The Risen Christ gave us an outline of the message He was giving John. The things which you have seen – Chapter 1 The things which are – Chapters The things which will take place after this – Chapters

The Risen Christ gave us an outline of the message He was giving John. The things which you have seen – Chapter 1 The things which are – Chapters The things which will take place after this – Chapters

The Risen Christ gave us an outline of the message He was giving John. The things which you have seen – Chapter 1 The things which are – Chapters The things which will take place after this – Chapters

Today we begin the verse by verse examination of the second part, The things which are – Chapters 2 – 3, which contain Jesus´ message to each of the seven churches in the Roman Province of Asia. While our study and use of the tools of interpretation will lead us to understand the message given by Christ, we will briefly explore its three applications.

The application to the historic local churches that existed around 95 A.D. in Asia. The application to churches across the span of history. The application to the church of today.

The application to the historic local churches that existed around 95 A.D. in Asia. The application to churches across the span of history. The application to the church of today.

The application to the historic local churches that existed around 95 A.D. in Asia. The application to churches across the span of history. The application to the church of today.

The application to the historic local churches that existed around 95 A.D. in Asia. The application to churches across the span of history. The application to the church of today.

The Church at Ephesus Rev. 2:1-7 “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.” ’

2:1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write – If we use our language tools here (as we should), we discover that the Greek word for angel is angelos, which is translated as either angel or messenger. But if we look at the places the word is used in the New Testament, we find that at least six times, angelos is used to refer to human messengers, most often to John the Baptist.

The context here indicates that it is a human messenger to whom this letter is being directed because Christ says, “I know your works…” The one receiving the letter was part of the church. This could not be said of an angel who had been given an assignment to minister to the church. The recipient of each of the letters was most likely the pastor of each of the churches, and he was supposed to pass the message to the church members.

‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: - Christ holds these pastors in the palm of His hand, and He walks personally in the midst of each of the seven churches.

Christ is with us tonight. The Lord is present every Sunday. He is here receiving our worship whether it is offered with all heart and soul and mind and strength … or not. He is here receiving our tithes that acknowledge His ownership and our offerings that declare our gratitude for the abundance of His blessings … or not.

Christ is with us tonight. The Lord is present every Sunday. He is here receiving our worship whether it is offered with all heart and soul and mind and strength … or not. He is here receiving our tithes that acknowledge His ownership and our offerings that declare our gratitude for the abundance of His blessings … or not.

Christ is with us tonight. The Lord is present every Sunday. He is here receiving our worship whether it is offered with all heart and soul and mind and strength … or not. He is here receiving our tithes that acknowledge His ownership and our offerings that declare our gratitude for the abundance of His blessings … or not.

Christ is with us tonight. The Lord is present every Sunday. He is here receiving our worship whether it is offered with all heart and soul and mind and strength … or not. He is here receiving our tithes that acknowledge His ownership and our offerings that declare our gratitude for the abundance of His blessings … or not.

Christ is with us tonight. The Lord is present every Sunday. He is here to observe the attentiveness of our minds to His Word as it is taught and preached … or not. And He is here to note the response of our heart to the message He speaks to us as the Spirit applies His word to our hearts … or not!

Christ is with us tonight. The Lord is present every Sunday. He is here to observe the attentiveness of our minds to His Word as it is taught and preached … or not. And He is here to note the response of our heart to the message He speaks to us as the Spirit applies His word to our hearts … or not!

Christ is with us tonight. The Lord is present every Sunday. He is here to observe the attentiveness of our minds to His Word as it is taught and preached … or not. And He is here to note the response of our heart to the message He speaks to us as the Spirit applies His word to our hearts … or not!

2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, - The Lord knows what we are going through.

and that you cannot bear those who are evil. – the Ephesian church was not morally permissive.

And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; - They were also careful about doctrine.

3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. – So very much was right with the church at Ephesus, but …

4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. – Now we come to the key question of this letter. What was the love the Ephesians had left? The word itself is agape which is the highest form of love, being used even to describe God´s love. It is purer love than philos which is friendship kind of love or of eros which is erotic love.

How can we tell what is meant? I suggest we ask two questions of the Scriptures in order to let the Scriptures explain the Scriptures.

1.What did God command us to love the most? Matthew 22:37–38 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the L ORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.

How can we tell what is meant? I suggest we ask two questions of the Scriptures in order to let the Scriptures explain the Scriptures. 1.What did God command us to love the most? Matthew 22:37–38 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the L ORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.

