Ephesus

[This is a continuation of our news series on the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches.]

Rev 2:1 Unto 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; Rev 2:2 I 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: Rev 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and 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. 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 2:7 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.

The first question we might ask is, “Is this the same Ephesian church to whom Paul wrote and Timothy eventually pastored?” Hal says yes. Bullinger says no. Ephesus was a big city; yet, I think it’s possible it’s the same church. We know from Paul’s letters to Timothy that his church was filled with Israeli converts, who were talking about Jewish fables, endless genealogies, and advocating that they had to go back under the law (1 Tim. 1:3-11). It’s possible.

The first thing the Lord says in Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write… There has been some dispute about the angels of the churches. Some, including Bullinger, would make the case that this really isn’t an angel. This is the Shelach Tzibbur of the Synagogue, the presiding minister. Bullinger would write that this is “A title well understood by Jewish readers, but quite foreign to Gentile ears.” Others would make similar claims.

I wouldn’t fight with anyone on this, but for me, that position makes no sense. I take angel to mean angel. When we did our Angelology series, in a message called “Touched by an Angel,” we made the case from Psa. 91 that in time past, Israel had guardian angels, not only over individuals but also over tribes and Israel as a nation. Psa. 91:11 says, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” There’s no Biblical reason to think that God wouldn’t also have guardian angels over local assemblies in Israel.

In Rev. 1:20, the Lord said, The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches… Stars are often illustrative of angels. Angels are the morning stars of Job 38:7.

Plus, consider what the Lord says in 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write… John was writing to the angel of the church, which was then included in the book of Revelation. Why? I’ll bet the angels delivered these letters. In Rev. 1:11, John was told, “What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches…” How was John to send the book to the seven churches? I’ll bet they’ll be delivered by the angels over those churches.

Plus, the Lord says in vs. 1, These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand… The fact that He’s holding the stars in His right hand would seem to indicate that He has direct authority over those angels. He tells them to do something, and they do it. The same cannot be said of presiding ministers over those local assemblies. Thus, I believe the seven angels of the seven churches must, in fact, be angels.

Everything else we read in vs. 1 is a callback to chapter 1. The Lord says, These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. What’s interesting to me is that the church of Ephesus wouldn’t understand what’s being written to them in this verse unless they first read the first chapter of Revelation.

In vs. 2-3, we have the Lord acknowledging much of the rightness in their ways. He says, Rev 2:2 I 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: Rev 2:3 And hast borne [they held up well under the trials of those false apostles], and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted [they have not become exhausted. They have not given up because of these trials].

My favorite point is the Lord twice praising them for their patience. The Lord loves seeing patience in all His saints. In 2 Cor. 6:4 the first thing Paul focused upon while enduring suffering was patience. One way in which Paul approved himself as a minister of Christ was the manner in which he had to be patient in his endurance of all things, and here the Lord praises the saints at Ephesus for that same quality.

Patience does us more good than trials can do us more harm.

Next, we’re given the Lord’s spiritual concerns about the church. He says in 2:4, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” This is a callback to the OT when they first loved God during their deliverance out of Egypt. I loved what Bullinger wrote. He said, “What have we here but a reference to Jer. 2.1-2, where God commanded Jeremiah to commence his prophecy by calling this fact to their remembrance: ‘Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord: I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness.’ This was the day referred to in Ezek. 15:8-10, etc., the day when Jehovah set His love upon them and chose them, not because of their number, ‘but because the LORD loved you’ (Deut. 7:7-9).”

And this love is also expressed in the first chapter in Rev. 1:5. “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” Now it’s different. This isn’t just the God who loved them and delivered them out of the hands of Egypt, but now this is also God who loved them and died for them and now they are washed from their sins by His blood.

How could these saints know what that first love felt like when they weren’t even there in the wilderness? It doesn’t matter if they were there or not. The Word told them. This was a love of ALL their hearts, minds, and souls. And now, these Ephesian Jews needed to get back to that depth of love they first felt, also commanded in the law, in order to properly serve Christ.

What follows is admonition to get them back to that first love. He tells them in 2:5, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and 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.”

First, He says, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. This, again, is a callback to what the Lord talked about in the previous verse about their first love. Look at where you were as nation when you loved me compared to where you are now. Look at how far you’ve fallen. This wasn’t just about where Israel is nationally, this was also about where they were individually in the weakness of their love to God.

Then He tells them to repent, and do the first works. Change the course of your life about your love for me. Love me with all your heart and mind and soul and get to work. Do the first works! Bullinger would write that “Repentance is ‘the first work,’” but that’s not what the Lord said. The Lord said, do the first works, plural.

What are those first works? I’d suggest this goes back to John the Baptist. Repent and be baptized. Sell everything and follow Christ. Those were their first works.

