Hot Heads, Cold Hearts

Fight for pure doctrine.

Rev.2:1-3 ““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. “ ‘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.”

The church is addressed through the angel, a reminder that the church is primarily a spiritual entity. Parallel ideas where angels provide spiritual help can be found in Dan.10:20-21; 12:1. Closeness of relationship is emphasized here. Jesus refers to Himself in the same way He closed the previously section, by identifying Himself as the One who holds (“grabs firmly,” which is intensified here) the seven stars. Previously, stars were identified as “angels.” Jesus walks among the lampstands (previously identified as the churches). This recall the close relationship Jesus shares with His church, reminding the reader that Christ is both watching and watching over His church.

Jesus is intimately aware (know) of the church’s strengths. He possesses a penetrating knowledge of their deeds.

Toil: total service, often despite difficult circumstances.

Patient endurance: they’ve continued to do good. This refusal to give up is particularly fleshed out in their commitment to orthodoxy. Paul warned the Ephesian church in Acts 20:29 of “fierce wolves” who would come in. This indeed came to pass and the church persevered.

Enduring patiently involves faithful steadfastness to the end, a theme repeated at the end of every church discourse. It’s a life of faithful trust, even in difficult times.

The church couldn’t bear (put up with) moral and spiritual wickedness. These evil people would claim to be apostles but proved to be false teachers simply claiming authority. The Ephesians endured patiently, remaining steadfast while experiencing difficult circumstances. This is a common call in the NT, to remain faithful no matter the circumstance (see Mt.10:22). Toil mirrors not grown weary whereas the idea of patient endurance appears in v.2 and 3.

In a better-titled sermon, I called this portion “hot heads.” Understand this: I love some orthodoxy. I’m passionate about orthodoxy. My heart beat for us as the people of God to fervently love God with our minds. I want us to know what the Bible teaches, what we are called to believe. On the primary issues — unshakable. On the secondary issues — convicted. On the tertiary issues — educated but gracious. But, make no mistake, my heart beats for the biblical literacy of the church. And, the reason I feel this way is because biblical literacy SHOULD lead to obedient lives. We know not what to do if we don’t know it in the first place!

This is the very thing Jesus commends Ephesus for. But, their true belief, their solid theology seems to have become their obsession. You see it in the academic world of theology. The Bible becomes a textbook to study rather than the revelation of the Living God that calls for response.

Focus on fervent love.

Rev.2:4-6 “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

Combine with the previous verses, this creates a bit of good-bad-good sandwich, least we are tempted to think that theology really should play second fiddle to “love.”

So, what is the word to the church?

They’ve abandoned the love they had at first.

Love has failed them. It is hard to not read this in light of the primary commands where supreme love for God is then always connected to tangible love for others.

Repentance and sole allegiance to Christ marked the church originally (Acts 19:18-19 “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.”)

The solution to their loss of love is to remember and repent. Their response to this command was a literal life or death situation for the church because if they failed to do so, Jesus would remove their lampstand.

Remembering is the ongoing process of recalling previous moral or spiritual standards. Repenting, in lieu of remembering, would include returning to those standards.

Repenting, turning to Jesus, was also a part of their first love, for when the church began, they repenting by confessing their wicked deeds and riding themselves of pagan practices (see Acts 19:18-19). Repentance will include doing the works they did at first. Again, this seems to imply sole allegiance through Jesus expressed through the primary commands.

Now the loss of the lampstand was serious, meaning the church would lose its witness and place as Christ’s church. The command to remember and repent comes with plausible threat, but the letter ends with a positive affirmation. Judgment for the negative or positive is in light of the return of Christ.

Finally, attention is turned back to a positive practice: their hatred of the works of the Nicolaitans.

Ephesus was an idolatrous society, and the Nicolaitans probably encouraged pagan incorporation (syncretism). This is supported by the letter to Pergamum and the Nicolaitans’ desire to eat food sacrificed to idols (Rev.2:14-15).

In our modern society, there is a strong push toward tolerant pluralism. Remember that the rejection of syncretism and sole allegiance to Jesus is the aim of Ephesus’ letter.

In my better-titled sermon, this section was called “cold hearts.” But, as cold as their love was, it ends with a warning to the “it doesn’t matter what we believe as long as we love everyone” crowd. That church actually gets addressed in the letter to Thyatira. The church cannot flirt with false gods…with watered-down theology…with compromised beliefs. The affects are disastrous!

Flee the temptation to neglect either.

Rev.2:7 “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.’”

The phrase of verse 7, he who has an ear…, is a call to heed the warning and promises echoed throughout. It was a common phrase for OT prophets. Hear is frequently used in both testaments to imply obedience. The idea is to listen with the intention of obeying.

Here’s the thing about the message of prophets: their prophecies will simultaneously confront and comfort.

The confrontation is found in verse 5, which includes a warning against failing to obey.

The comfort is found in the final verse: life awaits the one who does obey.

Because the spirit is speaking to the churches (plural), the application is broad in scope, not just pertaining to Ephesus. While the application is broad, the responsibility is individual. The Spirit speaks to the churches (plural), but it is the one (singular) who conquers that receives the blessing.

Conquering employs militaristic overtones, appropriate in light of the spiritual struggle and battle with the beast that takes place.

The Lamb and His people can expect spiritual struggles/wars.

Daniel 7:21; 8:25 both speak of the beast’s war against God’s people, and this imagery is picking up on in Rev.12:7, 17.

Victory comes through perseverance, and Revelation reminds the reader that the war has already been won.

The Ephesian church must conquer itself. They do not face outside forces, but instead their own complacent loveless-ness.

Finally, eating of the tree of life has Edenic implications, a return to the garden as the curse of sin is finally undone forever (Gen.2:9, 16-17). The tree is located in the paradise of God. Both the tree of life and the paradise of God were lost for man at the fall, but Revelation ends with a complete restoration of Eden.

There is comfort in the fact that our Chief Shepherd, the One who walks in our midst as an involved and mindful Landlord, comforts His church with words of affirmation while also lovingly confronting and calling His people to repent. Ephesus was an orthodox church who had lost her love. She needed to repent and do the works she first did because staying the path would lead to her death.

We, too, are reminded then that a healthy church must balance faithful belief with fervent love, and if ever one or the other is neglected…repent.