The Apocalypse: Out of Love

The Apocalypse

M:

Apocalypse: chaos and craziness around us it’s easy to feel like it’s the end of the world, like it’s the apocalypse, but really, it’s in times like these that we NEED an apocalypse!

There can be a fascination with the End Times (Eschatology) and we don’t want to fall into Eschatomania or Eschatophobia, but we want to hear what God is saying to the Church today…we need an Apocalypse, a Revelation OF Jesus FROM Jesus!

Why? Because life happens and we lose our focus, direction, perspective, etc. We face trials and tribulations…Jesus promised them!

The book of Revelation was written to seven churches in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, and it was a message for the WHOLE Church of that day.

They had been facing persecution and various hardships for decades and they need a fresh revelation of Jesus and FROM Jesus.

Last week we talked about how the book of Revelation is not a code book meant to help us figure out the end times…but it is a letter, a prophecy, and a vision written down for us in Apocalyptic style…and it was relevant to the early church…and it is still filled with Truth that is relevant for US…we’re going to discover more of this Truth today!

We get a picture of Jesus at the beginning that we’ll unpack in each of the 7 letters:

John is exiled on an island and has a vision where He sees Jesus surrounded by imagery that takes us back to the Holy of Holies in the temple...

Outer courts, holy place, holy of holies!

That’s where we find Jesus, in a heavenly temple scene!

Basically though He’s identified as Prophet, Priest and and He is given titles only given to God in the Hebrew Bible even as different images get combined to make a new whole.

There are some themes that John will hit on throughout this book: tribulation, kingdom and steadfast endurance.

Tribulation is thlipsis. Originally, thlipsis meant simply pressure and could, for instance, describe the pressure of a great stone on someone’s body.

At first it was used quite literally, but in the New Testament it has come to describe the pressure of events which constitutes persecution.

Steadfast endurance is hupomonē. Hupomonē does not patience which simply passively submits to the tide of events; it describes the spirit of courage and conquest which leads to gallantry and transforms even suffering into glory. Christians were in thlipsis and, as John saw it, in the midst of the terrible events which preceded the end of the world.

They were looking towards basileia, the kingdom, into which they desired to enter and on which they had set their hearts.

There was only one way from thlipsis to basileia, from affliction to glory, and that was through hupomonē, conquering endurance.

Jesus said that in this world we will have troubles!

That is some of the background we need as we come to the first letter today:

Revelation 2:1-7

Revelation 2:1–7 NIV

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Stand & Read

To the angel of the church:

Probably a way of speaking to the whole church, the heart of the church, or even a guardian angel assigned to the church…could be to the Bishop of the church, because it means messenger, but not as likely because it isn’t used that way in the rest of the book.

Ephesus

It comes as the first church because:

1. It was closest from Patmos.

2. Ephesus was the greatest city of the province of Asia despite Pergamum being the capital.

It claimed as its proud title ‘The first and the greatest metropolis of Asia’.

A Roman writer called it the Light of Asia.

3. In the time of John, Ephesus was the greatest harbour in Asia and a Major Cross-Roads for the whole Region: Ephesus was the gateway of Asia.

One of its distinctions, laid down by statute, was that when the Roman proconsul came to take up office as governor of Asia, he must disembark at Ephesus and enter his province there. For all the travellers and the trade, from the Cayster and the Maeander Valleys, from Galatia, from the Euphrates and from Mesopotamia, Ephesus was the highway to Rome. In later times, when the Christians were brought from Asia to be flung to the lions in the arena in Rome, Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, called Ephesus the Highway of the Martyrs.

Its position made Ephesus the wealthiest and the greatest city in all Asia

4. Ephesus had certain important political distinctions. It was a free city. In the Roman Empire, certain cities were free cities; they had had that honour conferred upon them because of their services to the empire. A free city was within its own limits self-governing, and it was exempted from ever having Roman troops garrisoned there.

5. Ephesus was the centre of the worship of Artemis: The Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was 425 feet long by 220 feet wide; it had 120 columns, each sixty feet high and the gift of a king; and thirty-six of them were richly gilded and inlaid.

Remember Paul’s encounter with the Ephesians in Acts 19? Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

Temple prostitutes…also place where criminals would hang out to have sanctuary.

Also a Center of Emperor Worship: Ephesus also had famous temples to the godhead of the Roman emperors Claudius and Nero, and in future years it was to add temples to Hadrian and Severus. In Ephesus, the ancient religion was at its strongest.

Once a year you had to pay homage and declare that Caesar is Lord.

Also a center of superstition & witchcraft: It was famous for the Ephesian Letters, small objects and charms as remedies for sickness or to ensure success in any undertaking; and people came from all over the world to buy them.

It was a multi-ethnic and pluralistic city. People were divided into 6 tribes, one of which was most likely the Jewish population in the city.

Paul stayed longer in Ephesus than in any other city (Acts 20:31).

We have a whole letter written to them and the churches around them.

It was with Ephesus that Timothy had a connection, so that he is called its first bishop (1 Timothy 1:3).

It is in Ephesus that we find Aquila, Priscilla and Apollos (Acts 18:19, 18:24, 18:26).

