A study
in Revelation
Message 8
The church at Ephesus
Revelation 2:1-7
Introduction: Before we look at the church
of Ephesus we need to know some things
about the city and people of Ephesus.
During John’s day Ephesus was believed to be
home to around 250,000 people, it was the largest and most important city in
the Roman province of Asia. This city and its
people were devoted to the cult Artemis {Greek (Diana in the Roman)} here they
had a temple dedicated to this goddess and it was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Paul established the church
at Ephesus and
personally ministered there for around three years (Acts 20:31). The people of Ephesus had the opportunity to hear from other godly
ministers; Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila, and
Timothy to whom Paul wrote the letters of first and second Timothy. We also
believe that John lived here before he was banished to Patmos
where the Lord used him to write the Revelation. The Christians at Ephesus had to be strong
willed to minister among the cult lifestyles that were abounding there. Tonight
we will see the unfortunate effect an unguarded strong will can have on the
life of a Christian and the future of a church.
I.
A church of works
Revelation 2 1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write;
These things saith he that holdeth
the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the
midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them
which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are
not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience,
and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not
fainted.
A. Saw
a task
1Unto the angel of the
church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2a
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience,
The church at Ephesus
was standing up to the task it was very active but it had no influence. In
1Thessalonians Chapter 1:3 the apostle Paul commends the church at Thessalonica
on their works of faith, labors of love and patience of hope. In Ephesus the church had
works, labor and patience but had lost faith, love and hope. The church at Ephesus approached its
work as a, to do list, check it off and move on to the next item.
B. Saw
the truth
2band how thou canst not bear them which are evil:
and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast
found them liars:
Remember the church of Corinth and how wicked it
was, the immorality, the lying, and the sin that was tolerated within that
church. That behavior would not have been tolerated at Ephesus. This church had high standards of
discipline and they intended to maintain them. Furthermore every minister that
stood in their pulpit was examined underneath a microscope they would not be
permitted to speak unless they carried a letter of commendation. Even the
apostle Paul would need this letter to be received at the church of Ephesus.
It’s true this church saw
the truth and they practiced it to a legalistic standard!
C. Stood
a test
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my
name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
The church at Ephesus
took seriously the Lord Jesus Christ; here in verse three, credibility is given
to it. These people endured criticism and opposition from the world. Despite
the lack of fruit and poor results of their ministry they kept on working, they
may not have been fruitful but they were faithful. The Lord commended them for
their struggles.
II. A
church of weakness
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,
because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from
whence thou art fallen,
A. Their
passion was gone
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,
because thou hast left thy first love.
Ephesus was rich in many good qualities but they never
could wrap their heart around the riches of godly love. John Phillips had this
to say “If service for God is not born of a devoted passion for the Lord Jesus
it is worthless.”
B. Their
profession was gone
5a Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen,
When Rehoboam
took over the throne of Israel
he behaved foolishly. God humbled him by allowing Egypt
to take over Judah
and carry away as spoil the golden shields that Solomon provided for the temple
guard. Rehobam took it upon himself to replace the
golden shields with ones made of brass. Convincing himself
they would do because they looked like gold in the sunlight. (1 Kings 14:25-27)
This is exactly what
happened at Ephesus
and it happens today in many fundamental churches. The devil has made off with
the devotion of gold and we have settled with the brass of appearance instead.
In 1 Corinthians 13:1 Paul describes the Christian without love.
III. A
church of warning
5band repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly,
and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise
of God.
A. Love
is paramount
5band repent, and do the first works; or else I will
come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent.
No love no light is the
rule. From the words of Jesus we know that nothing sort of love will do.
Without real love for the Lord Jesus the reason for an assembly’s existence has
gone. A church that is functioning without sincere love for Jesus and one
another is committing serious harm by giving a wrong impression of
Christianity. This church is best removed.
B. Love
is positive
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest
the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Godly love is a positive
emotion and influence. If we have the love of Christ in our heart we will in a
positive manner. In Ephesus
however their love for the Lord manifested itself in the hatred of evil. They
had forgotten how to love the good, instead choosing to specialize in the
hating of error. Of course error must be hated, but there is something wrong
when the Lord is depicted as having to endorse the negative because he cannot
find the positive. Hatred of sin is one thing but hatred of the sinner is
something else entirely.
C. Love
is personal
7
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise
of God.
Love between an individual and God is truly a personal
matter. Those of us who are saved realize this is a one on one matter, the
individual and the savior. When we read John 3:16 and see the word whosoever we
must see it as personal. Gods love is personal to each one of us and our love
toward one another must be that way as well. Not sensual, but spiritual and
when it is we can truly understand the love of God toward us and how He expects
us to apply it one to another. This letter was written to a church but the only
effect it can have must come through the individual who chooses to repent and
apply it to their own life. Here we see a fallen church that has lost the
paradise of bliss which comes from a close walk with God. Here the Lord calls
individual believers to come back to Him via personal quiet time as study,
meditation and prayer. This is the only way to restore a lost love and a lost life, it is tragic but possible to have a saved soul and a
lost life.
Conclusion: The Roman super city we know as Ephesus is gone today. We know it as an
archeological ruin on the coast of modern day Turkey. If we would ask an
economist they would tell us Ephesus
died because it did not grow as the global market grew. If we would ask a
geologist what happened to Ephesus
they would tell us the silting of their ocean port stopped ship travel into the
area. Modern man can make up all kinds of justification for the failure of Ephesus, but only the
Bible can and will tell us for sure. It was the Christian who led to the
destruction of Ephesus.
They would not repent and return to their first love. Christians within America need to take notice of Ephesus; we could very easily repeat their
mistake. Concerning church history Ephesus
represents the church of the apostolic age until about 100 A.D.