Revelation contains letters to seven Messianic congregations in Asia. This devotional reading begins to look at the letter to Ephesus.
Nuggets
- Each of the seven letters were written to the angel of the churches.
- The city of Ephesus was important in the first century.
- The One from Whom the message is coming has authority over the church.
- Jesus, as Head of the Church, knows the condition of our souls — for good or bad.
- Our love for Jesus is supposed to grow as we navigate the Sanctification Road, not diminish.
Yay! We are going to jump back into our study in Revelation. In this devotion, we start Chapter 2 – the letters to the Messianic congregations (that we translate as churches).
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the The Letters to the Congregations series
To the Angel
“To the angel …” (Rev. 2: 1 ESV)
Each of the seven letters were written to the angel of the churches.
Do churches have guardian angels? Well, it says each letter to the seven congregations is written to the angel of that congregation.
The problem is that, even though we talk about guardian angels, God’s Word really doesn’t say they exist. So, what are we talking about here?
We really need to hook this to the end of Revelation 1. “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Rev. 1: 20 ESV emphasis added).
Some think it is a heavenly messenger. It is easy to think it is a heavenly angel – especially if we have been taught that way. We shouldn’t use tradition – or even pagan practices – of guardian angels to cloud our understanding of what is written.
Most scholars, though, agree this isn’t a heavenly angel. God’s Word really doesn’t tell us much about angels; but in this instance, what would be the point? Wouldn’t the angel already know if it was from God?
The consensus is that this is a human messenger. But, to me, that begs the question of why would John be giving the message to the one who usually already gets the message?
To the Church at Ephesus
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘…” (Rev. 2: 1 ESV)
The city of Ephesus was important in the first century.
But let’s talk about Ephesus.
The city of Ephesus was originally a Greek colony but grew to become the capital of the Roman province of Asia. It became the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire. Eadie said that it was the envy of other cities in Asia Minor, in part due to its placement in a rich and extensive country.
Resource
John would have written to the Messianic congregation at Ephesus when it was positioned at the center of several major trade routes throughout the Roman empire. It also had a harbor off the Cayster River leading into the Aegean Sea.
Ephesus also boasted of the headquarters for the cult devoted to the goddess Diana or Artemis. The temple there had become one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
It is believed that John founded the church at Ephesus. We also know that Paul remained in the city preaching the gospel for over two years (Ac. 19: 1-20) and later wrote a letter to them. He later sent Timothy to serve there (I Tim. 1: 3) to assist Priscilla and Aquila (Ac. 18: 18-19; II Tim. 4: 19).
The city of Ephesus from John’s day is in ruins. It is encompassed in the nearby town of Selcuk.
Vision Man’s Greeting
“… ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands’” (Rev. 2: 1 ESV)
The One from Whom the message is coming has authority over the church.
We talked in Revelation 1: 12-13 that part of me can see the Man in the vision as being Jesus, and part of me can see Him as being God. John never identified Who exactly came to visit him.
That is why I called Him Vision Man.
The greeting is from the One Who holds the seven stars in His hand. No, that is not a customary title for Jesus. But it makes sense that it is.
John told us the meaning of the seven stars at the end of Revelation 1. Those in John’s day believed that having the stars in the right hand was symbolic of power and authority. Jesus, as the Head of the church, would have authority over it. He assigns their missions to them.
What trips me up is that, if Jesus is Vision Man, why is He speaking in third person? “… ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands’” (Rev. 2: 1 ESV).
I know it switches to first person in the next verse, but why not start here if it were Jesus – or God for that matter – talking? Maybe it is because that part is from God, and the rest is from Jesus. The main point here was to establish Jesus’ authority.
It makes it sound like the Man John sees is not the One talking in first person here. So, the visual One is Vision Man, and the audio One is Audio Man.
Let’s think this through. The purpose of the lamp stand is to hold the lamp. The lamp is what gives the light.
Jesus is the light that emanates from the lamp stand. Jesus is the light that emanates from the lamp stand. The lamp stand can’t shine on its own.
- “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (Jn. 8: 12 ESV).
- “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (Jn. 12: 46 ESV).
Jesus is the light, and He must be within us. Our marching orders say that we must share that light. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5: 16 ESV). We must be reflecting Jesus’ light.
These aren’t any old lamp stands. These are golden lamp stands, symbolizing purity. This lamp stand is useful.
