The Spirit Makes Us Able-Ephesus
Background
The phrase in the Spirit occurs here and three other places in Revelation (4:2; 17:3; 21:10). Each time it means, “I had a vision inspired by the Spirit of God.” Here marks the beginning of the four major visions around which Revelation is organized.
I was in the Spirit (ἐγενομην ἐν πνευματι [egenomēn en pneumati]). Rather, “I came to be (as in 1:9) in the Spirit,” came into an ecstatic condition as in Acts 10:10f.; 22:17, not the normal spiritual condition (εἰναι ἐν πνευματι [einai en pneumati], Rom. 8:9). On the Lord’s Day (ἐν τῃ κυριακῃ ἡμερᾳ [en tēi kuriakēi hēmerāi]). Deissmann has proven (Bible Studies, p. 217f.; Light, etc., p. 357ff.) from inscriptions and papyri that the word κυριακος [kuriakos] was in common use for the sense “imperial” as imperial finance and imperial treasury and from papyri and ostraca that ἡμερα Σεβαστη [hēmera Sebastē] (Augustus Day) was the first day of each month, Emperor’s Day on which money payments were made (cf. 1 Cor. 16:1f.). It was easy, therefore, for the Christians to take this term, already in use, and apply it to the first day of the week in honour of the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection on that day (Didache 14, Ignatius Magn. 9). In the N. T. the word occurs only here and 1 Cor. 11:20 (κυριακον δειπνον θε Λορδʼς Συππερ [kuriakon deipnon the Lord’s Supper]). It has no reference to ἡμερα κυριου [hēmera kuriou] (the day of judgment, 2 Pet. 3:10). Behind me (ὀπισω μου [opisō mou]). “The unexpected, overpowering entrance of the divine voice” (Vincent). Cf. Ezek. 3:12. Voice (φωνην [phōnēn]). Of Christ, as is plain in verses 12f. As of a trumpet (ὡς σαλπιγγος [hōs salpiggos]). So in 4:1 referring to this. Saying (λεγουσης [legousēs]). Present active participle genitive case agreeing with σαλπιγγος [salpiggos] rather than λεγουσαν [legousan], accusative agreeing with φωνην [phōnēn]. So on purpose, as is clear from 4:1, where λαλουσης [lalousēs] also agrees with σαλπιγγος [salpiggos].
Kingdom (βασιλείᾳ). The present kingdom. Trench is wrong in saying that “while the tribulation is present the kingdom is only in hope.” On the contrary, it is the assurance of being now within the kingdom of Christ—under Christ’s sovereignty, fighting the good fight under His leadership—which gives hope and courage and patience. The kingdom of God is a present energy, and it is a peculiarity of John to treat the eternal life as already present. See John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47, 54; 1 John 5:11. “In all these things we are abundantly the conquerors (Rom. 8:37 sqq.). This may go to explain the peculiar order of the three words; tribulation and kingdom, two apparently antithetic ideas, being joined, with a true insight into their relation, and patience being added as the element through which the tribulation is translated into sovereignty. The reference to the future glorious consummation of the kingdom need not be rejected. It is rather involved in the present kingdom. Patience, which links the life of tribulation with the sovereignty of Christ here upon earth, likewise links it with the consummation of Christ’s kingdom in heaven. Through faith and patience the subjects of that kingdom inherit the promises. “Rightly he says first ‘in the tribulation’ and adds afterwards ‘in the kingdom,’ because, if we suffer together we shall also reign together” (Richard of St. Victor, cit. by Trench). Compare Acts 14:22.
Patience (ὑπομονήν). Lit., remaining behind or staying, from μένω, to wait. Not merely endurance of the inevitable, for Christ could have relieved himself of his sufferings (Heb. 12:2, 3; compare Matt. 26:53); but the heroic, brave patience with which a Christian not only bears but contends. Speaking of Christ’s patience, Barrow remarks, “Neither was it out of a stupid insensibility or stubborn resolution that he did thus behave himself; for he had a most vigorous sense of all those grievances, and a strong (natural) aversation from under going them; … but from a perfect submission to the divine will, and entire command over his passions, an excessive charity toward mankind, this patient and meek behavior did spring.” The same writer defines patience as follows: “That virtue which qualifieth us to bear all conditions and all events, by God’s disposal incident to us, with such apprehensions and persuasions of mind, such dispositions and affections of heart, such external deportment and practices of life as God requireth and good reason directeth (Sermon XLII., “On Patience”).
7. Be patient (μακροθυμήσατε). From μακρός, long, and θυμός, soul or spirit, but with the sense of strong passion, stronger even than ὀργή, anger, as is maintained by Schmidt (“Synonymik”), who describes θυμός as a tumultuous welling up of the whole spirit; a mighty emotion which seizes and moves the whole inner man. Hence the restraint implied in μακροθυμία is most correctly expressed by long-suffering, which is its usual rendering in the New Testament. It is a patient holding out under trial; a long-protracted restraint of the soul from yielding to passion, especially the passion of anger. In the New Testament the word and its cognates are sometimes rendered by patient or patience, which conceals the distinction from ὑπομονή, uniformly rendered patience, and signifying persistent endurance, whether in action or suffering. As Trench observes, “ὑπομονή is perseverantia and patientia both in one.” Thus Bishop Ellicott: “The brave patience with which the Christian contends against the various hindrances, persecutions, and temptations that befall him in his conflict with the inward and outward world.” Ὑπομονή contains an element of manliness. Thus Plato joins it with the adverb ἀνδρικῶς, in a manly way, and contrasts it with ἀνάνδρως, unmanly, cowardly. Μακροθυμία is exercised toward persons; ὑπομονή, toward things. The former is ascribed to God as an attribute (Luke 18:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:9, 15), the latter never; for the God of patience (Rom. 15:5) is the God who imparts patience to his children. “There can be no resistance to God nor burden upon him, the Almighty, from things. Therefore ὑπομονή cannot find place in him” (Trench). Rev. retains A. V., be patient. The thought links itself naturally with that in the preceding verse: the righteous doth not resist.
Patience. See on 2 Pet. 1:6; Jas. 5:7.
In the Spirit (ἐν πνεύματι). The phrase I was in the Spirit occurs only here and ch. 4:2: in the Spirit, in ch. 17:3; 21:10. The phrase denotes a state of trance or spiritual ecstasy. Compare Acts 10:10; 2 Cor. 12:2, 4. “Connection with surrounding objects through the senses is suspended, and a connection with the invisible world takes place” (Ebrard). “A divine release from the ordinary ways of men” (Plato, “Phædrus,” 265).
“You ask, ‘How can we know the infinite?’ I answer, not by reason. It is the office of reason to distinguish and define. The infinite, therefore, cannot be ranked among its objects. You can only apprehend the infinite by a faculty superior to reason; by entering into a state in which you are your finite self no longer; in which the divine essence is communicated to you. This is ecstacy. It is the liberation of your mind from its finite consciousness.… But this sublime condition is not of permanent duration. It is only now and then that we can enjoy this elevation (mercifully made possible for us) above the limits of the body and the world.… All that tends to purify and elevate the mind will assist you in this attainment, and facilitate the approach and the recurrence of these happy intervals. There are then different roads by which this end may be reached. The love of beauty which exalts the poet; that devotion to the One, and that ascent of science which makes the ambition of the philosopher; and that love and those prayers by which some devout and ardent soul tends in its moral purity towards perfection. These are the great highways conducting to heights above the actual and the particular, where we stand in the immediate presence of the Infinite who shines out as from the deeps of the soul” (Letter of Plotinus, about A.D. 260).
Ephesus, etc. Five out of the seven cities here named appear in a passage in Tacitus’ “Annals” (4:55), in which is described a contention among eleven of the cities of proconsular Asia for the privilege of erecting a statue and a temple to Tiberius. Laodicea is passed over as unequal in wealth and dignity to the task. Philadelphia and Thyatira do not appear. Pergamum is rejected as having already a temple to Augustus. Ephesus (with Miletus) has sufficient employment for its state in the ceremonies of its own deity, Diana. Thus the dispute was confined to Sardis and Smyrna; and Smyrna was preferred on the ground of its friendly offices to the Roman people.