Later on, John was the leading figure of Ephesus. And John, the author of this letter was also believed to be from Ephesus.

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand

Holding completely…not just a part.

To the greeks and the romans 7 stars would bring to mind the planets…astrology…the science of their day for predicting the future.

Seven stars are the Angels…Jesus holds completely.

...and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

- The lampstands are the 7 churches, representatitve of the church.

He’s the one who holds the future…and the divine beings..and He is in the midst of you.

Commendation:

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Christ commended those in the Ephesian church for their hard work … perseverance, their condemnation of wicked men, and their identification of false apostles. (False teachers were present in each of the first four churches; cf. vv. 2, 6, 9, 14–15, 20.)

In addition they were commended for enduring hardships and not growing weary in serving God. In general this church had continued in its faithful service to God for more than 40 years.

Jews trying to sow Legalism.

Others trying to sow License instead of walking in LIBERTY

…Antinomianism and Gnosticism

There were professional beggars who preyed on the charity of the Christian congregations.

More than once, the New Testament insists on the necessity of testing:

- Spirits who claim to come from God should be tested by their willingness to accept the incarnation in all its fullness (1 John 4:1–3).

- Test all things and then hold on to that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

- When the prophets preach, they are subject to the testing of the other prophets (1 Corinthians 14:29).

- Individuals cannot proclaim private views in the assembly of God’s people; they must conform to the tradition of the Church.

- Jesus demanded the hardest test of all: ‘You will know them by their fruits’ (Matthew 7:15–20).

They had Orthodoxy and Orthopraxis

BUT...

Correction

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

The church at Ephesus had faithfully applied its tests and had weeded out all evil and misguided individuals; but the trouble was that something had run out of love in the process!

This rebuke contrasts with what Paul wrote the Ephesians 35 years earlier, that he never stopped giving thanks for them because of their faith in Christ and their love (agapēn) for the saints (Eph. 1:15–16). Most of the Ephesian Christians were now second-generation believers, and though they had retained purity of doctrine and life and had maintained a high level of service, they were lacking in deep devotion to Christ. How the church today needs to heed this same warning, that orthodoxy and service are not enough. Christ wants believers’ hearts as well as their hands and heads.

LOVE!

(1) It can mean that the first enthusiasm has gone.

in Jeremiah God says to the nation that he remembers ‘the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride’ (Jeremiah 2:2).

There had been a honeymoon period, but the first flush of enthusiasm is past.

It may be that the risen Christ is saying that all the enthusiasm has gone out of the religion of the church of Ephesus.

(2) It is more likely their initial love for the church community was gone.

In the first days, the members of the church at Ephesus had really loved each other

Maybe heresy-hunting had killed love, and orthodoxy had been achieved at the price of fellowship.

When that happens, orthodoxy has cost too much. All the orthodoxy in the world will never take the place of love.

- Christ stated that one’s love for God should be greater than his love for his closest relatives, including his father, mother, son, and daughter (Matt. 10:37). Paul added that love for God should even be above one’s love for his or her mate (1 Cor. 7:32–35).

3. Love for the Lost?

REPENT and DO:

In calling the Ephesian believers to repentance Christ was asking them to change their attitude as well as their actions!

They were to continue their service not simply because it was right but because they loved Christ. They should DO what they were doing OUT of love!

He warned them that if they did not respond they would be removed! I will … remove your lampstand from its place.

The church continued and was later the scene of a major church council, but after the 5th century both the church and the city declined. The immediate area has been uninhabited since the 14th century.

Commendation 2.0

But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

One additional word of commendation was inserted. They were commended because they hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. There has been much speculation concerning the identity of the Nicolaitans, but the Scriptures do not specify who they were. They apparently were a sect wrong in practice and in doctrine …they come up in the other letters.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

TREE of LIFE:

In later Jewish thought, the tree came to stand for that which truly gave life to individuals. Wisdom is a tree of life to those who lay hold of it (Proverbs 3:18); the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life (Proverbs 11:30); hope fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12); a tongue is a tree of life (Proverbs 15:4).

Jesus identifies himself with the tree of life by being the source of Eternal Life!

We’ll see more of this tree later…but it’s taking us back to the beginning...

PARADISE:

Garden of Eden picture...It has come to be equivalent to heaven.

This encouragement to true love reminded them again of God’s gracious provision for salvation in time and eternity. Love for God is not wrought by legalistically observing commands, but by responding to one’s knowledge and appreciation of God’s love.

Out of Love

Going back to the beginning…favorite season: childhood. For many things were simpler.

Back to our First Love:

SARAH and I holding hands!

Stories of people Falling out of love...

Did you FALL in love with God so that you can fall OUT of love? Love is a VERB…it’s a choice we make to love God because HE chose to love us first!

Sometimes you can feel like you run out of love…and then you do things because you have to…rather than because you get to.

We are invited to the Holy of Holies and we settle for the Outer Courts!

We are invited to the closeness of relationship in the garden…with God and each other...

In our Faith, it is the beginning when we had passion for God and others...

Right doctrine and right practice IS important…But it has to be done OUT OF LOVE!

Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.