Free Bible Commentary
“Revelation 2:1-7”
Categories: Revelation“‘To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’”
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Since the Greek word for “angel” is often translated “messenger,” Jesus may have been relating His messages to prominent members such as the preachers or elders of each of the seven churches in Asia. The first letter that the Lord instructed John to write was to “the church in Ephesus” (verse 1). Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire, and it was Asia Minor’s most prominent seaport. It was built upon a natural harbor, was strategically located at the convergence of three busy trade routes and boasted a population of over 250,000 people. Some four decades earlier the Apostle Paul had made Ephesus his home base of operation, preaching in the city and the surrounding areas for a period of three years (Acts 20:31).
Jesus said to the angel of the church in Ephesus, “I know your deeds” (verse 2). Since He is the one who “walks among the seven golden lampstands,” He is intimately aware of everything that goes on in every one of His local congregations, and in the heart of each and every member of His body (Revelation 1:20). The Lord knew and was pleased that the brethren in the Ephesian church worked hard at serving Him and spreading His Good News. They had “perseverance,” and could not “tolerate evil men” (verse 2). They tested “those who called themselves apostles,” but were not and “found them to be false.” This means that they took a very strong stand to uphold the truth and refute all false doctrine. They had “endured” grief and hardship for the sake of the Lord in a large, bustling city rife with idolatry and immorality, and had “not grown weary” in doing what was right (verse 3).
At this point you might think that nothing critical could possibly be said about such a rock-solid group of Christians as these! When you read Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, you are also left with sense that all was well with this excellent group of brethren. The Apostle Paul, like the Lord, had nothing but praise and commendation for them. Except, Jesus did have this one thing “against” them. And it was a pretty huge deal. He told them, “you have left your first love” (verse 4). When Paul wrote to the Ephesian brethren several years earlier, he commended them for “the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints” (Ephesians 1:15). But, over the course of time, they had lost their love for one another, and their love for the Lord. They still served God, worked hard for Him, worshipped Him truthfully and taught His word accurately. But they were no longer motivated by love.
Remember Paul’s enduring words of 1 Corinthians 13:1-3: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” Doctrinal purity and a strong worth ethic are virtues that will get us absolutely nowhere with the Lord if they are not tempered by a robust love and passion for Him, His word and His people. Remember what Jesus said the two greatest commandments of all are: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40).
“Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first” (verse 5). “The lever of repentance is memory (Ps. 137:5-6; Luke 15:17-21)” (Harkrider). Do you remember your love for your Lord and your zeal for His word you had when you first became a Christian? I do. I know it is very difficult to maintain that fresh, vibrant, ardent love across the span of the years and decades of life. But we must try. We must endeavor to tap into the thoughts and feelings of the memory of that innocent time of our new birth. If the Lord owns our heart, He will grant us “to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God” (verse 7). If not, He will pluck our “lampstand out of its place” (verse 6). Lamps are designed to shine forth their light. If we, as individuals or congregations, are not shining the light of truth and love, we have become useless. “Thus with three admonitions: ‘remember, repent, and return,’ they were exhorted to change their lives.” (Harkrider) And so are we...
Please read Revelation 2:8-11 for tomorrow.
Have a lovely day!
-Louie Taylor