The Context of the Vision 1:9–11
This section answers the major questions regarding the vision that John is to receive (Boring, 1989:80–85): Who? John. Where? Patmos. Why? Banishment. When? The Lord’s Day. How? In the spirit. What? A vision. The first question has already been answered in verse 1; the recipient of the vision is John. Rather than making apostolic claims, John merely calls himself a brother or equal partner (Thompson, 1998:54, 57), who shares the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance. The central message of Revelation is suggested here: those who endure persecution with Christ will rule with Christ. The word persecution means “pressure” or “tribulation” (John 16:33; Acts 14:22). John expected immediate persecution for the church of his day (see also Matt. 11:12; 2 Tim. 3:12) because of the imposition of emperor worship (see Entering the World of Revelation: Getting Our Bearings). Exemption from worshiping Caesar was given to Jews, and Christians were also exempt as long as they were considered a sect of Judaism. John probably saw his own exile as an indication that Christians would soon face persecution for their faith in Christ. Some commentators believe that this is a reference to the great tribulation of the end of time, but the text here refers only to John’s being exiled to the island of Patmos.
The empire of Rome is implied in the word kingdom. Kingdom and tribulation are two sides of the same coin (Sweet, 1990:67). Participation in the kingdom is the positive side of following Christ; tribulation is the negative side. Ewert combines the words in this passage quite effectively: “ ‘Kingdom’ is the divine alchemy that transforms tribulation into triumph, and so it can be endured with patience” (1980:49).
A key word in Revelation is patient endurance (2:2–3, 19; 3:10; 13:10; 14:12). This is not weakness, but it calls for active courage that does not strike back. Johns says it envisions, not “passive acceptance of suffering,” but “nonviolent resistance to evil” (1998:215). The word connotes a strength that acts without vengeance. Johns elaborates on the active nature of the words used here:
The “endurance” the author calls for is no hands-wringing, pietistic hypomone—(transliteration of Greek). Rather, he calls for a courageous and active “resistance” (hypomone-) to the evils of Graeco-Roman culture and religion. It is a clear “No” to the possibility of humanity’s bringing in the fullness of God’s reign, and a joyful and confident “Yes” to the way of Christ, demonstrated most poignantly in his faithful witness—a witness that led to his death on the cross. (1998:234)
Such courage is needed to overcome tribulation and translate its suffering into the expectancy of the glory of the kingdom (see Matt. 24:13; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 2:11–13). It should be emphasized that the resistance to evil relies, not on violent revolution against the oppressors, but on suffering love (Pilgrim, 1999:174–75).
John continues: I … share with you in Jesus the persecution. Paul and Peter make similar claims (Rom. 5:3; 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Pet. 5:1). Stories indicate that John refused to sacrifice to the emperor’s image in Ephesus and was subsequently tried in the imperial court in Rome and condemned by Domitian to be boiled in oil or to drink poison (R. Smith, 2000:10–11). Nevertheless, it is John’s present exile to Patmos that is the basis for this claim to have suffered tribulation in following Jesus.
John’s vision came because he was in the spirit, likely referring to the psychological mindset of a visionary state often in connection with prayer or praise (Fekkes, 1994:46). Such ecstatic visions were a common biblical way of receiving divine insight (Isa. 6:1; Ezek. 3:12; Acts 9:1–9; 11:5; 22:17; 2 Cor. 12:1–6). The senses of the physical world faded, and spiritual sensitivities opened John to deeper realities.
To set the stage for recounting how he received the revelation, John begins by identifying himself, first by name (cf. 1:1, 4) and then by his relationship with his readers (1:9). John speaks of himself as a “brother” (for “brother” in the sense of fellow Christian, see also 6:11; 12:10; 19:10; 22:9; Acts 21:7; Rom 1:13; Heb 3:1; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 3:8; 1 John 3:13) and one “who shares” (only here in the book). He and his readers share three things, all combined by a singular definite article and qualifier (“in Jesus”): the tribulation, kingdom, and patient endurance. John will speak of tribulation again in 2:9, 10, 22; 7:14. “Tribulation” refers to a time of distress, though the actual cause for that distress (e.g., poverty, persecution) is not inherent in the word itself. Indeed, the prophets even viewed tribulation as something God can bring in judgment upon Israel (e.g., Isa 30:20; Jer 10:18; Ezek 12:18; Hos 5:15). Dan 12:1 speaks of a future tribulation “such as never has been since there was a nation till that time” (see further on 3:10). It is noteworthy that John perceives the tribulation to be present. Presumably his readers understand the character of this tribulation. “Kingdom” picks up John’s previous ascription of this term to the Church (1:6). “Patient endurance,” an appropriate trait for those undergoing tribulation, will be used again by John in 2:2, 3, 19; 3:10; 13:10; 14:12. John and his readers share the kingdom now as they patiently endure the tribulation.
John describes his commission in terms drawn from the Old Testament. His mention of being “in the Spirit” (1:10) is probably an allusion to Ezekiel’s various experiences where the Spirit entered him, lifted him up, and even took him places (Ezek 2:2; 3:12, 14, 24; 11:1; 43:5). The fact that in this state John sees visions may well be an indication of some sort of trance (e.g., Acts 10:10; 11:3; 22:17; cf. 2 Cor 12:2–4). The “loud voice like a trumpet” (cf. 4:1) is reminiscent of the loud trumpet blast that accompanied God’s appearance to Moses at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:16, 19). Finally, the command to write in a book what he sees (1:11) reminds the reader of similar commands given to Isaiah (Isa 30:8) and Jeremiah (Jer 30:2). Throughout the book John will receive other commands to write (1:19; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14; 14:13; 19:9; 21:5). All of this serves to underscore for the reader the authority of John’s book as truly a revelation from God.
1. Ephesus—famed for the temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the world. For three years Paul labored there. He subsequently ordained Timothy superintending overseer or bishop there: probably his charge was but of a temporary nature. John, towards the close of his life, took it as the center from which he superintended the province.
holdeth—Greek, “holdeth fast,” as in Rev 2:25; Rev 3:11; compare Jn 10:28, 29. The title of Christ here as “holding fast the seven stars (from Rev 1:16: only that, for having is substituted holding fast in His grasp), and walking in the midst of the seven candlesticks,” accords with the beginning of His address to the seven churches representing the universal Church. Walking expresses His unwearied activity in the Church, guarding her from internal and external evils, as the high priest moved to and from in the sanctuary.
2. I know thy works—expressing His omniscience. Not merely “thy professions, desires, good resolutions” (Rev 14:13, end).
thy labour—Two oldest manuscripts omit “thy”; one supports it. The Greek means “labor unto weariness.”
patience—persevering endurance.
bear—evil men are a burden which the Ephesian Church regarded as intolerable. We are to “bear (the same Greek, Ga 6:2) one another’s burdens” in the case of weak brethren; but not to bear false brethren.
tried—by experiment; not the Greek for “test,” as 1 Jn 4:1. The apostolical churches had the miraculous gift of discerning spirits. Compare Ac 20:28–30, wherein Paul presciently warned the Ephesian elders of the coming false teachers, as also in writing to Timothy at Ephesus. TERTULLIAN [On Baptism, 17], and JEROME [On Illustrious Men, in Lucca 7], record of John, that when a writing, professing to be a canonical history of the acts of Paul, had been composed by a presbyter of Ephesus, John convicted the author and condemned the work. So on one occasion he would not remain under the same roof with Cerinthus the heretic.
say they are apostles—probably Judaizers. IGNATIUS [Epistle to the Ephesians, 6], says subsequently, “Onesimus praises exceedingly your good discipline that no heresy dwells among you”; and [Epistle to the Ephesians, 9], “Ye did not permit those having evil doctrine to sow their seed among you, but closed your ears.”
3. borne … patience—The oldest manuscripts transpose these words. Then translate as Greek, “persevering endurance … borne.” “Thou hast borne” My reproach, but “thou canst not bear the evil” (Rev 2:2). A beautiful antithesis.
and … hast laboured, and hast not fainted—The two oldest manuscripts and oldest versions read, “and … hast not labored,” omitting “and hast fainted.” The difficulty which transcribers by English Version reading tried to obviate, was the seeming contradiction, “I know thy labor … and thou hast not labored.” But what is meant is, “Thou hast not been wearied out with labor.”
4. somewhat … because—Translate, “I have against thee (this) that,” &c. It is not a mere somewhat”; it is everything. How characteristic of our gracious Lord, that He puts foremost all He can find to approve, and only after this notes the shortcomings!
left thy first love—to Christ. Compare 1 Ti 5:12, “cast off their first faith.” See the Ephesians’ first love, Eph 1:15. This epistle was written under Domitian, when thirty years had elapsed since Paul had written his Epistle to them. Their warmth of love had given place to a lifeless orthodoxy. Compare Paul’s view of faith so called without love, 1 Co 13:2.
5. whence—from what a height.
do the first works—the works which flowed from thy first love. Not merely “feel thy first feelings,” but do works flowing from the same principle as formerly, “faith which worketh by love.”
