The Seven Churches: Ephesus

The Ephesian believers were like many of us. They had a sharp eye out for anything that smacked of deception or false doctrine. Jesus assured them that was good, nevertheless… That’s where the comparison gets scary. Despite their watchfulness against wrong thinking, their hearts had grown cold. Which matters more to the Lord: great head knowledge or a heart on fire with passion for Him? When we put it that way the answer is obvious, and the choice is clear. But real life is a murky business, where the cares of this world can easily overtake the good seed—without us ever noticing a thief of hearts came in to steal ours.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write… I know you are enduring patiently... But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Revelation 2:1, 3-4

All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.

Chief Characteristics

Whole books are written about most of these crucial components. These characteristics are summaries of what is grounded in scripture, not fabricated through speculation.[i] Speculation is trying to “see” more than we are being shown. What we see by Biblical revelation is real enough, but a fuller view will only come as these still distant components draw nearer.

Travelers, commerce and correspondence from Greece or Italy would arrive at Asia Minor's major seaport, Ephesus, then journey up the coast towards Pergamum, before turning east on the interior highway to Laodicea. The letter to the church at Ephesus would have been the first letter delivered.

Ephesus is a seaport on the western coast of modern Turkey, the most prosperous of all the seven cities which received letters. In the first century under Emperor Augustus, Ephesus became the leading city of the Roman province of Asia. It held great importance as both a commercial and cultural center with monumental buildings, a library, aqueducts and baths rivaling those of Rome itself. The grandest structure of all was the Temple of Artemis, patroness of fertility, whose magnificent abode was one of the seven wonders of the world and a pilgrimage point for pagan worshippers throughout the Empire. It is to the embattled church in this hotbed of worldly attraction that Jesus directs His first letter.

Pre-Figured in Scripture

Every crucial component of the Last Days has already “appeared” in the Biblical prophetic narrative in the past, somewhat like a dress rehearsal for the final drama. These foreshadows are called “types” because they precede their ultimate expression (the “antitype”).[ii] As shadows of the future reality, however, they cast a revealing light of their own.

King Solomon: Losing One's First Love

How did it happen? The wisest of men become one of the most foolish. Centuries earlier, Esau traded his inheritance for a bowl of porridge (lentil stew).[iii] Solomon traded his for the sake of his many wives. No doubt it seemed to Solomon like he’d made a better bargain than Esau. Until you remember Eternity. That’s what the once-wise king wrote that God placed in our hearts.[iv] He put it there so that when the trial came, we would have a marker to show where the line was drawn. We could remember that there was a "first love" we owed allegiance—a love more giving, more deserving and more commanding than any of the other loves. This is what Jesus called the Ephesian church to recover. Solomon lost his first love. Jesus wants the Ephesians to get theirs back.

For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 1 Kings 11:4

The Book of Revelation Chapter 2:1-7

The Bible exposes the secret plans and deceptive operations of the dark kingdom, even as it unveils the glorious realities of what our God is doing. The truths of scripture are, therefore, our rock-solid building blocks for interpreting the times we are entering. Nevertheless, for biblical information to become true revelation both prayer and the Holy Spirit are needed.

To the Church in Ephesus

"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. Revelation 2:1

The opening address of this first letter to the seven churches is directed to “the angel of the church in Ephesus.” This cannot mean that only an angelic dignitary from the unseen realm is the intended recipient, since the rest of the letter makes it clear that Jesus is sending both encouragement and correction to the church’s Christian believers. It does, however, reveal to us that this church has an angel who is over it in some ordained role: as a watchman, a helper or guardian, or a ministering spirit.[v] In fact, according to Jesus’ previous greeting to John, we know that all seven of the churches has its own angel.[vi] Does this mean that every Christian church everywhere also has its own angel? Due to silence on this point, it is impossible to say from scripture one way or the other, although the likely supposition would be that this is indeed the case, since God shows no partiality.[vii] What then is our protocol for addressing them? What are their proper responsibilities over us and what are ours to them? More silence!

