Seven Letters: Part One Ephesus

Revelation 2:1-7 New King James Version

Revelation 1:4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

Revelation 1:11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

Pattern/Form of the Letters:

1. Correspondence recipient

2. Christ’s description

3. Commendation

4. Critique

5. Command to hear

6. Conqueror’s reward

Revelation 2:1

1. “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,

2. These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand,

3. who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

a. Revelation 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

b. Revelation 1:13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

c. Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which 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 which you saw are the seven churches.

i. ‘The term ἄγγελος, like the Hebrew מלאך malʾāk, means “messenger” and may refer to a supernatural being or a human being. The term ἄγγελος occurs seventy-seven times in Revelation, and only in 1:20–3:22 is the term used for the angels of the seven churches (eight times). Elsewhere in Revelation ἄγγελος is used of supernatural beings serving as messengers or agents of God (within 1:20–3:22, this meaning is clearly intended in 3:5).[1]

Revelation 2:2-3

1. (v.2) “I know

2. your works,

3. your labor,

4. your patience,

5. and that you cannot bear those who are evil.

6. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;

7. (v. 3) and you have persevered and have patience, and

8. have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.

Revelation 2:4

1. Nevertheless I have this against you,

2. that you have left your first love.

Revelation 2:5

1. Remember therefore from where you have fallen;

2. repent and do the first works,

3. or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place

a. Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which 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 which you saw are the seven churches.

4. —unless you repent.

Revelation 2:6

1. But this you have,

2. that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans,

a. c.f. Revelation 2:15

3. which I also hate.

Revelation 2:7

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

2. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

a. The city’s landmark was the temple of Artemis, and one of its symbols was the date palm tree (contrast “tree of life,” v. 7).[2]

[1] Aune, D. E. (1997). Revelation 1–5(Vol. 52A, p. 108). Dallas: Word, Incorporated. [2] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible(p. 2466). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.