Precious Holy Lord.
1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands
If we glance back at chapter 1 we were given this identity of our Lord, “12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.”
We are told by our Precious Holy Spirit what the stars and lampstands represent – Angels [stars] and the church [lampstands]. Have you heard preachers say that the stars represent Pastors? If our God says that the stars represent angels then how can it mean a Pastor. You might say that your Pastor is an angel and you might be right, but I know a few that are angels, that are sons of the devil.
Please note the band of gold on our Lord’s Chest. As I am sure you are aware of is that our Precious Master and Lord is both a King and the High Priest. Since He Is not from Aaron’s lineage but from Melchizedek as we read in the book of Hebrews chapter 5, “ 1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. 3 Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. 4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “ You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” 6 As He also says in another place: “ You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”; 7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”
Our Great God has put together conditions in His letters that represent church ages. The letter to the Ephesians represent the time frame from about 31 AD to 135 AD. We get these time frames from the situations which were magnified during this time. After our Lord Jesus had arisen from the dead and ascended back into Heaven, we see the early church development. Ultimately those who personally witnessed our Lord’s Resurrection have died off; the New Testament was written, and new Generations of believers have come upon the scene.
Okay, so far? - now to the grade of their condition.
2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
Overall this church wasn’t doing too badly. In verse one look at the portion which our Lord says that He ‘walks among them.’
Have you ever thought or wished what it would be like to ‘walk’ with our Holy God in the Garden Eden in which we learned from the book of Genesis chapter 3, “1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: “ Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” 16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “ Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” 20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Can you see the problem before we go on further? No, well let me ‘walk’ you through it. In the Garden there was no one else but God. Sure He put Adam and then later Eve in the Garden and of course the animals. But here we had everything right. Adam’s first love was our Precious Jehovah Yahweh. He used to spend time with Adam as they would talk with each other. Just think about that for a moment. Each day our Precious Savior would come and the two and then with Eve included just hang out and see and learn from their Creator. It is the ideal position for mankind. Now, let us see our Lord Jesus’ remark about the problem.
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
We read in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 23 this important fact, “14 For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.”
You see, our Lord didn’t stop walking with mankind. He still did this after He chased Adam and Eve out of the Garden. He walked with the Christians in Ephesus and He will walk with you and me. However, as we read again in Deuteronomy what was the warning to us sinful descendents of Adam and Eve - 14 For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.
Sounds a little of the warning that our Lord is giving to the Ephesians and to us as He pronounces in the next verse of Revelation chapter 2
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Our Precious Holy God throws something in here though in the next verse.
6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Who are the Nicolaitans? If our Lord specifically states that He hates them, I think we better know who or what they are. Wouldn’t you agree?
Many scholars say that they cannot identify the Nicolaitans. Now, I have a hard time with that statement. If there is something that our Lord hates, does it stand to reason, that He would keep it a secret. How would we know if we were or were not becoming like them and thus sinning against our Holy Master. That doesn’t make sense. So, we have to find out exactly who the Nicolaitains are. So do the Nicolaitains show up anywhere else in Scripture. As a matter of fact, they do and they are listed in the same chapter of Revelation in the letter addressed to the church in Pergamos We read in verse 15, “Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.”
So, at first the Ephesians are complemented that they hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, and now we read that the people in Pergamos have accepted these people into their church and have compromised their Christian beliefs for the Nicolaitans doctrine. Is this all there is? Ah, come on now.
So, I went to the history books of the early church to see if I could find some information about them in the books of the early Christians called the Anti-Nicene Fathers.
The Early church father Iranaeus, identified the Nicolaitans in his treatise "Against Heresies" in the second century as they who are an "offshoot of the knowledge which is falsely so-called," mentioning that they "lead lives of unrestrained indulgence." There is no absolute proof that the heretic Nicolas was the Deacon of the same name from Antioch of the seven deacons in the book of Acts, but Iranaeus supposed him to be so. Ignatius mentions the Nicolaitans also, so there was in fact a heretical group existing at that time. Nicolas the deacon was perhaps confused with another Nicolas, the bishop Nicolas of Samaria who was a heretic in the company of Simon Magus.
So, this is some good information to discount. Boy o boy do you have to dig for this one. So, let us try to break down the language to possible understand what the Nicolaitans are all about. I think we have hit pay dirt.
The root of the word Nicolaitans comes from Greek nikao, to conquer or overcome, and laos, which means people and which the word laity comes from. The two words together especially means the destruction of the people and refers to the earliest form of what we call a priestly order or clergy which later on in church history divided people and allowed for leadership other than those led by the spirit of the risen Lord. A good translation of Nicolaitan would be "those who prevail over the people." This clerical system later developed into the papal hierarchy of priests and clergy lording over the flock. The Council of Trent stated, "If anyone shall say that there is not in the Catholic Church a hierarchy established by the divine ordination, consisting of bishops, presbyters and ministers, let him be anathema." It is not the question of the ministries but rather in the separation of them into a hierarchy over the people. This very idea was taken over by the Protestants with their own corruption of leadership roles and coverings. The Church of Ephesus was commended for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans. The wrong separation of the clergy from the laity is a great evil in God's sight and He hates the lust for religious power over others. There is an ungodly spiritual authority in the Church today, which is nothing more than the prideful spirit of control, manipulation, domination and intimidation and a rebellion of the rightful authority of God.
Remember back in this study I mentioned that the letters to the churches also addressed a church age. When we get to the church at Pergamos, we are in the church age where the church had allowed a separate priesthood. This is not our Holy Father’s intent.
This thought is directed to Fathers, but mothers can also appreciate this thought. If you child had a problem would you want them to go to another person to tell all their fears, concerns, and problems? Or would you want them to come to you? It is a stupid question, but this was and is still happening today. People are directed to go to a priest to talk to instead of going to their Precious Holy Father. Can you see why He says that He hates these people?
Faithful believers who have put on Christ Jesus, are all God's laity. Peter exhorted us in chapter 5 of his first book, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind. Neither as being lords over God's heritage but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.”
Now what we had read in the book of Genesis about man losing his first love we have seen the same thing happening in Revelation chapter 2. We see that again this first love is lost.
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
If we are ‘over comers’ then our Righteous King will fulfill a promise for us. So, what do we need to overcome? Do we need to join a men’s group called ‘Over comers for Christ’?
All of us who are believers are to be an over comer. We need to put to death our sinful desires, patiently endure the temptations that come our way, and being faithful to Him. The apostle Paul encourages us in his letter to the Romans in chapter 8, which says, “31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “ For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So, what is the promise our Lord will give to us. Remember, back in the Garden of Eden, what did Adam lose for us? We lost the ‘Tree of Life’ in Paradise [Eden]. The reward for getting back or restoring our first love is to be allowed to live eternally with the One Whom we say that we are in love with – our Precious Holy Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I want that promise, how about you?
I close with what it says in the book of Revelation chapter 22, “ 1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”