I will come—Greek, “I am coming” in special judgment on thee.
quickly—omitted in two oldest manuscripts, Vulgate and Coptic versions: supported by one oldest manuscript.
remove thy candlestick out of his place—I will take away the Church from Ephesus and remove it elsewhere. “It is removal of the candlestick, not extinction of the candle, which is threatened here; judgment for some, but that very judgment the occasion of mercy for others. So it has been. The seat of the Church has been changed, but the Church itself survives. What the East has lost, the West has gained. One who lately visited Ephesus found only three Christians there, and these so ignorant as scarcely to have heard the names of St. Paul or St. John” [TRENCH].
6. But—How graciously, after necessary censure, He returns to praise for our consolation, and as an example to us, that we would show, when we reprove, we have more pleasure in praising than in fault-finding.
hatest the deeds—We should hate men’s evil deeds, not hate the men themselves.
Nicolaitanes—IRENAEUS [Against Heresies, 1.26.3] and TERTULLIAN [Prescription against Heretics, 46] make these followers of Nicolas, one of the seven (honorably mentioned, Ac 6:3, 5). They (CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 2.20 3.4] and EPIPHANIUS [Heresies, 25]) evidently confound the latter Gnostic Nicolaitanes, or followers of one Nicolaos, with those of Revelation. MICHAELIS’ view is probable: Nicolaos (conqueror of the people) is the Greek version of Balaam, from Hebrew “Belang Am,” “Destroyer of the people.” Revelation abounds in such duplicate Hebrew and Greek names: as Apollyon, Abaddon: Devil, Satan: Yea (Greek, “Nai”), Amen. The name, like other names, Egypt, Babylon, Sodom, is symbolic. Compare Rev 2:14, 15, which shows the true sense of Nicolaitanes; they are not a sect, but professing Christians who, like Balaam of old. tried to introduce into the Church a false freedom, that is, licentiousness; this was a reaction in the opposite direction from Judaism, the first danger to the Church combated in the council of Jerusalem, and by Paul in the Epistle to Galatians. These symbolical Nicolaitanes, or followers of Balaam, abused Paul’s doctrine of the grace of God into a plea for lasciviousness (2 Pe 2:15, 16, 19; 2 Pe 2:15, 16, 19, Jud 1:4, 11 who both describe the same sort of seducers as followers of Balaam). The difficulty that they should appropriate a name branded with infamy in Scripture is met by TRENCH: The Antinomian Gnostics were so opposed to John as a Judaizing apostle that they would assume as a name of chiefest honor one which John branded with dishonor.
7. He that hath an ear—This clause precedes the promise in the first three addresses, succeeds it in the last four. Thus the promises are enclosed on both sides with the precept urging the deepest attention as to the most momentous truths. Every man “hath an ear” naturally, but he alone will be able to hear spiritually to whom God has given “the hearing ear”; whose “ear God hath wakened” and “opened.” Compare “Faith, the ears of the soul” [CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA].
the Spirit saith—What Christ saith, the Spirit saith; so one are the Second and Third Persons.
unto the churches—not merely to the particular, but to the universal Church.
overcometh—In John’s Gospel (Jn 16:33) and First Epistle (1 Jn 2, 13, 14, 5:4, 5) an object follows, namely, “the world,” “the wicked one.” Here, where the final issue is spoken of, the conqueror is named absolutely. Paul uses a similar image (1 Co 9:24, 25; 2 Ti 2:5; but not the same as John’s phrase, except Ro 12:21).
will I give—as the Judge. The tree of life in Paradise, lost by the fall, is restored by the Redeemer. Allusions to it occur in Pr 3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4, and prophetically, Rev 22:2, 14; Ez 47:12; compare Jn 6:51. It is interesting to note how closely these introductory addresses are linked to the body of Revelation. Thus, the tree of life here, with Rev 22:1; deliverance from the second death (Rev 2:11), with Rev 20:14; 21:8; the new name (Rev 2:17), with Rev 14:1; power over the nations, with Rev 20:4; the morning star (Rev 2:28), with Rev 22:16; the white raiment (Rev 3:5), with Rev 4:4; 16:15; the name in the book of life (Rev 3:5), with Rev 13:8; 20:15; the new Jerusalem and its citizenship (Rev 3:12), with Rev 21:10.
give … tree of life—The thing promised corresponds to the kind of faithfulness manifested. They who refrain from Nicolaitane indulgences (Rev 2:6) and idol-meats (Rev 2:14, 15), shall eat of meat infinitely superior, namely, the fruit of the tree of life, and the hidden manna (Rev 2:17).
in the midst of the paradise—The oldest manuscripts omit “the midst of.” In Ge 2:9 these words are appropriate, for there were other trees in the garden, but not in the midst of it. Here the tree of life is simply in the paradise, for no other tree is mentioned in it; in Rev 22:2 the tree of life is “in the midst of the street of Jerusalem”; from this the clause was inserted here. Paradise (a Persian, or else Semitic word), originally used of any garden of delight; then specially of Eden; then the temporary abode of separate souls in bliss; then “the Paradise of God,” the third heaven, the immediate presence of God.
of God—(Ez 28:13). One oldest manuscript, with Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic, and CYPRIAN, read, “MY God,” as in Rev 3:12. So Christ calls God, “My God and your God” (Jn 20:17; compare Eph 1:17). God is our God, in virtue of being peculiarly Christ’s God. The main bliss of Paradise is that it is the Paradise of God; God Himself dwelling there (Rev 21:3).
2:2–3 (Compliment). The compliment section in each of the seven letters begins with I know. Jesus knows the facts about each of the congregations. The Christians of Ephesus were always busy. They received a triple commendation: deeds … hard work and … perseverance. The apostle Paul praised the Thessalonian Christians for exactly these same virtues (1 Thess. 1:3). Deeds is the more general term. Deeds are expressed actively through hard work or passively through putting up with hardship.
The last sentence of verse 2 explains one aspect of the hard work of these believers: they had ejected evildoers from their church, and they had tested and rejected some false apostles. We do not know who these “apostles” were, but they claimed a great deal of authority for themselves. They were probably from a local sect called “Nicolaitans” that flourished in Ephesus as well as Pergamum (see vv. 6, 15). First John 4:1–3 describes a test for discerning false prophets. The Ephesian Christians were still being admired for their doctrinal purity some years after Revelation was written. Ignatius, leader of the church in Antioch, wrote them: “You all live according to truth, and no heresy has a home among you; indeed, you do not so much as listen to anyone if they speak of anything except concerning Jesus Christ in truth” (Letter to the Ephesians, 6).
In verse 3 Jesus explains the perseverance of the Ephesians: they have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. From their earliest days as a church, these Christians had put up with hostility from those who worshiped other gods (Acts 19:23–41). They had been vigilant over the years in all the persecutions that came their way.
2:4 (Criticism). In their pursuit of truth and their patience in persecution, these Christians had allowed a tragic flaw to infect their fellowship. Christ’s criticism surely stung: You have forsaken your first love. Some interpreters think this refers to the love (Greek agapé) they had for Christ when they were new converts. In the context, however, it refers mainly to their love for one another which Christ had said was the hallmark for his disciples (John 13:35). In rooting out error and expelling false teachers, they had grown suspicious of one another. I once heard a preacher refer to people whose theology was “clear as ice and just as cold.” That was a description of the Ephesians. Their good deeds were now motivated by duty rather than love.
2:5–6 (Command). Christ’s command to this loveless congregation was a three-pronged remedy. First, they must remember the days of their first love. They were not to live in the past, but to recall past greatness. Some no doubt resented the notion that they had fallen, but Christ considered loss of proper motive in the Christian life to be serious sin indeed. Second, they must repent of their loveless attitudes toward others. Third, they must return to the things you did at first, that is, works motivated by love for others.
This command is accompanied by a serious warning of the consequences the church faced if it did not repent: I will … remove your lampstand. Although Christ has promised to build his church worldwide (Matt. 16:18), he guarantees permanence to no individual congregation. A loveless church is no longer truly a church, and Christ has the right to extinguish such a congregation. Tragically, the Ephesian church ultimately succumbed, and neither the city nor the church exists today.
Verse 6 seems out of place here as a further compliment to these Christians. Logically it belongs after verse 3. Both the Ephesians and Christ rightly hate the practices of the Nicolaitans. Except for the two references to them in Revelation 2, these evil people are unknown in Scripture. Unfortunately, as we will see, some church members in Pergamum had adopted the teachings of the Nicolaitans.
