I do some writing professionally. I haven’t had much published - but it’s a craft I care about and work on seriously. One of the best tools a writer has is not spell check - but gut check. By that I mean a critique group. A critique group reads what you’ve written - gives you some things they like - as preparation to tearing your work to shreds. It’s not done in a mean or vindictive way - but unless you are ready for it, you can feel pretty slammed. The purpose is to make your writing better. Egos need to be checked at the door.
In a way, the letters to the 7 churches in the Book of the Revelation are like a critique group for the church - except that the critique is performed by the owner of the church - Jesus Christ. Jesus is in the middle of writing a work of art - His body, the church. And the letters are like His critique about how the effort is going as His scribes - us - go about writing His witness in the world.
Like a critique group Jesus starts out (most of the time) with some things He likes in these churches - but then proceeds to challenge them in some very important ways about things they really need to work on. Some are more serious than others. Unlike a critique group, Jesus can actually affect their ability to be a witness according to how they respond. But it’s important to remember that the purpose here is not to rip them to shreds - but to improve what they are doing so that real life can happen.
There are actually several ways to interpret the letters:
1. They are only for those 7 churches (hard to defend when you get to Philadelphia).
2. They represent church ages (possible - but you have to stretch some things)
3. They represent different types of churches in any age (likely, but not entirely)
4. They represent characteristics that can crop up in any church or any Christian
As I’ve mentioned - I take a literal approach to the book - and I think there is enough here to certainly support any of these - that the letters represented literal churches in the first century who faced particular problems - and that it can be applied not only to different types of churches, but perhaps there are parts of each type of church in every church.
I’ve outlined my take on the 7 churches in a separate document on our website for registered users. Once you log on to www.CalvaryChapelNewberg.org then click on Revelation Resources under the Resources menu and you will see the link.
The letters to the 7 churches are the first of several units of 7 within the book. Others include the 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls. The number 7 denotes completeness. With the judgments it represents God’s complete judgment. I believe here it represents the whole church. There were more than 7 churches in Asia Minor (Colossae, for example) - and as Jesus walks through the 7 lampstands, it represents His presence and centrality to the whole church - not just the 7 in the cities named.
So what is the purpose of these letters? I’ve thought a lot about it and though I have no definitive answer I want to make three suggestions:
1. He wrote to the churches to show that the church will not go through the Great Tribulation (there is a huge break between chapter 2-3 and chapter 4)
2. He wrote words of exhortation to them because "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God." 1 Peter 4:17
3. He wrote to encourage them to stay the course - that He hasn’t abandoned them but wants to purify them.
As we go through this I want to look at this letter from three vantage points. The first is what Jesus’ words meant to that church in that time. Secondly how Jesus’ words apply to the church today, and finally what we as individual believers can glean from His encouragements and his exhortation.
"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ’The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2 "’I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ ESV
Verse 1 - Jesus, the Center of the Church
Right off the top Jesus wants us to know that He holds the church - the angels of the churches - in His hands. And that He walks through the center of the churches. Remember that Revelation is about Jesus - not about the church. Jesus is focus, not us or our ministries - it’s important for this church because Ephesus is the busy church. Jesus is actively listening, peering in to what we do. We cannot play church - it is His church.
Verse 2
Three things in this verse:
Works & Toil
Patient Endurance
Doctrinal Diligence
It gives you the picture of someone very focused on their job. Have you ever met a truly driven person? They can’t seem to break from absolute concentration on the task at hand and anything else is an unneeded distraction. That’s what I think of here - the Ephesians are hard at work, undergoing strain, under attack - but hanging in there. It also reminds me of Martha - of Mary and Martha in the gospels.
Luke 10:42 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." 41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha , Martha , you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." ESV
We’ll come back to this story later - but notice that Martha was not doing anything wrong - but she was "distracted" by what consumed her - so much so that she missed out on some truly wonderful things.
The Ephesians were also engaged in good things - working and toiling for the Lord, patiently enduring, and diligently watching out for false doctrine - but "doing" can also distract us.
Verse 3 - Perseverance
Not only were they patient - they also persevered. The idea here is that despite their suffering and their surroundings they have not grown weary of following Jesus. They still walked with Jesus - but they had lost a key component of that walk - love.
Verse 4 - Losing the love
Here’s where the scolding or critique part begins. They had "abandoned the love they had at first." The word can mean to "omit, send away, or yield up". So what is the love - is it for Jesus or is it for the saints? Commentators go both ways - I tend to think it is both.
As their activity level grew - their love level dropped. John says it is the love "you had at first." The Greek word there though really means - not in a chronological sense - the love you had when you first came to Jesus - but love in a priority sense. They had abandoned Jesus as their first love. What had they abandoned it for? Activity - busyness. Remember 1 Corinthians 13? "I will show you a more perfect way"
The Ephesian church is known as the busy church. They were successful on the outside - but mistook activity for direction, the machine of ministry for the presence of the Spirit.