What Jesus does provide is a revelation of Himself. These words are from Him—the One “who holds” and the One “who walks.” As Lord of All, Jesus holds the seven stars (the seven angels) in His powerful “right hand” of salvation.[viii] Imagine holding seven celestial beings in one hand. His hand is mighty! He reaches through these lofty “stars”—His loyal agents—to carrying out His and the Father’s great plan of redemption. As “the Great Shepherd of the Sheep” Jesus walks among the seven golden lampstands (the seven churches) to watch over them and care for their every need.[ix] Is there a veiled reference here to that other watcher who “walked to and fro upon the earth”?[x] That one walked—“prowled” would be a better word—not with the intent of caring for the sheep as a good shepherd would, but devouring them.[xi] We will see far more of him later.

2 "'I know your works, 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. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. Revelation 2:2-3

Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus knows of our works? Even a cup of water given from a good heart doesn’t go unnoticed by our God.[xii] Striving to be good by our own efforts may still amount to only filthy rags, but that which we do under His leadership and by His Spirit are seen as good “works” by our Lord.[xiii] Jesus calls it work because the way of faith at times requires “toil” and the resolute effort of “patient endurance” to withstand the enemy’s attacks. Just what John previously warned of in his own first letter to all the churches, Jesus now describes as having happened here in Ephesus.[xiv]

False teachers with the temerity to “call themselves apostles” crept in. Seeking to camouflage themselves as leaders hand-picked by the Good Shepherd, they nevertheless proved to be wolves instead. Fortunately, they were noticed and “tested” by the faithful whose zeal is such that they “cannot bear” with those who are shown to be servants of the evil one by their works. Jesus praises them for “bearing up” well under this assault and for not growing weary despite the toil required to endure it patiently. He knows that they did it for His “name’s sake”—out of a pure motive to honor Him. No one prizes such covenant loyalty more than our God.

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Revelation 2:4

Considering the foregoing praise and encouragement, this verse comes as the shock it is intended to be. It is a hammer blow to spiritual complacency struck by a master Carpenter. Complacency is that state of mind in which we imagine that all is well because we seem to be doing well. There is a blessing of God upon our good works which is only right—He is a rewarder—but it carries an often-unnoticed snare. Walking in blessings from the Lord is not the same thing as being a blessing to the Lord. There was a time in Jacob’s later life when God had fully satisfied his heart, but he had not yet satisfied God’s heart. Accordingly, the Lord called him to resume the faith-journey by going to Bethel and building an altar there.[xv]

Altars speak of worship, of putting the Lord first, of warming our hearts with the fire of first love, kindled afresh with sacrifice devoted to Him alone. This the blessed and zealous Ephesians failed to do. Like the seed in the third stage of Jesus’ parable, the legitimate cares of this world had somehow claimed their care and attention—and carried their hearts away from the One who called them to work. Can we do that? Can we become so caught up serving the Lord of the Harvest that we lose the true harvest? Paul warned us that even if we are so zealous that we give our bodies “to be burned” it will count as nothing if the fire of love goes out.[xvi] But we didn’t need Paul to reveal that. Jesus did when He placed the command to love God first—well ahead of loving and serving others.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Revelation 2:5

If you are fortunate enough to hear a divine warning, there’s still time to do something about it. We often shout belatedly to someone “Watch out!” once they’ve already stepped off a curb and stumbled. Our Lord sees trouble coming and sends His word with time to spare. He knows that these poor Ephesians aren’t even aware of what they’ve lost.[xvii] The art of deception which the enemy practices works by stealing in unnoticed and “spiriting off” the best goods with no one left any the wiser. If these words of Jesus sound strong, it’s because the deceived are sound asleep and need a good shout to awaken them.

