Revelation 2:1-8 Part 1 Bible Teaching

Revelation 2:1-7 Part I

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Study of the Church at Ephesus

Okay, let’s read through all that the Lord says to the Church at Ephesus before hitting each verse.

Revelation 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Ephesus: A Historical Overview

Okay, “Unto the messenger of the church of Ephesus write.” Let’s talk about Ephesus first and try and understand the general view of the city, of the nature of its people. Ephesus was a celebrated city of Ionia in Asia Minor, and was about 40 miles south of Smyrna, and near the mouth of a river called Cayster. The river waters a fertile vale of the ancient Ionia making it the most beautiful and fertile part of Asia Minor and was settled almost wholly by Greek colonies. Apparently the climate of Ionia is remarkably mild, the air is and the people were known for being refined in the arts, loving luxury and were also fond of indulging in sensual sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace..

History tells us that there were a number of festivals there where men and women appeared all dressed up for time of debauchery. Apparently Ephesus was not known for having commercial advantages (like Smyrna was) and result was it fell into ruin however it was important because of its resort-like attractions and the fact that it had a temple of Diana where foreigners would come to involve themselves in pagan worship.

Lacking commercial enterprise this city was once the most splendid city in Asia Minor. It was therefore given the name “Epiphanestate,” which means, "Most Illustrious;" and the historian Pliny calls it "The Ornament of Asia." In Roman times it was THE metropolis of Asia, surpassed by none. I think our concerns about the earthquake wiping it out don’t adequately describe the place all the place.

As I said it was most noted for its celebrated temple of Diana. The power and sway of this temple is exhibited in Acts 19 where for hours on end pagan worshippers chanted, “Great is the temple of Diana in Ephesis.” Apparently all of the provinces of Asia Minor contributed to the creation and building of this materially splendid temple and the thing apparently took some two hundred years to put together. It is also known – perhaps more popularly depending on the age – as the temple of Artemis. Artemis was a Olympian goddess, the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was the goddess of the moon and the goddess of the hunt and was also the twin sister of Apollo. Ephesian Artemis was a form or type of this Greek God who seemed to be directly tied more to fertility and sexuality than hunting.

The Temple of Artemis

The first temple to her was built in 800 BC but it was destroyed in the 7th Century BC. Reconstruction took place in 550 BC but it was also destroyed. Like the temple on Mt. Moriah each time the Temple of Artemis was destroyed it was rebuilt on the same spot. It was so glorious that Antipater of Sidon said that of the Seven wonders of the World it was the greatest. Apparently the guy who set fire to the second one did it for fame but his plan backfired because anyone who mentioned his name after it was destroyed was put to deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. so this wasn’t exactly played out as he wished. The third temple – the one present at the time Jesus and addressed here in Revelation – lasted some 600 years and was finally destroyed by the Goths.

History of Ephesus

In 268 AD, the once majestic temple is now a swamp, yet remnants can be found in the British Royal Museum. During the reign of Tiberius, which ended in 37 AD, Ephesus suffered significant damage from an earthquake. However, it was repaired and embellished by the emperor, leaving the temple still magnificent and continuing to attract foreign visitors, contributing to the city's wealth. This is relevant as Jesus describes the church at Ephesus as rich, countering the criticism that Revelation could not have been written before 95 AD due to the earthquake.

The introduction of the Gospel to Ephesus was initiated by Apostle Paul, who first preached there en route from Corinth to Jerusalem around 54 AD. Acts 18:19 notes his visit to the synagogue, preaching to his own countrymen but not publicly to the heathen. Despite requests to stay longer, he insisted on attending an approaching feast in Jerusalem, possibly Passover. Paul promised to visit Ephesus again, eventually sailing from there to Jerusalem, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, whom he left or soon returned to Ephesus.

Role of Apollos in Ephesus

During Paul’s absence, a Jew from Alexandria named Apollos arrived in Ephesus, described as eloquent and “mighty in the Scriptures.” Having received John's baptism, he continued teaching John's doctrine, possibly focusing on repentance and water baptism while awaiting the Messiah. Priscilla and Aquila further educated him in Christian doctrine, conveying teachings from Paul. Upon Paul’s return from Jerusalem, he revisited Ephesus, staying for about three years, which led to the foundation of a prominent church. Mark clarified last week that "church" likely did not mean a physical structure, countering the Catholic view that each Church's angel was a diocesan Bishop.