2:7 (Commitment). The commitment Christ makes at the end of each of the seven letters always includes three elements: the one who overcomes is praised; he who has an ear is addressed; and the message is commended as one that the Spirit says to the churches. To overcome is more literally “to conquer,” a reminder that the original recipients of Revelation were in spiritual combat. Such overcoming is defined in John’s first epistle: “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4–5).
The one “who has an ear” is the church member who both hears and heeds the message as it is read in the congregation. This reference by the risen Jesus is similar to the warning of the earthly Jesus concerning the importance of paying attention to his parables (Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35). Whether originating from Galilee or glory, Jesus’ teachings are so important that his followers must “have an ear.” In the Book of Revelation, these teachings are further noted as communicated from the Spirit to the churches. The word of Jesus is the word of the Spirit. The Spirit is a distinct Person from Christ. The inspired words spoken objectively by the Son of God will be communicated to the members of the churches by the subjective personal illumination of the Spirit of God.
Christ’s commitment to the faithful believers in Ephesus—and to all faithful believers—who heed the message is that they will eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. To eat from the Tree of Life symbolizes eternal life with God. Paradise is a rare New Testament synonym for heaven (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7), borrowed from a Persian word for “garden.”
In Ephesus (ἐν Ἐφεσῳ [en Ephesōi]). Near the sea on the river Cayster, the foremost city of Asia Minor, the temple-keeper of Artemis and her wonderful temple (Acts 19:35), the home of the magic arts (Ephesian letters, Acts 19:19) and of the mystery-cults, place of Paul’s three years’ stay (Acts 19:1–10; 20:17–38), where Aquila and Priscilla and Apollos laboured (Acts 18:24–28), where Timothy wrought (I and II Tim.), where the Apostle John preached in his old age. Surely it was a place of great privilege, of great preaching. It was about sixty miles from Patmos and the messenger would reach Ephesus first. It is a free city, a seat of proconsular government (Acts 19:38), the end of the great road from the Euphrates. The port was a place of shifting sands, due to the silting up of the mouth of the Cayster. Ramsay (Letters to the Seven Churches, p. 210) calls it “the City of Change.” These things (ταδε [tade]). This demonstrative seven times here, once with the message to each church (2:1, 8, 12, 18; 2:1, 7, 14), only once elsewhere in N. T. (Acts 21:11). He that holdeth (ὁ κρατων [ho kratōn]). Present active articular participle of κρατεω [krateō], a stronger word than ἐχων [echōn] in 1:16, to which it refers. He that walketh (ὁ περιπατων [ho peripatōn]). Present active articular participle of περιπατεω [peripateō], an allusion to 1:13. These two epithets are drawn from the picture of Christ in 1:13–18, and appropriately to conditions in Ephesus describe Christ’s power over the churches as he moves among them.
Revelation 2:2
I know (οἰδα [oida]). Rather than γινωσκω [ginōskō] and so “emphasizes better the absolute clearness of mental vision which photographs all the facts of life as they pass” (Swete). So also in 2:9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15. For the distinction see John 21:17, “where the universal knowledge passes into the field of special observation.” Works (ἐργα [erga]). The whole life and conduct as in John 6:29. And thy toil and patience (και τον κοπον και την ὑπομονην σου [kai ton kopon kai tēn hupomonēn sou]). “Both thy toil and patience,” in explanation of ἐργα [erga], and see 1 Thess. 1:3, where all three words (ἐργον, κοπος, ὑπομονη [ergon, kopos, hupomonē]) occur together as here. See 14:13 for sharp distinction between ἐργα [erga] (activities) and κοποι [kopoi] (toils, with weariness). Endurance (ὑπομονη [hupomonē]) in hard toil (κοπος [kopos]). And that (και ὁτι [kai hoti]). Further explanation of κοπος [kopos] (hard toil). Not able (οὐ δυνῃ [ou dunēi]). This Koiné form for the Attic δυνασαι [dunasai] (second person singular indicative middle) occurs also in Mark 9:22; Luke 16:2. Bear (βαστασαι [bastasai]). First aorist active infinitive of βασταζω [bastazō], for which verb see John 10:31; 12:6; Gal. 6:2. These evil men were indeed a heavy burden. And didst try (και ἐπειρασας [kai epeirasas]). First aorist active indicative of πειραζω [peirazō], to test, a reference to a recent crisis when these Nicolaitans (verse 6) were condemned. The present tenses (δυνῃ, ἐχεις [dunēi, echeis]) indicate the continuance of this attitude. Cf. 1 John 4:1. Which call themselves apostles (τους λεγοντας ἑαυτους ἀποστολους [tous legontas heautous apostolous]). Perhaps itinerant missionaries of these Nicolaitans who posed as equal to or even superior to the original apostles, like the Judaizers so described by Paul (2 Cor. 11:5, 13; 12:11). Paul had foretold such false teachers (Gnostics), grievous wolves, in Acts 20:29; in sheep’s clothing, Jesus had said (Matt. 7:15). And they are not (και οὐκ εἰσιν [kai ouk eisin]). A parenthesis in Johannine style (John 2:9; 3:9; 1 John 3:1) for και οὐκ ὀντας [kai ouk ontas] to correspond to λεγοντας [legontas]. And didst find (και εὑρες [kai heures]). Second aorist active indicative of εὑρισκω [heuriskō]. Dropping back to the regular structure parallel with ἐπειρασας [epeirasas]. False (ψευδεις [pseudeis]). Predicate accusative plural of ψευδης [pseudēs], self-deceived deceivers as in 21:8.
Revelation 2:3
Thou hast (ἐχεις [echeis]). Continued possession of patience. Didst bear (ἐβαστασας [ebastasas]). First aorist indicative of βασταζω [bastazō], repeated reference to the crisis in verse 2. And hast not grown weary (και οὐ κεκοπιακες [kai ou kekopiakes]). Perfect active indicative of κοπιαω [kopiaō], old verb, to grow weary (Matt. 6:28), play on the word κοπος [kopos], late form in -ες [-es], for the regular -ας [-as] (λελυκας [lelukas]). like ἀφηκες [aphēkes] (verse 4) and πεπτωκες [peptōkes] (verse 5). “Tired in loyalty, not of it. The Ephesian church can bear anything except the presence of impostors in her membership” (Moffatt).
Revelation 2:4
This against thee, that (κατα σου ὁτι [kata sou hoti]). For the phrase “have against” see Matt. 5:23. The ὁτι [hoti] clause is the object of ἐχω [echō]. Thou didst leave (ἀφηκες [aphēkes]). First aorist active (kappa aorist, but with -ες [-es] instead of -ας [-as]) of ἀφιημι [aphiēmi], a definite and sad departure. Thy first love (την ἀγαπην σου την πρωτην [tēn agapēn sou tēn prōtēn]). “Thy love the first.” This early love, proof of the new life in Christ (1 John 3:13f.), had cooled off in spite of their doctrinal purity. They had remained orthodox, but had become unloving partly because of the controversies with the Nicolaitans.
Revelation 2:5
Remember (μνημονευε [mnēmoneue]). Present active imperative of μνημονευω [mnēmoneuō], “continue mindful” (from μνημων [mnēmōn]). Thou art fallen (πεπτωκες [peptōkes]). Perfect active indicative of πιπτω [piptō], state of completion. Down in the valley, look up to the cliff where pure love is and whence thou hast fallen down. And repent (και μετανοησον [kai metanoēson]). First aorist active imperative of μετανοεω [metanoeō], urgent appeal for instant change of attitude and conduct before it is too late. And do (και ποιησον [kai poiēson]). First aorist active imperative of ποιεω [poieō], “Do at once.” The first works (τα πρωτα ἐργα [ta prōta erga]). Including the first love (Acts 19:20; 20:37; Eph. 1:3ff.) which has now grown cold (Matt. 24:12). Or else (εἰ δε μη [ei de mē]). Elliptical condition, the verb not expressed (μετανοεις [metanoeis]), a common idiom, seen again in verse 16, the condition expressed in full by ἐαν μη [ean mē] in this verse and verse 22. I come (ἐρχομαι [erchomai]). Futuristic present middle (John 14:2f.). To thee (σοι [soi]). Dative, as in 2:16 also. Will move (κινησω [kinēsō]). Future active of κινεω [kineō]. In Ignatius’ Epistle to Ephesus it appears that the church heeded this warning. Except thou repent (ἐαν μη μετανοησῃς [ean mē metanoēsēis]). Condition of third class with ἐαν μη [ean mē] instead of εἰ μη [ei mē] above, with the first aorist active subjunctive of μετανοεω [metanoeō].