With the warning shout comes the pathway of restoration: “Remember… repent, and do the works you did at first.” Remembrance is practically the whole of it. The spiritual masters of days gone by called it “recollection”—the necessary, daily process of recalling heart and mind to focus upon our divine Lover.[xviii] Collect your wayward thoughts and re-center all on Him. With recollection comes remembrance. We remember what it felt like when we were closer—how our “hearts burned within us.”[xix] Then, grace happens as we re-member by joining our body back to its rightful Head. Repent and do the work too often makes us think of religious activity when really it is a matter of the heart. It takes a work of faith for the heart to believe the gospel’s promise of a love far greater than our failings. This is just the work that Jesus said we “must do.”[xx] He expects us to put our backs to it—the devil is playing for keeps and we should too.

To spur the newly awakened sleepers to truly rise and shine, Jesus gives a second warning direr than the first. If they don’t rekindle their first love, He will come and remove their “lampstand from its place.” Each church represents a lampstand burning before the Lord as well as the world: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father.”[xxi] If our works no longer shine as a light that attracts others to Christ, Jesus sees that the flame of our church’s lampstand has gone out. He doesn’t want to remove it, but He will—"unless” there is repentance. Grace gives us time. Repentance buys us time. May we never trade on grace thinking we can buy time indefinitely without fully repenting. Did the Ephesians repent? History records that Islamic invaders eventually swept Christianity away from what had once been its cradle.

Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Revelation 2:6

A second word of encouragement is given. It is a commonplace teaching nowadays to sandwich the meat of correction between morsels of praise. Did it begin here with Jesus’ example of dealing with an errant church? This word plays upon the previous thoughts. Just as Jesus praised the work they had done (resisting false teachers) yet faulted the work they failed to do (keeping their first love alive), so now He praises their hatred for the failed “works of the Nicolaitans.”

If we cannot love God as He desires at least we can hate as He hates. David boldly declared, “Do I not hate those who hate you? …I hate them with complete hatred.”[xxii] This is the man after God’s heart, something Jesus wants the Ephesians to become.[xxiii] The words of David, however, are not quite in keeping with the Spirit of the New Covenant expressed here by Jesus who doesn’t hate the Nicolaitans, though He does hate their works. We would temper David’s expression, but not his passion. Still, one wonders what those Nicolaitans are doing that is so hated by both Jesus and the Ephesian believers?

Unfortunately, we will have to keep wondering. There is no clear evidence coming to us from antiquity which can identify who the Nicolaitans are or what their false teaching contained. There are two currents of thought—guesses really. One is that their leader was a deacon named Nicolas (there is such a one mentioned in Acts 6:5) who possibly taught people to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by sexual immorality. The other is that the group’s name derives from nicolah, a Greek word that means “let us eat” and likely indicated they encouraged the error of eating meat sacrificed to idols. You see the common thread: food, especially when contaminated as a ritual offering to false gods. How does this help us? It helps to know that even food can become a spiritual battleground. One of the strangest prophecies about the Last Days is that vegetarianism would abound.[xxiv] How did Paul see that one coming?

Perhaps the best candidate for the Nicolaitan error is sexual immorality. This is after all the city whose colossal temple to Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. People travelled throughout the Levant to worship there. The temple generated so much fame and fortune for the city’s population, that it nearly cost Paul his life when a silversmith believed his trade was threatened by Pauls’ preaching.[xxv]

Artemis reigned over fertility and childbirth. It is believed that hundreds of eunuch priests, virgin priestesses, and religious prostitutes served her.[xxvi] Typical of the ancient world, worship rituals often involved sexual intercourse. Given the great influence this pagan deity (we would say demon) held over the city’s population, the climate of prevailing beliefs would have condoned sexual immorality, rather than condemn it. Nicolaitans may have been the ones spreading those beliefs into the church. If that was indeed the case, they are still alive and active in our own day.