How can we tell what is meant? I suggest we ask two questions of the Scriptures in order to let the Scriptures explain the Scriptures. 1.What did God command us to love the most? 2.What did God call Israel´s apostasy?

How can we tell what is meant? I suggest we ask two questions of the Scriptures in order to let the Scriptures explain the Scriptures. 1.What did God command us to love the most? 2.What did God call Israel´s apostasy? – Harlotry or adultery

Because they forsook the Lord. 2 Kings 22:16–17 “Thus says the L ORD : ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants… because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, … – Judah (and later Israel) left the Lord; they left their first love.

Applications: The people of the church at Ephesus still worked hard, were steadfast, and maintained sound doctrine; but they were no longer passionate about Christ Himself.

Applications: The Ephesian Period of the church was A.D , the late apostolic age. Many of the churches of that day were still doing the right things as they ought as a church, but their fervor for Jesus and passion for Christ grew cold.

Applications: This serves as a warning to Christians and to the church today that you can have all the right pieces of the “Christian Puzzle” in place and the Lord still have something against us. Without Jesus being the first love of our lives

Applications: This serves as a warning to Christians and to the church today that you can have all the right pieces of the “Christian Puzzle” in place and the Lord still have something against us. Without Jesus being the first love of our lives

Worship becomes liturgy instead of adoration. Prayer becomes a required recitation rather than intimate conversation. Giving becomes a bill to be paid with the minimum payment required rather than a lavish gift to the One who means the very most in life. Evangelism and witness are lofty ideals realized only in the lives of others instead of ever present realities brought to fruition by genuine desire.

Worship becomes liturgy instead of adoration. Prayer becomes a required recitation rather than intimate conversation. Giving becomes a bill to be paid with the minimum payment required rather than a lavish gift to the One who means the very most in life. Evangelism and witness are lofty ideals realized only in the lives of others instead of ever present realities brought to fruition by genuine desire.

Worship becomes liturgy instead of adoration. Prayer becomes a required recitation rather than intimate conversation. Giving becomes a bill to be paid with the minimum payment required rather than a lavish gift to the One who means the very most in life. Evangelism and witness are lofty ideals realized only in the lives of others instead of ever present realities brought to fruition by genuine desire.

Worship becomes liturgy instead of adoration. Prayer becomes a required recitation rather than intimate conversation. Giving becomes a bill to be paid with the minimum payment required rather than a lavish gift to the One who means the very most in life. Evangelism and witness are lofty ideals realized only in the lives of others instead of ever present realities brought to fruition by genuine desire.

Worship becomes liturgy instead of adoration. Prayer becomes a required recitation rather than intimate conversation. Giving becomes a bill to be paid with the minimum payment required rather than a lavish gift to the One who means the very most in life. Evangelism and witness are lofty ideals realized only in the lives of others instead of ever present realities brought to fruition by genuine desire.

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works – Remember what it was like when you first came to know me and make a 180 degree turn (repent) and fall in love with me again.

or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. – The gates of hell cannot withstand the church, but Christ Himself will let or cause a local church to die if they do not love Him!

6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. – Identifying the deeds of the Nicolaitans has caused much speculation. Speculation does not lead to good interpretation. The problem is that historically we do not find a record of a group called the Nicolaitans during this period of time. But remember, before we tried to understand, God revealed. He would not and has not left us “clueless.”

So we ask, “Does the name Nicolaitan have a meaning?” A little work on the word reveals it does have a meaning. It is a compound word that means “to conquer the people.” Did the Ephesian Christians have to deal with anyone trying to gain undue influence over the church for evil purposes? Read verse two again. Why would someone claim to be an apostle if they were not one?

What reason could there be except to gain influence they otherwise would not have had. These false believers, pretending to be spiritual authorities, sought power in the church. These were the Nicolaitans, and the church at Ephesus tested these pretenders and proved they were liars. The faithful members resisted their evil attempts and hated the deeds of these people desiring self exaltation in Christ´s church.

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. – Interesting! The message originated with God the Father (1:1). He gave it to God the Son (1:1). The Son tells John, but the Spirit moves in John for this fallible human being to record the message infallibly, perfectly (2 Pet. 1:20).

To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’ – Overcomes is from that same root which means to conquer. The tree of life was in the Garden of Eden and later in Revelation is said to be in the New Jerusalem. Its leaves produce healing and its fruit extends life.