Revelation 2:6
That thou hatest (ὁτι μισεις [hoti miseis]). Accusative object clause in apposition with τουτο [touto] (this). Trench tells of the words used in ancient Greek for hatred of evil (μισοπονηρια [misoponēria]) and μισοπονηρος [misoponēros] (hater of evil), neither of which occurs in the N. T., but which accurately describe the angel of the church in Ephesus. Of the Nicolaitans (των Νικολαιτων [tōn Nikolaitōn]). Mentioned again in verse 15 and really meant in verse 2. Irenaeus and Hippolytus take this sect to be followers of Nicolaus of Antioch, one of the seven deacons (Acts 6:5), a Jewish proselyte, who is said to have apostatized. There was such a sect in the second century (Tertullian), but whether descended from Nicolaus of Antioch is not certain, though possible (Lightfoot). It is even possible that the Balaamites of verse 14 were a variety of this same sect (verse 15). Which I also hate (ἁ καγω μισω [ha kagō misō]). Christ himself hates the teachings and deeds of the Nicolaitans (ἁ [ha], not οὑς [hous], deeds, not people), but the church in Pergamum tolerated them.
Revelation 2:7
He that hath an ear (ὁ ἐχων οὐς [ho echōn ous]). An individualizing note calling on each of the hearers (1:3) to listen (2:7, 11, 17, 28; 3:3, 6, 13, 22) and a reminiscence of the words of Jesus in the Synoptics (Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35), but not in John’s Gospel. The spirit (το πνευμα [to pneuma]). The Holy Spirit as in 14:13; 22:17. Both Christ and the Holy Spirit deliver this message. “The Spirit of Christ in the prophet is the interpreter of Christ’s voice” (Swete). To him that overcometh (τῳ νικωντι [tōi nikōnti]). Dative of the present (continuous victory) active articular participle of νικαω [nikaō], a common Johannine verb (John 16:33; 1 John 2:13f.; 4:4; 5:4f.; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; Rev. 5:5; 12:11; 15:2; 17:14; 21:7). Faith is dominant in Paul, victory in John, faith is victory (1 John 5:4). So in each promise to these churches. I will give (δωσω [dōsō]). Future active of διδωμι [didōmi] as in 2:10, 17, 23, 26, 28; 3:8, 21; 6:4; 11:3; 21:6. To eat (φαγειν [phagein]). Second aorist active infinitive of ἐσθιω [esthiō]. Of the tree of life (ἐκ του ξυλου της ζωης [ek tou xulou tēs zōēs]). Note ἐκ [ek] with the ablative with φαγειν [phagein], like our “eat of” (from or part of). From Gen. 2:9; 3:22. Again in Rev. 22:2, 14 as here for immortality. This tree is now in the Garden of God. For the water of life see 21:6; 22:17 (Cf. John 4:10, 13). Which (ὁ [ho]). The ξυλον [xulon] (tree). In the Paradise of God (ἐν τῳ παραδεισῳ του θεου [en tōi paradeisōi tou theou]). Persian word, for which see Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4. The abode of God and the home of the redeemed with Christ, not a mere intermediate state. It was originally a garden of delight and finally heaven itself (Trench), as here.
1. Ephesus. Ephesus was built near the sea, in the valley of the Cayster, under the shadows of Coressus and Prion. In the time of Paul it was the metropolis of the province of Asia. It was styled by Pliny the Light of Asia. Its harbor, though partly filled up, was crowded with vessels, and it lay at the junction of roads which gave it access to the whole interior continent. Its markets were the “Vanity Fair” of Asia. Herodotus says: “The Ionians of Asia have built their cities in a region where the air and climate are the most beautiful in the whole world; for no other region is equally blessed with Ionia. For in other countries, either the climate is over-cold and damp, or else the heat and drought are sorely oppressive” (1:142).
In Paul’s time it was the residence of the Roman proconsul; and the degenerate inhabitants descended to every species of flattery in order to maintain the favor of Rome. The civilization of the city was mingled Greek and Oriental. It was the head-quarters of the magical art, and various superstitions were represented by different priestly bodies. The great temple of Diana, the Oriental, not the Greek divinity, was ranked among the seven wonders of the world, and Ephesus called herself its sacristan (see on Acts 19:27). To it attached the right of asylum. Legend related that when the temple was finished, Mithridates stood on its summit and declared that the right of asylum should extend in a circle round it, as far as he could shoot an arrow; and the arrow miraculously flew a furlong. This fact encouraged moral contagion. The temple is thus described by Canon Farrar: “It had been built with ungrudging magnificence out of contributions furnished by all Asia—the very women contributing to it their jewels, as the Jewish women had done of old for the Tabernacle of the Wilderness. To avoid the danger of earthquakes, its foundations were built at vast cost on artificial foundations of skin and charcoal laid over the marsh. It gleamed far off with a star-like radiance. Its peristyle consisted of one hundred and twenty pillars of the Ionic order, hewn out of Parian marble. Its doors of carved cypress. wood were surmounted by transoms so vast and solid that the aid of miracles was invoked to account for their elevation. The staircase, which led to the roof, was said to have been cut out of a single vine of Cyprus. Some of the pillars were carved with designs of exquisite beauty. Within were the masterpieces of Praxiteles and Phidias and Scopas and Polycletus. Paintings by the greatest of Greek artists, of which one—the likeness of Alexander the Great by Apelles—had been bought for a sum equal in value to £5,000 of modern money, adorned the inner walls. The roof of the temple itself was of cedar-wood, supported by columns of jasper on bases of Parian marble. On these pillars hung gifts of priceless value, the votive offerings of grateful superstition. At the end of it stood the great altar adorned by the bas-relief of Praxiteles, behind which fell the vast folds of a purple curtain. Behind this curtain was the dark and awful shrine in which stood the most sacred idol of classic heathendom; and again, behind the shrine, was the room which, inviolable under divine protection, was regarded as the wealthiest and securest bank in the ancient world” (“Life and Work of St. Paul,” ii., 12).
Next to Rome, Ephesus was the principal seat of Paul’s labors. He devoted three years to that city. The commonly received tradition represents John as closing his apostolic career there. Nothing in early Church history is better attested than his residence and work in Ephesus, the centre of the circle of churches established by Paul in Ionia and Phrygia.
The Nicolaitans. From νικᾶν to conquer, and λαός the people. There are two principal explanations of the term. The first and better one historical. A sect springing, according to credible tradition, from Nicholas a proselyte of Antioch, one of the seven deacons of Jerusalem (Acts 6:5), who apostatized from the truth, and became the founder of an Antinomian Gnostic sect. They appear to have been characterized by sensuality, seducing Christians to participate in the idolatrous feasts of pagans, and to unchastity. Hence they are denoted by the names of Balaam and Jezebel, two leading agents of moral contamination under the Old Testament dispensation. Balaam enticed the Israelites, through the daughters of Moab and Midian, to idolatry and fornication (Num. 25; 31:16). Jezebel murdered the Lord’s prophets, and set up idolatry in Israel. The Nicolaitans taught that, in order to master sensuality, one must know the whole range of it by experience; and that he should therefore abandon himself without reserve to the lusts of the body, since they concerned only the body and did not touch the spirit. These heretics were hated and expelled by the Church of Ephesus (Apoc. 2:6), but were tolerated by the Church of Pergamum (Apoc. 2:15). The other view regards the name as symbolic, and Nicholas as the Greek rendering of Balaam, whose name signifies destroyer or corrupter of the people. This view is adopted by Trench (“Seven Churches”), who says: “The Nicolaitans are the Balaamites; no sect bearing the one name or the other; but those who, in the new dispensation, repeated the sin of Balaam in the old, and sought to overcome or destroy the people of God by the same temptations whereby Balaam had sought to overcome them before.” The names, however, are by no means parallel: conqueror of the people not being the same as corrupter of the people. Besides, in ver. 14, the Balaamites are evidently distinguished from the Nicolaitans.
2. “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience.”] In the first epistle He speaks thus: I know that thou sufferest and workest, I see that thou art patient; think not that I am staying long from thee.
“And that thou canst not bear them that are evil, and who say that they are Jews and are not, and thou has found them liars, and thou hast patience for My name’s sake.”] All these things tend to praise, and that no small praise; and it behoves such men, and such a class, and such elected persons, by all means to be admonished, that they may not be defrauded of such privileges granted to them of God. These few things He said that He had against them.
4, 5. “And thou hast left thy first love: remember whence thou hast fallen.”] He who falls, falls from a height: therefore He said whence: because, even to the very last, works of love must be practised; and this is the principal commandment. Finally, unless this is done, He threatened to remove their candlestick out of its place, that is, to disperse the congregation.