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.' Revelation 2:7

Having an ear is not the same thing as hearing as every parent knows of their children. Our Father, the ultimate Parent, has had at least six millennia of dealing with His kids. How well He knows that like Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” we slap our spiritual hands over our ears and say, “I’m not listening”—even when the voice is coming from within us. Ever the optimist, with this announcement the Lord calls for an even wider audience to give an ear. Not just the Ephesian believers, but “the churches”—that includes all of us—are to pay close attention to “what the Spirit says.”

Putting it in this way makes us harken back to all the preceding messages as sayings of the Spirit intend for us to hear. This confirms our hunch that these letters contain necessary revelations for our End Times as well as their times. It also points us forward to the promise which follows. "The tree of life" will be granted as food to those who conquer. This is the food we’re to seek—not the unholy diet of feeding on the things of the world which the Nicolaitan error represents. Just as we cannot serve God and mammon, we cannot love the world and still have the love of the Father in us.[xxvii] Jesus is the only “tree of life” offered to us! Feeding on Him will enable us to conquer our wayward flesh (by denying Self) and survive a warring world (by clinging to Jesus). Those who conquer by feeding on Jesus down here, will be granted the joy of feeding on Him “in the paradise of God.”

Next Piece of the Puzzle

Letter 2: Smyrna  How would you like to get a letter saying unavoidable suffering was coming your way? And that the devil himself would be behind it, taking a personal interest in the pain he would be inflicting. You might stop checking the mail after that one. You might hold onto hope that the sender got it wrong. The trouble is this Sender is Jesus and you know He knows what He’s talking about. Oh, you’ll check your mail all right—even more frequently now that you know you need every word from “the mouth of God” to survive the coming ordeal.[1] This was Smyrna’s predicament. It was also their hope of glory.

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Endnotes

[i] Cambridge Dictionary defines speculation as “the act of guessing possible answers to a question without having enough information to be certain.” It derives from the Latin word “speculari” which means “to look at, view, observe” and originally indicated “close observation and intelligent contemplation.” By the late 1500s it gained the disparaging sense it carries today of “mere conjecture.” See etymonline.com.

[ii] Adam is the type; Jesus, the “second Adam” is the antitype: Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. Romans 5:14

[iii] Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. Genesis 25:33-34

[iv] He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

[v] The Book of Enoch identifies some angelic beings as “Watchers”—a name which indicates their ordained role in watching over an assigned group. We also know that angels are “ministering spirits” to individuals: Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14

[vi] As for the mystery of the seven stars that 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 are the seven churches. Revelation 1:20

[vii] For God shows no partiality. Romans 2:11; So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality. Acts 10:34

[viii] That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer us! Psalm 60:5

[ix] Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant. Hebrews 13:20

[x] The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” Job 1:7

[xi] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

[xii] And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42

[xiii] But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6 KJV

[xiv] Scholars generally believe that John’s letters were written between 85-100 AD—a timeframe that would on average pre-date the Revelation which was penned just prior to 96 AD: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

[xv] This calling comes after Jacob was restored to his brother Esau and was settled back in the land. It is a calling to draw near and worship God now that he is in the land: God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” Genesis 35:1 See the whole chapter for the rest of the story.

[xvi] If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:3.

[xvii] And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26

[xviii] I will not try to look up and list all of them I’ve read. One stands head and shoulders above the rest: Francois Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambrai and defender of Madame Guyon. Get anything by him you can. He lived during the time of the Sun King in France. The Queen of Poland said of him that although others proved the truth of faith, “Fenelon taught us to love it.”

[xix] As the disciples on the road to Emmaus recalled of their encounter with Jesus:  They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:32

[xx] Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” John 6:28-29

[xxi] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:15-16

[xxii] Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Psalm 139:21-22

[xxiii] This is spoken to Saul, but it references David as the prince chosen to replace him:  But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” 1 Samuel 13:14

[xxiv] Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods [the KJV rendering of “meats” here is more accurate] that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 1 timothy 4:1-4

[xxv] And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Ephesians 19:27-28

[xxvi] See https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/artemis-of-the-ephesians

[xxvii] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24 KJV; Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15