What are we to make of the last half of this verse? The Lord said, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and 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.” I think the Lord is ultimately talking about the loss of what could be prominent placement in His kingdom. He’s already showcased them as one of His bright lights, but if they fail to get back to a proper love of God and do the first works, they won’t lose their salvation, but they’ll come under judgment in the Tribulation and be robbed of their prominent roles in His kingdom.

One comment I loved that Bullinger made was that repentance “is the one condition of national blessing for Israel. It is the essence of the proclamation of the King and the Kingdom. The ministries of John the Baptist (Matt. iii. 2), of Christ Himself (Matt. iv. 17), and also of Peter (Acts ii. 38; iii. 39), were all stamped with this one word ‘Repent.’ This is the ‘first work’ to be done, the first step to be taken in view of national blessing.”

Then we have the Nicolaitans in vs. 6. The Lord says in 2:6, “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” The Nicolaitans are also mentioned in the letter to the church at Pergamum in vs. 15.

Who were the Nicolaitans?

Some have suggested that Nicolas, the proselyte of Antioch in Acts 6:5, who was a deacon of the kingdom church, shall we say, may have gone astray and began teaching heresy, which is possible. Bullinger would write, “History knows nothing definite of any people bearing such a name during the primitive age of Christianity. Tradition has something to say; but this is so conflicting and so uncertain… If there be anything in this, it is better to leave it to ‘that day,’ when events will make its meaning manifest.”

I would say, though, that the point may not be who the Nicolaitans were but the intent of the admonition itself, which is the point of this verse. The verse begins with the word “But.” This is a continuation of His admonition in the previous verse, except this is a contrast. This is a good admonition. He’s saying it’s a good thing they stood opposed to all the deeds of those heretics and, as part of their admonition, they must continue to stand opposed to heretics.

Lastly, in vs. 7, He says, “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.” First, they’re given the admonition to listen to the Holy Spirit and what He has to say to the churches. I cannot help but wonder if, during the Tribulation, the Holy Spirit will speak audibly to the churches, just as He spoke audibly to Ezekiel.

The promise to all the overcomers

Who are the overcomers? How do you define that?

These are Tribulation saints who overcome Satan by faithfully obeying the Lord all the way to the end, whether it’s the end of the Tribulation or the end of their lives. I’m reminded of Rev 12:11 And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. That’s as perfect a definition of the overcomers as you’re going to find. They overcame Satan by getting saved, first and foremost, and then by faithfully obeying the Lord all the way to the end, whether it’s the end of the Tribulation or the end of their lives. They care more about obedience to the Lord than saving their lives.

There’s a promise the Lord makes to these overcomers. If they overcome, the Lord will allow them to eat of the Tree of Life, which He says is now in the midst of the paradise of God. What are we to make of this? Those who overcome the tribulation will have access to the Tree of Life. There is no way the Lord is talking about the eternal state. This is an immediate reward in the kingdom for overcoming the tribulation by simply obeying the commandments of the Lord. This, to me, has to be a reward in the kingdom for overcoming the tribulation, which means that the Tree of Life will be here on the Earth during the kingdom. Notice also how access to the Tree is only granted by the Lord and only to those who obey His commandments.

We’re given more details about the Tree of Life in Rev. 22. The context is the new Earth. Rev. 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations…

Here on Supply of Grace, we published a thorough deep dive into the Tree of Life.

Here’s a high-level summation: how will the leaves be used for the healing of the nations? I suspect that when a regular human being gets hurt in the kingdom, the leaves will somehow be used to heal them. Instead of medicine, just eat a Tree of Life salad! Woo hoo!

But he that overcomes will be given permission to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life. And we learn here that there are twelve fruits. Why twelve fruits? Does the Tree of Life produce twelve fruits a month or a different fruit every month? Is each of the twelve fruits designated for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We don’t know. Twelve, of course, “is a perfect number, signifying perfection of government, or of governmental perfection.” There are twelve tribes of Israel playing an administrative role in the Lord’s rule over all the Earth, which to me, is yet again indicative of the fact that Tree of Life will be here during the kingdom because its purpose with the twelve fruits is an essential element to the perfection of the Lord’s government.

Consider also how the context is the new Earth but everything about the Tree is spoken in the past tense. The Tree yielded, past tense, fruit every month. The leaves of the tree WERE, past tense, for the healing of the nations. The context is the new Earth but he’s speaking of the Tree of Life in the past tense, because the Tree was here on the Earth during the kingdom.

So what happens to an overcomer if they’re permitted to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life? You might recall from the Genesis account that after the fall, the Lord denied Adam access to the Tree, because as the Lord said, ‘lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life; and eat and live for ever.’ Eating from the Tree of Life was an eternal blessing to a physical body that already had life. If you ate from the Tree of Life, that blessing to your physical body was eternal. So what does that mean for the overcomers eating the tree in their resurrected bodies? Personally, I think they’ll receive some sort of physical, eternal blessing from eating that fruit.