6. “This thou hast also, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes.”] But because thou thyself hatest those who hold the doctrines of the Nicolaitanes, thou expectest praise. Moreover, to hate the works of the Nicolaitanes, which He Himself also hated, this tends to praise. But the works of the Nicolaitanes were in that time false and troublesome men, who, as ministers under the name of Nicolaus, had made for themselves a heresy, to the effect that what had been offered to idols might be exorcised and eaten, and that whoever should have committed fornication might receive peace on the eighth day. Therefore He extols those to whom He is writing; and to these men, being such and so great, He promised the tree of life, which is in the paradise of His God.
The Letter to Ephesus: Testing False Teaching 2:1–7
Because it was the port of access for Asia, Ephesus was the largest commercial center in the province (Strabo, Geog. 14.1.24). A great center of religion, Ephesus’ temple to the goddess Diana (Acts 19:35) was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: at 425 feet long, 200 feet wide, and 60 feet high, it was four times the size of the Parthenon (Mounce, 1977:86). It had 127 pillars, 36 of which had relief carvings (Pliny, Nat. Hist. 36.21). Moreover, Ephesus was a center of emperor worship, devoting a precinct of Diana’s temple to the worship of the goddess of Rome and the emperor Julius (Dio’s Roman History 59.28.1). Temples to honor emperors Claudius and Nero and later Hadrian and Severus were constructed there, and a gigantic statue of Domitian is preserved today in the museum of Ephesus (Murphy, 1998:112). The local officials of the imperial government and religion in Ephesus were called Asiarchs (Acts 19:31). In addition, Ephesus was a center of pagan magic (Acts 19:13–19; for a complete discussion of power and magic in Ephesus, see Arnold, 1989). Finally, a large Jewish population practiced its religion in Ephesus. According to Josephus, Jews had been granted citizenship and freedom to observe traditional Jewish Sabbath practices (Ant. 12.125–128; 16.160, 162–173; Against Apion 2.39; see also Philo, The Embassy to Gaius, 315). Such protection was also desired by the Christian church.
So it is perhaps not surprising that Ephesus was the location of the most important Christian church in Asia, founded by Paul (Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3.3.4) along with Aquila and Priscilla in about A.D. 50 (Acts 18:18–22). Paul spent approximately three years there, more time than he was engaged evangelizing anywhere else (Acts 19:8–10; 20:31; cf. Aune, 1997:140). While in Ephesus, he was persecuted for converting persons from the worship of Diana (Acts 19). Later, Timothy was a minister—and perhaps the first bishop—in Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3; Titus 1:5; Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.4), and the Baptist, Apollos, and certain elders had connections with the city (Acts 18:18, 24, 26; 19:1–7; 20:17–38). Onesimus, possibly the runaway slave who became Paul’s associate, was also bishop in Ephesus (Philem. 10; Col. 4:7; Ignatius, Eph. 1, 6). According to tradition, John the apostle was bishop of the church in Ephesus for many years; brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, to live and die in this city; wrote his gospel, Revelation, and his letters from here; and died and was buried in the city (Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3.3.4; Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.1, 4, 39; 5.8, 24; Aune, 1997:140–41). Yet false teachings had gained a foothold in this church (Acts 20:17–38; Eph. 4:17–32; 5:10–20).
Title of Christ: Christ is designated as the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand. The accusative case indicates that he holds all the stars: he has a firm grip on them. Christ is aware of his churches and holds them in his care (see John 10:28). In spite of their tribulations, Christ strongly supports his people and helps them to be faithful.
Christ is also the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands. There is certainly an allusion here to God walking in Eden with the first couple after their disobedience (Gen. 3:8). Walking is most likely a euphemism for living (Ford, 1975:387): Christ lives among his earthly churches (Lev. 26:12; Dan. 3:25; John 8:12; 12:35; 1 John 2:11).
Conditions in the Church: The clause I know your works is repeated three times in the letters (3:1, 8, 15), and the idea of judging on the basis of works is developed in 20:12 (see TBC, Faith and Works). John commends the Ephesians for several activities and then condemns them for one.
First, the Ephesians are commended for their toil. The word used here (kopos) is related to the one in verse 3 translated “grown weary” (kopiaō). The root means “labor to the point of exhaustion” (1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 4:11) and describes missionary activity (1 Cor. 15:58; 1 Thess. 2:9). The Ephesians are praised for their unrelenting labor even in the face of persecution (Acts 19:8–40). They are not “burned out” in their service of Christ (Walhout, 2000:39).
Second, the patient endurance of the Ephesians is commended. A dominant theme of the letters (1:9; 2:2, 3, 19; 3:10), patient endurance refers to the courage that accepts suffering and transforms it into glorious victory (2:13). It probably specifically refers to endurance in the face of persecution at the hands of the Nicolaitans (v. 6).
Third, the Ephesians are praised because they tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. Apostles, literally the “sent ones,” were “messengers,” “delegates,” or “emissaries.” There were both true and false apostles in the early church (see TBC, True and False Apostles), and the Ephesians were outstanding in their ability to tell the difference (Acts 20:28–31; 1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Tim. 1:3–7; 1 John 4:1). Ignatius commends the Ephesians because no false teaching could gain a hearing among them (Eph. 6.2; 9.1). This characteristic produced a church outstanding for doctrinal purity.
Nevertheless, John says to the Ephesians, you have abandoned the love you had at first. This statement may mean that their original enthusiasm for the faith is gone (Jer. 2:20). Ellul explains: “Perhaps, she has fallen from the spontaneity of the relationship with God, from the attempt to please this Lord in everything, from an attachment, always new, radiant, and renewed, from the power of novelty in work that characterizes love, and from the glow of passion” (1977:128). Glasson says they lack “fervent devotion” (1975:44), and Beale indicates that it is the zeal of the Ephesian church for witness in the world that has been lost (1999:230–31). Mulholland affirms: “It had lost the offensive of love and adopted the defensive of orthodoxy” (1990:95). The context, however, makes a second meaning possible: Christian fellowship and brotherly love are gone. Richard says they lack “the solidarity that holds the community together” (1995:56), a theme also found in the letter to Thyatira (2:19). Verse 2 of the Ephesian letter seems to be speaking of a conflict in the church. Dissension may have killed their mutual love (2 Thess. 3:14–15; 2 Tim. 2:24–26).
Whatever the sin, it requires repentance. Indeed, all of the churches except Smyrna and Philadelphia are called to repentance. Verse 5 outlines three steps for followers who have fallen away and wish to repent. First, they are to remember. The present tense carries the sense that they should keep on remembering. The penitent is to realize that things are not as they once were (Luke 15:17). The second step is to repent, or change one’s mind, with the Greek aorist tense denoting a decisive event (1 Sam. 26:21; Luke 15:18). The third step is to do the works you did at first. In this case, the works refer to the restoration of love and fellowship.
After this condemnation, John commends the Ephesians for one thing: they hate the works of the Nicolaitans. This heresy, identical to the followers of Balaam and Jezebel, tolerated immorality [Essay: Nicolaitans]. Here the Ephesians are commended for refusing to compromise. Hating evil is seen as an admirable trait. The message of Revelation is: No compromise with the world, regardless of persecution.
Promise to the Conqueror: Christ promises I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Actually, the tense is present, making it very unlikely that the statement refers to the judgment of Christ at his second coming. Moreover, to make the second coming conditioned on the Ephesians’ repentance would be strange. Therefore, it is more likely that the judgment is historical and indicates that Christ will remove the church (lampstand) at Ephesus or at least remove its witness.
More encouraging words are given to the one who conquers, or who remains faithful to God and perseveres to the end. Following Christ involves a struggle that is likened to warfare. Special reference may be intended to those who are martyred. In any case, the one who perseveres to the end will eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God. Eating from the tree of life is contrasted with consuming food offered to idols. Here the tree is used to represent eternal life (22:14) and refers to the restoration of the paradise that was lost in the beginning of time. Perhaps the tree of life also alludes to the “tree” on which Christ died, the cross of Calvary (Hemer, 1986:42–44).
The word paradise is from the Persian word meaning “park.” In the Septuagint, it designates the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:8, 15; 3:23–24) or more generally, a beautiful, stately garden (Eccl. 2:5; Isa. 1:30; Jer. 29:5; see also Xenephon, Oeconomicus 4.13). The early Christians saw paradise as an intermediate state between earth and heaven (Tertullian, A Treatise on the Soul 55; Origen, On First Principles 2.11.6). Later, it became equivalent to heaven—paradise regained. Revelation promises to the conqueror the restoration of the condition that was created in the beginning (21:10–22:4; see also Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:2–4). Part of the paradise of the Garden of Eden was the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9, 16, 17). Subsequently, the obedient were promised the tree of life (Prov. 3:18; 11:30; cf. 13:12; 15:4; 1 Enoch 24:3–5; 25:4–5). Paradise and the tree of life are used in Revelation to symbolize eternal life, which is promised to the one who conquers (Gen. 3:22).
