What makes the seven letters to the churches special is that they were dictated by the Lord Jesus Himself. It was a privilege to preach through all seven letters from October 27-December 8, 2019. What I have attempted to do here is not a formal exposition of the text. I have tried to simply summarize the text, its theology, and its application as an aid to study and meditation. I pray that you, dear reader, find it helpful as you ponder the text.
The seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor that are included within the book of Revelation were dictated to the apostle John by the Lord Jesus Himself. These letters demonstrate that every church is in immediate danger from one of two sources. Each individual local church is either in danger from the world or from the Lord. Significantly, only two churches out of the seven are in danger from the world. The other five progress from better to worse, beginning with the Ephesian church, who maintained doctrinal soundness but had lost their love for the Lord and one another, and culminating with the Laodicean church, which was completely apostate. Yet the Lord Jesus compassionately calls the individuals in these churches to hear the words of these letters and repent.
Jesus also speaks to the regenerate individuals within each
church, promising that if they persevere steadfast in the faith, He will grant
to them incomparable promises. These promises are true for every believer. The
Holy Spirit saw fit to preserve the Revelation for us to read and study today,
so as we study the letters to the churches, we learn the will of the Lord Jesus
Christ for the churches. Each of these letters has application for us. I don’t
know that it is beneficial to try to identify ourselves with any single church,
although I might concede that we should aim to be faithful like Smyrna and
Philadelphia. Many have seen the parallels between the culture of the church
today and Laodicea, yet parallels can be drawn between the church culture today
and each of the first-century churches in Asia Minor. Thus, we need to study
and apply each of these letters.
The seven letters are ordered according to the postal route.
The letters would have been taken from the isle of Patmos, where John had been
exiled to, and would have gone to each city along that postal route in Asia
Minor, starting with Ephesus and ending with Laodicea. Each church had its own
unique historical situation in its own unique historical setting. Rather than
spend the time in this short review commenting on the circumstances of each of
these churches, I have included comments about the historical background only
where it seems necessary to understand the text. For those readers who desire
more information about the historical background for each church, I refer you
to the bibliography at the end of this paper.
A word about the structure of the letters is necessary. Each
letter begins with an introduction of the sender, the Lord Jesus. The
descriptions of the Lord are mostly drawn from the vision of the previous
chapter. Each description is custom-fitted to suit the situation of the
particular church in view. After the introduction, there normally follows a
word of commendation, making an emphatic point when there is no commendation
for the church. Third, a word of critique follows for all but the two faithful
churches. This is followed by a warning of judgment and exhortation to repent
or remain faithful. The letters close with a word of promise and an exhortation
that believers heed the words of the letter.
TO THE CHURCH
OF EPHESUS: REKINDLE YOUR LOVE
Revelation 2:1 - “To the angel of the church in
Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who
walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
Summary: Jesus tells the apostle John to write to the
messenger (αγγελος here
refers to the human messenger to the church, probably referring to the teaching
pastor) of the church in Ephesus that this letter is from the One who holds the
seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands,
symbolic of Christ holding the seven pastors in His hand and His presence among
and tending of the seven churches (cf. Rev 1:20).
Theology: Jesus is the One who holds the pastor-teachers
of each church in His hand, having authority over them, and who walks among the
churches, tending them as their Great Shepherd.
Application: We can rejoice, because Jesus cares for
His churches and for their leadership. Knowing that He is among us, we should
be ever careful to walk in a manner that pleases Him. Pastors should be ever
mindful that they are in His right hand, subject both to His blessing and His
judgment.
Revelation 2:2 – “‘I know your deeds and your toil and
perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test
those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be
false;”
Summary: Jesus comforts the Ephesian church with His
intimate knowledge of their deeds, toil, and perseverance. He knows their
intolerance of evil men, putting them to the test and finding false their
self-proclaimed apostleship.
Theology: Jesus knows the deeds of His churches, and
He is pleased when they deal with false teachers.
Application: May our deeds and toil and perseverance
be evident in the sight of the Lord Jesus, and may He find that we love the
truth and are intolerant of those who preach error.
Revelation 2:3 – “and you have perseverance and have
endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.”
Summary: Jesus continues his comfort of the Ephesian
church with a word concerning His knowledge of their tireless perseverance and
endurance for His name’s sake.
Theology: Jesus knows what His churches endure for
His name’s sake, and He is pleased when they do so tirelessly.
Application: Let us endure all things for His name’s
sake, not growing weary but strong in the faith.
Revelation 2:4 – “But I have this against you, that
you have left your first love.”
Summary: Jesus moves from commendation to critique of
the Ephesian church, telling them that He holds it against them that they had
left their first love.
Theology: Jesus desires His churches to grow in love,
and He is displeased when their love grows cold.
Application: May we excel evermore in our love for
the Lord and for one another.
Revelation 2:5 – “Therefore remember from where you
have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming
to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.”
Summary: Since they had lost their first love, Jesus
exhorts the Ephesian church to remember the love that they had at first, repent
of their lovelessness, and begin doing the deeds that demonstrate the presence
of their first love. He goes on to warn them that He will remove their
lampstand, effectively closing the church, if they do not repent.
Theology: Jesus will close a church due to an
unrepentant lack of love.
Application: Let us grow in our love, performing the
deeds that are indicative of true Christian love.
Revelation 2:6 – “Yet this you do have, that you hate
the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
Summary: Jesus again commends the Ephesian church for
their hatred of false teaching, naming the Nicolaitans, who were leading the
churches into idolatry and immorality through their doctrine (cf. Rev 2:14-15).
Theology: Jesus hates false teaching and the deeds
that result from it.
Application: We also should hate false teaching and
the deeds that result from it, and we should seek to carefully pluck believers
out of the influence of false teaching.
Revelation 2:7 – “He who has an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of
the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’”
Summary: Jesus exhorts all those who have spiritual
ears to hear what the Spirit is telling the churches in this letter. He
promises that the one who remains faithful to the end despite the temptation
toward loveless orthodoxy will partake with all believers of the tree of life
in the Paradise of God.
Theology: Jesus will grant believers to eat of the
tree of life in the Paradise of God.
Application: Let us regard this message from the Holy
Spirit and remain faithful to the end so that we may join all believers in partaking
of the tree of life in God’s Paradise.
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