Verse 5 - Remember, Repent, Re-do
So in verse 5 - Jesus directs them to do three things: remember, repent, and re-do. "Remember" comes from a Greek word where we get "pneumonic device" - a memory device. It can mean "rehearse." It’s like a play they’ve forgotten the lines to. They got so busy doing that they forgot about loving the One they were doing it for. Then they were to "repent" - which means to think differently about something. They needed a whole new way of thinking about their relationship to the Lord and to other believers - instead of looking for opportunities to further the mission, they needed to look for ways to better love the Messiah. The idea of "re-doing" means to "do the most important things again." They needed to be more like Mary, and less like Martha. Mary had "chosen the good portion." It doesn’t mean activity is bad - but activity without loving Jesus as your primary activity and primary motivation is empty - and dangerous.
Jesus says He will remove their lampstand. It doesn’t mean they are kicked out of the kingdom - but it does mean they will no longer be a witness for Him in their community - and what other reason is there for being - really?
But in the rebuke Jesus offers a tidbit of hope.
Verse 6 - Compromise
He says you hate the "works" of the Nicolaitans - not that you hate the Nicolaitans, but their works. Apparently the Nicolaitans were a group of believers who wanted to enjoy some of the sinful pleasures of Ephesian society like idolatry and sexual immorality. They created a sort of civil religion - where it was okay to worship the emperor as their "civil duty." To their credit, the Ephesian church had taken a strong stand against this. Jesus did say "you cannot serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24).
So He is saying here that holding fast to the doctrines of the true gospel is very important no matter what - but to really reach the world around you as a witness for Me you need to overcome the tendency to put service over love. So He tells them to listen to what the Spirit is saying.
It is also possible that the Nicolaitans represent the beginnings of the professional priesthood - seen today in the Catholic church. Even today we have something called "shepherding" - where the leadership of the church runs all the affairs of your life. You cannot insert a man between you and God. Jesus died to abolish this very thing.
Verse 7 - Conquer - Gain strength
The Greek word for conquer comes from the word "Nike" which means "victory." It’s pronounced Nee-kay, but in America we say "Just do it!" The idea is that if we listen to the Spirit we will be victorious - not that you might be if you try real hard.
But they needed to fight the natural tendency to let the church run them, and lose the love. Strength, by the way, doesn’t come from how powerful we are, but how dependent we are - on the Lord’s Spirit. Zechariah 4:6 "not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord."
What do they get? To eat from the Tree of Life. This is the tree that was in the center of the Garden of Eden - the tree which would have allowed Adam and Eve to live forever. But since they sinned, God took them away lest they eat of that tree and live forever in their sinful state - away from fellowship with God.
But through Jesus Christ, God has brought us back into fellowship - back into that close love relationship we once had - so now we can fulfill what we were meant to do, live forever in God’s presence - loving and serving Him.
What does the letter mean for the Ephesian Church?
The Ephesians lived in a society that was rampant with immorality and idolatry. In Acts 19 we have the story of some artisans who plied their trade selling idols of Artemis (Diana) who was the Greek/Roman goddess of fertility who was portrayed as a woman with many breasts. They got so mad at Paul for preaching the gospel (and hurting their profits) that they started a huge riot.
The Ephesian church was also rife with those promoting false doctrine. Paul the Apostle warned them of this:
Acts 20:29-31 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. ESV
So they got that part right - holding against false doctrine and immorality. But when Paul wrote to them later his letter focused on one thing: love.
Ephesians 3:17-19 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ESV
That was Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians - and it’s a good thing because apparently love was what they lost - but what love? It’s not the idea of first love like puppy love - or newlywed love. The word "first" means "of primary importance." They had lost the love of God as the most important thing in their lives - instead they focused on "doing" for God instead of "loving" God Himself.
What does the letter mean to all churches?
A fatal mistake churches make is to let activity lead ministry. We tend to fall into the mindset that creates a dangerous cycle - in order to attract people we have to have great programs, then we need people to keep those programs going.
Ephesians 4:12 says "equip the saints for the work of the ministry." Some churches turn that around: "equip the ministry for the work of the saints."
Wealth, big numbers, big buildings, big programs - these do not make a successful church.
We are here for one reason and one reason only - to be a witness for Jesus Christ as His ambassadors in the world. In the course of doing that we need to be equipped, support each other in the effort, and bring sacrifices of praise to the Lord. But it is very very easy to lose sight of our main purpose when the machine of church begins to serve us instead of serving the Lord.
Are programs bad? No. This letter is a warning though, that we will lose life, and eventually witness if we lose sight of love as the primary motivator, not the church.
What does the letter mean to me? - how can you tell if you fall into being "busy"
Perhaps you have served the Lord for a number of years - faithfully showing up and working hard and defending the faith - but your love for the Lord has grown cold. You feel dry and worn out and burned out and you feel like just hanging it all up.
Perhaps you need to re-prioritize - like Mary and Martha. There were dishes to be done - but the opportunity to sit at the Masters feet was the "better portion" in that case. If presented with a choice - neglect your love relationship with Jesus in order to do dishes - that’s when you need to watch out. Don’t let busyness be a cover that keeps you from being vulnerable and love others!
Jesus said "by this all people will know you are My disciples, if you have love, one for another." (John 13:35)
Jesus is pictured at the center of the candlesticks - is He at the center of your life? Or is your own activity at the center?
To sum up:
Labor without relationship brings death - structure and activity aren’t essential, love is.