The present participle indicates that eating of the tree of life in paradise is something that happens continuously. Through suffering persecution, the Christian wins the victory and is rewarded in paradise with God. Victory through suffering is a common theme in John’s writings (12:11; John 16:33; 18:36–37) and is contrasted with Satan’s conquering through violence (11:7; 13:7). The forces of Satan overcome through warfare and bloodshed, but the followers of Christ the Lamb conquer through suffering persecution and overcoming it.
“You have abandoned the love you had at first”: The letter to the church at Ephesus
Revelation 2:1–7
An important commercial center on the Aegean Sea at the mouth of the Cayster River, Ephesus had become the most prominent city in the province of Asia by John’s day. It had long been the home for the cult of the goddess Artemis, whose temple was hailed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Destroyed by arson in 356 BC, the temple had been rebuilt to a size of 425 feet by 220 feet by 60 feet. It contained 127 marble pillars, 36 of them overlaid with gold and jewels. Ephesus was the third city in Asia to become a provincial center for the emperor cult and boasted a magnificent temple erected to the Flavian emperors (Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian). Paul visited Ephesus briefly near the end of his second missionary journey (Acts 18:19–21) and made it his primary base of teaching on his third missionary journey (Acts 19:1–20:1; cf. Acts 20:17–38).
Jesus identifies himself as the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands (2:1; cf. 1:12, 16). This self-designation, the “mystery” of which he has just explained to John (1:20), constitutes an appropriate opening to the seven letters and serves to anticipate the threat of removing the lampstand in 1:5.
Jesus praises the church for its toil (2:2) and endurance (2:2, 3). He mentions the latter twice, elaborating the second time in terms of bearing up for his name’s sake and not growing weary (2:3). This is probably to be understood within the context of those false teachers whom the Ephesians have successfully countered. That Jesus speaks of “those who call themselves apostles” (2:2) shows that these teachers claimed not only to be Christians but also to have positions of authority within the church (cf. Paul’s warning to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:29–30). How the Ephesians “tested” these self-proclaimed apostles is not clear, but the Ephesians correctly determined these individuals to be “false.” Just why these people are deemed false is also not clear, nor is their connection, if any, with the Nicolaitans (2:6), a group also present at Pergamum (2:15). Their positive reception among at least some of the Christians there suggests that the Nicolaitans, if not claiming to be Christians themselves, at least did not come across as being overtly opposed to the church. Here Jesus speaks merely of their “works,” which both he and the Ephesians “hate” (2:6; cf. Ps 139:21).
The problem with the church at Ephesus is that it has abandoned “the love you had at first” (2:4). The result is that the church has suffered a significant fall and no longer does “the works you did at first” (2:5). The thought is that of Jer 2:2, where the Lord tells Jeremiah to proclaim in Jerusalem: “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness in a land not sown.” The “love you had at first,” therefore, is the initial zeal and commitment that characterizes a relationship. For the church at Ephesus, as for Israel, that initial zeal for God has waned. That is why the situation at Ephesus is so serious. The ability to identify and oppose false teachers is meaningless if it is not matched by a fervent love for God. The only recourse is that the Ephesians “repent” (twice in 2:5) and do the works—unspecified here—they did at first, which demonstrate their love for God (2:5). The significance of repenting or not repenting will be an important theme in the book (cf. 2:16, 21, 22; 3:3, 19; 9:20, 21; 16:9, 11). The threat of the removal of their lampstand (2:5)—i.e., church—is both serious and readily understandable to the inhabitants of a city whose landscape was constantly changing. Ephesus faced the neverending problem of its harbor silting up, and today the coastline is six miles away from the ruins of first century Ephesus.
The promise to the conqueror is that he will eat of the tree of life, which is in the “paradise” of God (2:7). “Paradise” (paradeisos) can simply mean “garden” (e.g., Ecc 2:5), and the source of John’s image is Gen 2:9 (cf. 13:10), which mentions the tree of life amid the “garden” (LXX paradeisos: thirteen times in Gen 2–3; cf. Life of Adam and Eve 1:1) of Eden. In the LXX “paradise of God” is found four times (Gen 13:10; Ezek 28:13; 31:8, 9). In Gen 3, God expels Adam and Eve from the “garden” lest they eat of the tree of life “and live for ever” (Gen 3:22); he then places cherubim and a flaming sword “to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen 3:24). In Judaism there developed the notion of a future paradise in which will be planted the tree of life (e.g., Testament of Levi 18:10–11; 2 Enoch 8:3–7; 4 Ezra 8:52), though sometimes paradise was mentioned without a reference the tree of life (e.g., 1 Enoch 32:3; 4 Ezra 7:123; 2 Baruch 4:3–6; Luke 23:43; 2 Cor 12:3), and vice versa (e.g., Apocalypse of Moses 18:4; 5 Ezra 2:12; cf. 1 Enoch 24:4–25:6). In a passage strikingly similar to this passage, Testament of Levi 18:10–11 reads, “And he shall open the gates of paradise; he shall remove the sword that has threatened since Adam, and he will grant to the saints to eat of the tree of life.” Overall, it is clear that the tree of life had become an important symbol among some Jews regarding their hope for the future. This is certainly true for John, who will mention the tree of life—but not paradise—again (22:2, 14, 19).
Although this Jewish background is the most natural setting within which to understand the tree of life in paradise, one should also note that a sacred tree was associated with the temple of Artemis in Ephesus. The notion of God’s (rather than Artemis’s) special tree would perhaps have had particular relevance for the Ephesian Christians.
Once again, the use of the present tense to speak of Jesus as “coming” (2:5; RSV “will come”) is striking (cf. 1:7). To be sure, it is followed by a future (“[I will] remove”), but the reader gets the impression that Jesus is in some sense always “coming.”
Ephesus, the Careless Church (Rev. 2:1–7)
Each of the seven messages begins with a personal description or designation of Jesus Christ taken from the vision of Christ given in Revelation 1. (In the case of Ephesus, see Rev. 1:12, 16, 20.) The Ephesian assembly had enjoyed some “stellar” leadership—Paul, Timothy, and the Apostle John himself—but the Lord reminded them that He was in control of the ministry, placing the “stars” where He pleased. How easy it is for a church to become proud and forget that pastors and teachers are God’s gifts (Eph. 4:11) who may be taken away at any time. Some churches need to be cautioned to worship the Lord and not their pastor!
Approval (vv. 2–3, 6). How gracious of the Lord to start with words of commendation! To begin with, this was a serving church, busy doing the works of the Lord. No doubt their weekly schedule was filled with activities. It was also a sacrificing church, for the word labor means “toil to the point of exhaustion.” The Ephesian Christians paid a price to serve the Lord. They were a steadfast assembly, for the word patience carries the meaning of “endurance under trial.” They kept going when the going was tough.
The Ephesian church was a separated people, for they carefully examined the visiting ministers (see 2 John 7–11) to see if they were genuine. Paul had warned the Ephesian elders that false teachers would come in from the outside and even arise from within the church (Acts 20:28–31), and John had instructed them to “try the spirits” (1 John 4:1–6). Indeed, Satan has his false ministers and the church must be constantly alert to detect them and reject them (2 Cor. 11:1–4, 12–15).
Ephesian Christians separated themselves not only from false doctrine but also from false deeds (Rev. 2:6). The word Nicolaitan means “to conquer the people.” Some Bible students believe this was a sect who “lorded it over” the church and robbed the people of their liberty in Christ (see 3 John 9–11). They initiated what we know today as “clergy” and “laity,” a false division that is taught nowhere in the New Testament. All God’s people are “kings and priests” (1 Peter 2:9; Rev. 1:6) and have equal access to the Father through the blood of Christ (Heb. 10:19ff). We shall meet this dangerous sect again when we study the message to the church at Pergamos.
The believers at Ephesus were a suffering people who patiently bore their burdens and toiled without fainting. And they did all of this for His name’s sake! No matter how you examine this congregation, you conclude that it is just about perfect. However, the One among the lampstands saw into their hearts, and He had a different diagnosis from ours.
Accusation (v. 4). This busy, separated, sacrificing church really suffered from “heart trouble”—they had abandoned their first love! They displayed “works … labor … and patience” (Rev. 2:2), but these qualities were not motivated by a love for Christ. (Compare 1 Thes. 1:3—“work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope.”) What we do for the Lord is important, but so is why we do it!