From Acts, we learn of significant events during Paul's time in Ephesus:

1. Paul baptized twelve disciples of John the Baptist.
2. He engaged in a three-month discussion with Jews about the Messiah in the synagogue.
3. Facing opposition, Paul left the synagogue outreach, choosing instead to preach in a school-room of Tyrannus for about two years, achieving success due to miracles described in Acts 19.
4. His preaching sparked a "tremendous upheaval" in Acts 19:23-41, causing fear that abandoning Diana's worship would lead to joblessness for those reliant on it.

Paul's Final Interactions with Ephesus

After the upheaval, it's believed Paul did not return to Ephesus, though he might have revisited after his first Roman imprisonment. Acts 20 details Paul's journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem, stopping at Miletus, where he summoned Ephesus' elders to deliver a heartfelt farewell, expecting not to see them again. Paul’s extended stay in Ephesus surpassed his time preaching elsewhere, indicating the significance of his deliberate efforts there.

Establishing a Church in Ephesus

To establish a church that could ultimately overthrow the rampant idolatry among the heathen nations. For this reason, he may have labored so long in this one place. See, throughout most of the “world” Ephesus was the seat of idolatry. Paul appears to have sought to preach in places of great worldly power and influence (like Antioch, Corinth, Athens, and Rome), and Ephesus was right at the top of this list. Most of these places had magnificent temples erected to the gods where the worship of idols was celebrated. In many cases, this was because while pagan, these open liberal cities often allowed a more liberal expression of all religions, which opened the door for him to share the Good News.

This may be why it is believed that the Apostle John made Ephesus his permanent home at the end of his life and spent so many years there as the minister of the church after it had been founded by Paul. Little is said of Ephesus in the New Testament from the time when Paul left it until the book of RevelationA symbolic prophecy fulfilled in 70 A.D.—not a prediction of future global events. was written. The tradition is that Timothy was the first minister at Ephesus after Paul and was then succeeded by the Apostle John; but whether John came there while Timothy was living, or not until his removal or death, even tradition does not tell us. Whatever was the relation, it is agreed on all hands that John the Apostle spent a considerable portion of his life there.

The Life of John in Ephesus

At what time he went to Ephesus, or why he did it, is not now officially agreed upon. The common opinion is that he remained at or near Jerusalem for some fifteen years after the crucifixion of the Lord, during which time he had the special charge of Mary, the mother of the Savior. Then it is taught that he preached the gospel to the Parthians and to the Indians, and then he returned and went to Ephesus, in or near which he spent his latter days, and in which, at a very advanced age, he died. He is said to have died at Ephesus in the third year of Trajan, A.D. 100, aged about ninety-four years.

Any and all subsequent history of the church at Ephesus is gone. I am unsure how to explain or justify this, but since Revelation IS written to the Seven Churches, and the principal premise of the message from Jesus is, “I am coming quickly, get ready,” I can’t help but believe that while Jesus came with Judgment and Reward to Jerusalem – His own – that the faithful believers in these seven churches were raptured at this time – otherwise, I see no reason for the book to be addressed to them.

Okay, then . . .

Messages to the Church

Revelation 2:1

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; “These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;”

Work and Patience Acknowledged

(Verse 2)

2 I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.

As mentioned last week, He first hit them with the compliments, which comprise verses 2 and 3 after He tells them that He knows thy works, and thy labors, and thy patience, and how thou cannot bear them which are evil.

Let’s talk about these lines. We touched on the fact that Jesus says to all seven churches right off the bat, “I know thy works.” This is a collective statement – thy works – to the Church at Ephesus, I know “thy works.” We refer to this ourselves when we describe a group or institution as a whole, right? “Oh, UC Santa Barbara is a party school,” or “those people over at CAMPUS are a bunch of radicals.” Stuff like this.

So first off, I think we can believe that Jesus is speaking to the collective and to Heidi’s point last week, a collective doesn’t have a heart per se, so I actually think Jesus is speaking to the overall behaviors and actions the body of believers at Ephesus have adopted as a whole – and He has given this report to the Pastor of that body to share with them. We might see it as Jesus sending us an epistle here at CAMPUS and saying: I know thy works, how you…

Context of Jesus' Words to the Churches

I have tried to do this and you have done that, however, I have ought with you. I see these now as reports given to seven divisions of His Body – and in this light, we are able to easily tease apart the difference between what Jesus is saying to a collective over what he will say to every individual – which is what Heidi was bringing to light last week.

In other words, we make a mistake to use Jesus' words to these gatherings of believers, who were under the direction of pastors (to whom the Revelation was written), and then to assign them to our individual walk! This is a really important observation. Because in reality, while God will know our works and labors, he more importantly will know our hearts – because that IS what he looks to in the individual.

