Ephesus

Introduction

rather than spending half a sermon on unveiling the historical, cultural, literary, and theological context of Revelation, particularly chapters 2 and 3, I’m going to unfold the context week by week, little by little

One Letter

These seven messages are part of one circulating document.

Revelation is addressed to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia

John is told to write what he sees and send it to the seven churches.

These are not seven isolated letters but seven messages within one Apocalypse

Each church receives its own message, but each church is repeatedly told to hear "what the Spirit says to the churches."

Seven churches. One letter

Recurring pattern that looks something like:

City ➡ Christ ➡ Commendation ➡ Confrontation ➡ Commands ➡ Consequences

Revelation 2:1–7 “1 “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. 2 “ ‘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. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 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. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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 City

To help wrap our minds around the importance of Ephesus, think of New York city as a place of influence, commerce, and culture

Major city of Roman Asia (pop 200,000 - 250,000)

4th largest city in Roman Empire

Capital/provincial center Roman province of Asia

One of the region's major ports and commercial hubs

Financial

Major trade center connecting inland Asia with the Aegean Sea, and ultimately the entire Mediterranean

Wealth generated through commerce, agriculture, and trade

Large marketplace and banking activity

Religious

Home of the massive Temple of Artemis (7 Wonders of the Ancient world)

Artemis (Greek) or Diana (Roman) worship deeply embedded in civic identity and economy

Religious devotion and commerce were intertwined

Political

Strong Roman presence

Significant loyalty to Rome and the imperial system

Civic life was closely connected to pagan religion

Christ

in each letter Jesus is introduced in a unique and moving manner

“…holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands….”

Revelation 1:20 “20 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.”

stars = the angels/messengers of the churches. Exactly who these ‘angels’ are is debated, but Jesus holds them in his hand.

lampstand = church

right hand = protection & authority

We see both Jesus walking among the churches and protecting them

The Commendation(s)

by all outward appearances, the church in Ephesus was doing well…

deeds - works & Labor

dedication - patient endurance

doctrinal discernment - their rejection of false apostles & work of Nicolaitans

“…practices that compromised the moral and spiritual integrity of the Christian community…”

“…Roman rule required sacrifice to their gods. Emperors such as Decius attempted to weed out Christians by enforcing sacrifices to various Roman deities. Those who resisted faced persecution and possible execution. The Nicolaitans appeared to conform to this Roman culture and seemed to encourage Christians in Ephesus to do the same …”

“…blend into society or stand out in this culture of compromise….”

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-were-the-nicolaitans-in-revelation-why-did-god-hate-their-practices-so-much.html

these were not apathetic Christians

The Confrontation

…but something was missing

“You have abandoned the love you had at first”

love for God or love for others?

love for God (loyalty & love are evident in commendations above)

love for one another

perhaps both, since these encompass the first and second “great commands” of Jesus

They had a heart problem

They were doing all the right things, but Jesus still had something against them

‘The problem wasn't that they cared about obedience. The problem was that obedience had become detached from love.”

The Command(s)

Remember - Where were we? How did we get here? What happened?

“remember and keep that memory before them”

church founded by Paul, Aquila, Priscilla; Timothy ministered within; now John is writing to and Jesus is confronting

Repent - changing of the mind and attitude, which leads to a turning away from a former path

Repentance is not a change of opinion but of attitude, and there is very little repentance nowadays because of our attitude towards sin. - Vance Houston Havner

Return - Go back to what they were doing

The Consequence(s)

Negative - Don’t remember, repent, and return

Lampstand removed

Their continued ineffectiveness would result in their extinction, at least as a lampstand that Christ “walks among”

The church itself is in danger

“In most Christian churches the Spirit is quite entirely overlooked. Whether He is present or absent makes no real difference to anyone.” - A. W. Tozer

“If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.” - Tozer

Positive - Those who overcome

Eat from tree of Life in God’s paradise

Genesis account, in the Garden paradise with God

Connects with Revelation 21-22

concept bookends Revelation

concept bookends the Bible

Genesis begins with:

creation

Eden

tree of life

humanity with God

serpent

curse

death

Revelation ends with:

new creation

God's dwelling with humanity

tree of life

serpent/evil defeated

curse removed

death defeated

The Bible begins with humanity in God's garden, and Revelation ends with redeemed humanity in God's renewed creation

Challenge(s)

Each letter includes the phrase:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Right doctrine does not guarantee a right heart

You can be right about the truth and still be wrong in your heart

Jesus is not telling them to stop their works; He’s telling them to return to the Christian life they had before.

Jesus is telling us the same