What is “first love”? It is the devotion to Christ that so often characterizes the new believer: fervent, personal, uninhibited, excited, and openly displayed. It is the “honeymoon love” of the husband and wife (Jer. 2:1–2). While it is true that mature married love deepens and grows richer, it is also true that it should never lose the excitement and wonder of those “honeymoon days.” When a husband and wife begin to take each other for granted, and life becomes routine, then the marriage is in danger.
Just think of it: it is possible to serve, sacrifice, and suffer “for My name’s sake” and yet not really love Jesus Christ! The Ephesian believers were so busy maintaining their separation that they were neglecting adoration. Labor is no substitute for love; neither is purity a substitute for passion. The church must have both if it is to please Him.
By reading Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, you discover at least twenty references to love. You also discover that Paul emphasized the believer’s exalted position “in Christ … in the heavenly places.” But the Ephesian church had fallen and was not living up to its heavenly position in Christ (Rev. 2:5). It is only as we love Christ fervently that we can serve Him faithfully. Our love for Him must be pure (Eph. 6:24).
Admonition (vv. 5–7). “First love” can be restored if we follow the three instructions Christ gave. First, we must remember (literally “keep on remembering”) what we have lost and cultivate a desire to regain that close communion once again. Then we must repent—change our minds—and confess our sins to the Lord (1 John 1:9). Third, we must repeat the first works, which suggests restoring the original fellowship that was broken by our sin and neglect. For the believer, this means prayer, Bible reading and meditation, obedient service, and worship.
In spite of the privileges it had enjoyed, the church of Ephesus was in danger of losing its light! The church that loses its love will soon lose its light, no matter how doctrinally sound it may be. “I will come” (Rev. 2:5) is not referring to the Lord’s return, but to His coming judgment then and there. The glorious city of Ephesus is today but a heap of stones and no light is shining there.
Revelation 2:7 makes it clear that individual believers within the church may be true to the Lord, no matter what others may do. In these seven messages, the “overcomers” are not a “spiritual elite,” but rather the true believers whose faith has given them victory (1 John 5:4–5). Sinful man was banned from the tree of life (Gen. 3:22–24), but in Christ we have eternal abundant life (John 3:16; 10:10). We enjoy this blessing now, and we shall enjoy it in greater measure in eternity (Rev. 22:1–5).
The church of Ephesus was the “careless church,” made up of careless believers who neglected their love for Christ. Are we guilty of the same neglect?
A. The Nicolaitanes (2:6, 15).
The name “Nicolaus” means “conquer the people” and suggests a separation of clergy and laity in the churches. This sin began as “deeds” in Ephesus (v. 6) but became a doctrine in Pergamos. So it goes: deceivers introduce false activities into the church, and before long these activities are accepted and encouraged.
1. This declension is described as having begun in the heart. Christ does not charge the saints at Ephesus with having changed their doctrinal views; but, placing His finger on the heart, says, “There is a change here.” You know the enthusiasm of “first love.” If any work is to be done in the Church—if any difficulties are to be surmounted—if any icebergs are to be dissolved—if any cape, where savage seas revel in ungovernable madness, is to be rounded, send out men and women in whose hearts this “first love” burns and sings, and their brows will be girt with garlands of conquest. Our business, then, is to watch our heart-fires. When the temperature of our love lowers, there is cause for terror. It is instructive to mark the many and insidious influences by which the gush and swell of affection are modified. Take the case of one who has been distinguished for much service in the cause of God, and see how the fires pale. He becomes prosperous in business. His oblations on the altar of Mammon are costlier than ever. He toils in the service of self until his energies are nearly exhausted, and then his class in the school is neglected; the grass grows on his tract district; his nature has become so perverted that he almost longs for an occasion of offence, that he may retire from the duties of the religious life. Could you have heard him in the hour of his new-born joy, when he first placed his foot in God’s kingdom, you would not have thought that he ever could have been reduced to so low a moral temperature. What holy vows escaped him! How rich he was in promise! But look at him now; turn the leaves over, and with eager eyes search for fruit, and say, Is the promise of spring redeemed in autumn? Innumerable influences are continually in operation, which would cool the ardour of our first enthusiasm for Christ. Satan plies us with his treacherous arts; the world allures us with its transitory charms; our inborn depravity reveals itself in ever-varying manifestations; pride and selfishness, ambition and luxury, appeal to us in many voices, and beckon us with a thousand hands.
We may go far in outward activity for the cause of the Redeemer and yet be threatened with the removal of our candlestick. Full of labor, opposed to wicked men and false teachers, persistently orthodox, not fainting in the day of trial; and yet, if love be wanting, nothing can compensate. Is the complaint true of us, that we have lost our first love? The exuberance of its emotion may have passed with the years, but has it been replaced by a deep, all-constraining, and masterful devotion to our Lord? It is the Spirit’s prerogative to shed abroad his love in our hearts and to teach us to love him. But none of us can acquire that love without perpetually feeding on the Tree of Life, which is the emblem of himself, Gen. 2:9; Rev. 22:2, 14, 19.
III. The Complaint—
“Thou hast left thy first love.”
Their zeal had waned and they were becoming less concerned about carrying out the commands of Christ. They were “at ease in Zion.”
Here was a wonderful church with a fatal flaw. Wonderful? Yes! Jesus commended the people for their spiritual discernment. They had seen the evil posed by the Nicolaitans (v. 6) and had exposed them (v. 2). The Nicolaitans were a sect that taught that one could be a Christian and not strive to live a holy life.
The Lord also praised them for their steadfast endurance. They had not tired in their efforts to serve him and to advance his cause (v. 3).
While these were admirable qualities, the Lord was not completely pleased with this church. The source of his unhappiness was that the people had left their ‘first love’ (v. 4), that is, they did not love him with the fervency and passion of their early years. The Lord’s rebuke reminds us that we can be sound in doctrine, energetic in service and even holy in life without loving Christ as we should. Every Christian loves Christ, but there are degrees in love. Sometimes our love flames brightly. At other times it barely flickers. It was flickering in Ephesus. How it must have grieved John to pen these words from the Lord!
The problem in Ephesus was not that the people did not love Christ; it was rather that they did not love him as they once did.
Gracious as he is, the Lord was not content merely to point out the problem. He also declared the solution in three imperatives: remember, repent and do.
He called upon them to compare the warmth of their past devotion with the coldness of their present condition, to break decisively with that coldness and go back to the warmth. Failure to do as Christ commanded would result in the church of Ephesus ceasing to exist (v. 5)—and that is what happened. Lack of passionate love for Christ also destroys churches today.
Praise quickly turns to criticism as Christ rebukes the Ephesians for their loss of love in dealing with others. Their zeal for orthodoxy and their struggle to remain faithful under pressure exacted too heavy a cost: they forgot that their primary obligation as Christians was to act in love. Like the elder brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32), they were so consumed with being right and obedient, that they lost proper perspective. Love and joy were replaced with censoriousness. As Paul so eloquently stated in 1 Corinthians 13, any act, no matter how well intentioned, that is done without love is inadequate.
Christ commands the Ephesian church to repent, to return to the love and compassion that formerly characterized their lives. Failure to repent and to return to the love that they had earlier would result in disciplinary action—“I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (2:5). This is not an eschatological threat, but a present warning. Christ will come in judgment upon the church. To have its lampstand removed means that the church would no longer exist. The people would still have the outward trappings of a church, but they would be spiritually dead. Before they reached that point, however, Christ called them to change their ways and recover the spirit of love that once belonged to them.
2:1–7 A timeless concern facing the church at Ephesus was dead orthodoxy. Though commended for persevering in zeal for proper belief (vv. 2–3), these church members had left the “love” they had “at first” (v. 4). This probably means love for God, since the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all one’s being (Dt 6:5; Mt 22:36–38). Having “fallen” (Rv 2:5) does not mean losing one’s salvation, though ceasing to love God is a serious spiritual matter requiring soul-searching repentance. The significance of the Nicolaitans (v. 6) is clarified in the letters to the churches at Pergamum (vv. 14–15) and Thyatira (vv. 20–21, 24).
2:1–7 To Ephesus The visionary Christ commends the Ephesian Christians for upholding high moral standards within their community. They share his abhorrence of the Nicolaitans, a Christian sect that permitted participation in the local pagan cults. But in the commendable effort to maintain religious purity, the Ephesians have forsaken acts of Christian love for one another (cf. 1 John 4:7–5:3). Only repentance—here, the resumption of loving acts—will avert God’s punishment. The tree of life initially planted in the garden of Eden becomes for Christians a symbol of eternal life made available through the resurrected Christ, exalted to the heavenly “paradise of God” (v. 7).