Insight from Scripture

Proverbs 24:12 gives us a great insight into the connection Heidi mentioned between her point on the heart and our discussion of Christian works. Listen to this:

“If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”

And in 1st Chronicles 28:9, we read this given to Solomon:

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.”

So, to reiterate, the context of Jesus saying to each Church, “I know THY works,” is corporate – and if He is stern or congratulatory this is expected and is not in conflict with all we know about His love and longsuffering and gentleness with individuals who love Him.

So, he tells the messenger of the Body in Ephesus that He knows the works of the Body – this is the noun – the body of works as a whole no matter how they are performed – mentally, spiritually, physically – they’re its works – and then He adds “and thy labors.” This is the verb – the actual activities themselves. The term from where we get labors means “to cut,” “or beat” as in toil in any form – some sort of action that breaks a group down.

Importance of Patience and Discernment

So, “I know all you have been about AND I know your actual labors that drain your energies.” Then He adds, “And thy patience.” This compliment makes a lot of sense when we consider the paganism that existed in Ephesus – and the carnality and sensuality. I think that the patience Jesus commends them on is that which the Body extended to the sinful souls around them, and their practices, possibly even the overt attempts to corrupt or convert them back over to their carnal ways.

Twice in His compliments to the Church at Ephesus, Jesus mentions their patience. This report from the Lord to them is of great value to people who are living in and among the fallen masses, the lost, and the misled. From life in Vegas, LA, NYC, New Orleans, San Francisco, and even here in Salt Lake City area, patience is not only needed, it pleases the King when it is extended.

Really fascinating. But I think it lends greatly to the fact that it is love and the things of the Spirit that will break down the walls and win amidst our unbelieving friends and not the ways of the flesh.

But right after commending them for their patience He then commends them by saying:

“And how thou canst not bear them which are evil.” They seem counterintuitive, don’t they? “You’ve BEEN so patient AND you cannot bear them which are evil.” I think we can see that to be patient does not in any way condone, or appreciate, or support evil ways.

In other words, they had no sympathy with their doctrines or their practices; they were utterly opposed to them. They had lent them no countenance and proved that they had no fellowship with them. We note here in the English a colon and not a comma, suggesting that the evil persons that were being referred to were doubtless those mentioned in this verse as claiming that "they were apostles," which appears to refer again to those named in verse 6 as the Nicolaitans.

Jewish Writing Style in Revelation

to point something out here which is really intriguing to me. The Jews had a manner of speaking and writing that was repetitive and poetic – some label it chiastic. But take a look at these two passages on the board. If ANYTHING it shows that whoever wrote this was a Jew and if it was written as Jesus said it, it shows that the speaker was a Jew.

Let’s go to the board

I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.

Works – ergon (n) all the efforts
Labor – kopos (v) tiring labors
Patience – hoop om on ay – endurance
Cannot bear

(CENTRAL THEME)
THEM WHICH ARE EVIL AND YOU HAVE TRIED THEM WHICH SAY THEY ARE APOSTLES AND ARE NOT AND HAS FOUND THEM LIARS

Thou has borne

And has Patience

(And for my names sake has)

LABORED

(and not)

FAINTED

Examining False Apostles

So central to the theme of what Jesus says in commending this body of believers is the presence or fact of

and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

These, Jesus says, “are evil” but in the face of them his Church has exercised patience, bearing them patiently, and has not tired. Who or what is it that the Church is facing?

“They which say they are apostles but are not” and Jesus commends this church for examining them, finding them to be liars.” These were a group or handful of men (maybe even women – who knows) who claimed to be “ones sent” from God presumably to deliver a message of truth (from God – they SAY they are apostles) to the Body there in Ephesus.

But though claiming to BE apostles they are NOT, and Jesus says essentially, you have done well in discovering them to be liars. We are not told how they were discovered to be feigning, lying apostles, but they were.

Now, we have to decide were these liars pretending to actually be Apostles who Jesus chose OR where they claiming to have been elected to fulfill the role of an apostle in place of those who died (successors) Or maybe they were simply claiming to have been sent by Jesus with no other explanation. What we do know is they were claiming to be apostles, that they were not, and the Church discovered their phony plot.

False Apostles in the Church

Paul mentions the existence of false apostles in his day in 2nd Corinthians 11:13, saying:

2nd Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

If we take these words from Paul and take the liberty of assigning them to the fact that false apostles were in Ephesians (according to the Word of Jesus Himself) we can see that they were quite evil, promoting a false gospel of light (which Paul says is no great thing when we consider that the Father of their works was Satan who transformed into an angel of light) and were therefore VERY convincing and alluring (few things in the evil world more alluring than false light, right?)

