I'm Dr. Ryan Dellamater.
Now, I've been a student of the Bible for over 30 years.
I'm glad that you could be with me today as we're continuing our series through the book
of Revelation, the last book of the Bible.
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Now, today we're going to be looking at Revelation chapter 2 verses 1 through 7.
Now, if you have your Bible, if you could please turn there and you could follow along.
Now, before I read the text, I want to point out that the city of Ephesus is portrayed
here as a bustling and influential metropolis in the Roman province of Asia Minor, which
was the recipient of part of this letter.
This is modern day Turkey.
You can look it up on a map if you want to learn a little bit more about it.
Ephesus was renowned for its grandeur and its cultural significance during the first
century.
Now, Ephesus was a lot like California today.
It was a melting pot of diverse cultures and customs.
It was known for its vibrant marketplace where goods from various regions were traded.
It was a port city.
The city was deeply rooted in tradition, but it was also influenced by Roman customs due
to its status as the capital of that province.
Now, the religious practices were diverse.
It included the worship of Diana at the Temple of Artemis.
In fact, they held a large annual gathering there.
That temple was actually referred to as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
at that time.
Now, Greek was the predominant language spoken in Ephesus.
It reflected its Hellenistic heritage coming from the Greeks.
Its inhabitants would have spoken Koine Greek, which is like the common language of that
time for the people that spoke Greek.
This language would have been used to transact in commerce and administration and everyday
life, just like in California, a lot of people speak English.
Now, Ephesus was a cultural center of learning.
It had a renowned theater and it had profound philosophical discussions that took place
within the context of the city.
Their ideas and religious beliefs coexisted at the same time.
This would prove to be fertile ground for the spreading of the gospel at this time because
Ephesus was a mix of both Western and Eastern ideas.
There's a little bit of a background before I read this to you today.
Now, in this context, the message of the church in Ephesus takes into account all of this
rich cultural tapestry and it underscores the challenges presented by this vibrant city
for the practice of following Jesus at this specific time.
Now, Revelation chapter two, verses one through seven reads like this.
It says, to the angel of the church in Ephesus write, the words of him who holds the seven
stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands, I know your deeds,
your toil and your patient endurance and how you cannot bear with those who are evil but
have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false.
I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake and you've not grown
weary, but I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love that you had at first.
Verse five, remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the works that
you did at first.
If not, I will come to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent.
And verse six, yet this you have, you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also
hate.
Verse seven, 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.
So let's break this down a little bit at a time.
Now in verse one, Jesus addresses the angel of the church in Ephesus.
What does this mean?
Well, and Jesus identifies himself as the one who holds the seven stars and walks among
the golden lampstands.
Now the angel as a representative or messenger of the church rather than a celestial being.
Now the seven stars are likely the church's leaders or pastors or ministers and the lampstands
represent the churches themselves.
It really helps to understand what it is that we're talking about here.
Now this imagery symbolizes Christ's authority and presence within Christian communities.
Now verse two and three, Jesus commends the Ephesian church for their diligence, their
patience, their intolerance of evil.
They have also discerned false apostles and remain steadfast in their faith even during
persecution.
This praise reflects the historical context at this time.
Were there false prophets?
Yes.
Bad teaching?
Yes.
Do people need to endure?
Yes.
It's the same today.
Now look at verse four, Jesus offers a rebuke.
He says to the Ephesian Christians, they're chastised for abandoning the love that they
had at first.
This is interpreted as a decline in their fervent devotion to Christ that they first
had when they first believed.
Think about our lives and how that can also be true of us.
Over time, they had grown cold and they had lost their zeal.
It creeps in in a subtle way.
Jesus calls for repentance from that.
In verse five, he urges them to remember their former love, to repent from their spiritual
decline and to return to the initial devotion that they had at first.
The consequence of not repenting is the removal of their lamp stand signifying the withdrawal
of Christ's presence and blessing from their community.
In verse six, Jesus commends the Ephesian church for their hatred of the works of the
Nicolaitans, a group associated with false teachings and immoral practices.
This demonstrates their commitment to sound doctrine, the Bible and moral purity in their
personal life.
And then in verse seven, Jesus concludes with the promise to those who conquer or overcome,
they will be granted access to the tree of life in the paradise of God.
This promise echoes the hope of eternal life for those who remain faithful despite the
challenges that they face.
Life is just a series of unending challenges that we have to learn to navigate.
Now the recommendation and the rebuke and a call to repent address their context.
It emphasizes their devotion to the initial love that they had for Christ when they first
met him.
Now the warning about losing their lamp stand underscores the consequences mentioned in
these letters that were relevant to them.
It serves as a cautionary message to maintain spiritual fervor and not up to allow our love
for Jesus to grow cold.
It also reminds us to avoid false apostles.
There were false apostles then and there were false apostles now.
We always want to measure what is said and what is taught by this book.
So we always want to go back to what does God say about what is being said.
Not everything that is said is what God has revealed to us in scripture.
So we need to be like the Bereans in the book of Acts.
They were kind of more worthy and they were kind of more noble because they searched the
scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.
Now there's a few questions that we should think about in light of this.
Have you ever experienced a time when your initial passion and love for your faith waned
over time as mentioned in Revelation 2.4?
What factors contributed to this change and what steps can you take to rekindle your fervent
love for your faith and for Christ?
Two, in Revelation 2.2 the church in Ephesus is commended for its discernment in recognizing
false apostles.
Let me ask you a question.
How vigilant are you in discerning the teachings and influences in your life?
Are you actively engaged in studying and understanding the Bible every single day to make sure that
all of the ideas that you interact with throughout the day are lining up to scripture?
How can you strengthen your ability to discern truth from falsehood in matters of faith and
spirituality?
And then lastly, Revelation 2.5 encourages us to remember and to return to our first
love.
Think about your life.
Are there aspects of your faith and relationship with Jesus that have taken a back seat to
other priorities such as work and relationships or your personal pursuits?
What steps can you take to reorient your life and re-prioritize your relationship with God
as the number one thing?
Man, thanks so much for joining me.
I love doing this.
Until next time, I hope you have a beautiful day.