What is the significance of walking among the lamp stands? It indicates Jesus’ presence among us. “And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Lev. 26: 12 ESV).
Think about it. Stars shine at night. The light banishes the night.
Jesus is to take away the darkness.
Ephesus’s Commendation
“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. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary” (Rev. 2: 2-3 ESV)
Jesus, as Head of the Church, knows the condition of our souls — for good or bad.
I Know Your Works
It sounds like the Ephesians were doing the things they were supposed to be doing. They had the correct programs in place.
The Ephesians weren’t just working. They were laboring.
That is how we should work. We should be doing our best to honor Jesus.
Nothing pleases Jesus more than seeing His Church doing His work His way. He likes to see them patiently enduring, looking to Him for sustenance.
Jesus knows our works. He knows our motivations. He sees everything within us.
You Cannot Bear with Those Who Are Evil
Audio Man commended that church for being doctrinally sound and patiently endured their trials. They submitted to their persecution. They did not compromise with the worldview and identified false teachers.
We don’t want to miss the fact that the Ephesians did not tolerate false people. They identified these people by their knowledge of the Old Testament.
They knew enough from what they had to accurately identify those who were not following God. The Ephesians could discriminate whether the character of others reflected God’s character. This clear judgment should be our goal.
Resource
This speaks to being careful about who are friends are. Yes, we are to witness to non-believers. We are not to remain active in worldview activities.
Being able to discern right from wrong and to keep from falling into temptation is a cause for Jesus’ rejoicing.
In order to love good, we must hate evil. “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph” (Amos 5: 15 ESV).
We can’t love both good and evil. We must choose one.
When we find false disciples, it is a dangerous situation. We may not want to believe they are false. Likewise, we may not want to believe what they are saying is false.
Our inability to identify the goats masquerading as sheep can have eternal consequences on where we spend eternity. If we buy what they are selling, we may be turning our backs on God.
Audio Man told the Ephesians that they should beware of false teachers. We have to follow God’s Word.
You Have not Grown Weary
Twice, the Ephesians were commended for their patience. They not only endured, but they also did it in the right way. We would call it suffering in silence.
It is more than that, though. The Ephesians patiently endured for the entire time the persecution lasted. They did not lose patience at the end. They stood firm.
It is very easy to grow weary in doing the Lord’s work. His definition of success doesn’t always match ours, so we get discouraged.
We may have given up or decided it isn’t for us. It may have turned out to be something different than we thought.
Regardless, we need to continue to complete God’s work.
Making the Connections #1
The flip side of verse 7 makes it abundantly clear what happens when we do the actions without God’s love as the motivation.
It is all about where we will spend eternal life.
Making the Connections #2
We talked about the letter to the Messianic congregation at Ephesus was to the whole church, not just one believer. If the light is seen as a guiding light, God can remove His guidance. We all know of dead churches.
But what does this say about individuals losing their salvation? We don’t gain salvation or eternal life because we are members of a church.
Our spiritual condition isn’t dependent on someone else. It depends on how we are navigating the Sanctification Road.
If God will remove a church’s lamp stand and close it down, would He also do the same to us individually? I don’t see Him giving us a pass individually when He won’t give us one collectively.
Whether that means we have lost our salvation or never was saved in the first place is beyond my pay grade. It tells me that we need to commit to becoming mature disciples the way God has for us.
Making the Connections #3
Bushnell gave us a really good description of how sanctification builds on salvation. He wrote,
“The paradise of first love is a germ, we may conceive, in the soul’s feeling of the paradise to be fulfilled in its wisdom. And when the heavenly in feeling becomes the heavenly in choice, thought, judgment, and habit, so that the whole nature consents and rests in it as a known state, then it is fulfilled or completed.”
Resource
Conversion is just the start. We take what we have learned about Jesus’ sacrifice in order to make the decision for salvation and grow that to learn how we are expected to walk in the Spirit.
The germ is salvation. The subsequent choice is sanctification.
How Do We Apply This?
- Watch the condition of our hearts.
- Watch for the evil influences of the world.
- Believe in Jesus’ holy presence in our lives.
- Be the light of Christ in the world
Resource
Father God. We want to hear the same commendation that the congregation at Ephesus heard. “You have been doing my work.” “You endured your tribulations.” “You can discern the false teachers.“ Lord, when we are called home to You, we want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.
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