The church in Ephesus patiently labored and toiled and was exhausted by such in their efforts to expose these false apostles – and Jesus commends them for it.

I want to add a comment here – one that is very important to my view of the purpose and place of the New Testament in our lives today.

Here we are reading about an actual event – false apostles alive and well in the days of the apostolic church – and we have a direct address as to their existence. I am convinced that this record, while first and foremost a history of those people then, is the LIVING word – and has pertinent warnings, lessons, and principles that are AS VIABLE to us today – as they were to them then.

In the case of the false apostles there is perhaps no better example of this happening in our day and age than the very church that is in this very state and that we are forced to “patiently deal with” as a

Exposing the False Apostles

Here in Revelation, the Church at Ephesus was being infiltrated by people who claimed apostolic succession or rights and must have been extremely persuasive in their efforts to make disciples of men. After commending them at Ephesus, Jesus will stab them (which we will cover next week). But then after doing this, He will return to a commendation, and will say:

“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

Now, I can’t help but believe that this hatred they have for the Nicolaitanes is in reference to the doctrines and deeds of these false apostles, who were actually apostles of the Nicolataines way (whatever that was) but who promoted deeds which Jesus even admits to hating.

Commendation for Patience

In verse three Jesus tells them that in regard to these false Nicolataines apostles, the Church at Ephesus . . . “hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.”

There are few things as laborious, tiring, relentless, and that require constant patience than the confrontation of lies and deceptions in the faith. In my estimation, it is similar to resisting flood waters or insect invasion and has all the properties of war. If we are not careful the war can become the point rather than the truth – it happens very easily – and next week we will see why I think this is what happened with the Church at Ephesus.

Nevertheless, they are commended for their discovery of these false apostles' real identity, and they are commended for their patience amidst the investigation. Jesus points out that their warfare against these insidious apostles was, “for my name's sake” He says, “thou hast labored and hast not fainted.”

The Nicolaitanes and Antinomian Beliefs

Apparently, and we’ve discussed this group before, but the Nicolaitanes, according to church historians many years later (like Irenaeus and Tertullian, and Augustine who wrote extensively about them) were a gnostic sect that taught hyper-impure doctrines and practices. If they were connected to these false apostles (which I think they were) AND they were there in Ephesus where paganism ran amok (with all the sensual pleasures that came with it through the temple of Diana) then it seems like we can say that these false apostles were using the scriptures to justify wanton lifestyles and behaviors which according to the early church histories included a pass on multiple wives, adultery, rampant fornication, eating meats offered to idols along with a mixture of several different pagan rituals.

False apostles would not naturally appeal to the things of the Spirit and so the light with which they seduced others appears to be antinomian (lawless) living – and representing themselves as apostles they probably were drawing people into their lair by suggesting attitudes and actions of lasciviousness – in the name of God’s grace.

In the face of all of this, I think we are now prepared to understand the correction Jesus gives in verses 4 and 5, when He says:

Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore, from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

I will retouch on these passages as they contain information too big to cover in our short time remaining, but I would suggest the following in relation to Jesus' correction: The church had done well in defending and outing the false apostles of the Nicolataines, but along the way, or in the process, they had “laid aside” their “protos agape” their first love – perhaps among each other, perhaps in relation to those around them, perhaps even to those they were defending themselves against, due to preoccupation with the invaders.

It happens so, so, SO easily. We become obsessed and determined (in our flesh, typically) to win, to defend, to out the enemy, that we leave our first love aside – which is Him – faith and love – in and through and for, Him; which can be summarized by the great commandments – to love God and to love others. Our first love is to love – and perhaps this element was lacking in the day to day of the faith.

Go back to it. Change your mind about this approach. Repent, or as

Introduction to the Gift

Jesus says it;

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

A Special Celebration

We’ll talk more about this the week after next as I am going to do something unusual for CAMPUS next week – in part, IN PART – because it is the day we celebrate the birth of Christ.

I am going to present all who want to receive it – a gift.

The Nature of the Gift

Now, this will sound really arrogant once you see the gift I am going to give you. But in the end it is a gift that was given to me. If you want it come next week. I can’t guarantee you’ll get or appreciate its value, but its all I’ve got to give . . . of any real value.

And as an FYI, I am giving the gift in Milk and then on Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology. the following Tuesday.

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