"Take Away Your Lamp"

"Take Out Lamps"... get it?

If they do not do acts of love, then Jesus will take away the lamp of Ephesus.  

The lamps are the equivalent of that in the Temple of God as described in the lampstand blog in Rev 1.  At the very least it means that their prayers will not be in the temple of God in heaven.  They will be cut off from heaven and blessings. But it more likely means that their very presence will be taken away from God.  They will no longer be a part of the Congregation of God.  If they are out of the Temple, it may also mean that they are out of the kingdom, because to not have a representative before God means displacement from God’s direct rule.

To not love others has serious consequences. 

"You Have Left Your First Love"

We just saw that the Ephesians endured in Jesus, so the "love" they have left isn't Jesus himself.  "First" in this case, however, doesn't mean "primary" or "most important".  It probably means "initial" love.  But what love is Jesus talking about?

At first blush “first love” might indicate an inadequacy of one’s love for Jesus himself.  But the things they were commended for must be taken into account, for they were commended for standing against false teachers—those who teach against what Jesus said—and for standing in Jesus in the midst of persecution. As I said, it couldn't be Jesus, and it unlikely to be God. 

It seems likely, then, that the love Jesus is calling inadequate is love for others.  To truly "love" Jesus is to obey His commands and his "new" command is to "love one another" (John 13:34; 14:15) .  To observe the law, according to Paul and Jesus and James, is to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Rom. 13:8; James 2:8; Luke 10:27-28)  

The church at Ephesus might be very orthodox, but they are ethically lax.  It is pointed out by some commentators that the vagueness surrounding the “love” might be because to love one’s brother is the same as loving God (I John 4: 20). 


Thus, when the Ephesian church is labeled as "fallen", Jesus says so because they are not loving each other or their neighbors as they should be.


Doesn't this sound familiar?  It is so easy to focus on doctrine and orthodoxy, but lose sight in our churches of our "first love"-- the need to care for the needs of the needy among us and around us.  As important as strong doctrine is, strong compassion is just as important.

Endurance

To endure means to stick to it, to have fortitude and not stray away.  This is as aspect of faith and Jesus requires it for salvation: "The one who endures to the end will be saved." (Mark 13:13).  It usually has an aspect of enduring through difficulty, like a trial or persecution.

There was probably some minor persecution Ephesus endured because of holding with Jesus.  Jesus commends them for their faithfulness to him in this.

Endurance is an important aspect of faith in Revelation (Revelation 2:2, 3, 19; 3:10; 13:10; 14:12)

False Apostles

Is Robert Duvall a true or false apostle?

"Apostolos" in Greek literally means "sent one".  In first century Judaism it meant anyone sent from Jerusalem to convey official messages from the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.  Usually an apostle would just declare they were sent from Jerusalem.  Jesus sent his apostles from Jerusalem as well, which is why the apostles always had the opportunity to speak in synagogues.

There were more than 12 apostles in the early church.  Paul, Timothy, Barnabas, and Junias (Rom 16)  were all counted apostles, but not of the 12.  In Luke 10, 70 were sent from Jesus and Mary Magdalene was sent from Jesus with a message to the 12, so they would count as "apostles" as well. 

A Christian apostle is one who is sent from Jesus himself, not from the Christian leadership in Jerusalem.  Paul argued this in Galatians 1, where he is saying his authority comes from Jesus, not from James (the brother of Jesus) or Paul.  But many came in the name of Jesus or in the name of the 12, but had wrong teaching.

They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (1John 2:19)  The Elder John states that some were "from us", probably meaning in their name, but they didn't stay with the teaching of the apostles.  

True apostolic teaching is the teaching that Jesus taught.  Those who oppose what Jesus taught are false apostles, not really sent from Jesus. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. (II John 1:9)   If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing. (1Timothy 6:3-4)

 The congregation at Ephesus knew the difference and didn't accept the apostles who came "from the 12" but weren't of Jesus.  They rejected the "false apostles" and wouldn't have them teach at the church.  Jesus approved of this. 

Seven Stars, Seven Lampstands

Why was Jesus clutching a pack of smokes? 

Jesus' self-description includes "seven stars" and "seven golden lampstands".    Both of these images emphasize that Jesus is the Lord over the churches of God.  It may be an emphasis here that Jesus is to be listened to alone.

Ephesus was the lead church in the region of Asia Minor, being home, at times, to Paul and John the apostle, and having other important leaders later on.  Jesus might be reminding Ephesus that it is only a single church among the seven, all under the rule of Christ.

The Pleiades, also known as "the seven stars"

Ephesus

Ephesus was a significant Roman city in Asia Minor.  It is and was a port city, inhabited at least by 6000 BC to the present day. At the time of Revelation, it had the huge temple to Artemis, which was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.  Paul ministered for long periods of time there, and it remained significant for the Christian church for centuries.

For more information about the ancient city of Ephesus, click here

For images of ancient ruins of Ephesus, click here

What's A "Church"?

What is likely to be the first Christian church, located in Capernum, Peter's house. 

We use the term "church" pretty loosely today.  It could mean a religious building, a group of people, or every person who believes in Jesus. 


In the book of Revelation, the word translated "church" is ekklesia which literally means "called out" and is used for a group of people gathered together for a purpose.  In the book of Acts it is once used for a mob (Acts 19:32) and in the Greek Hebrew Scriptures ekklesia is often used of the congregation of Israel, namely those who are able to enter the temple (e.g. Deuteronomy 23:1).  


In Revelation, ekklesia is speaking of Jesus synagogues.  This makes sense since the Greek synagogue is a synonym of ekklesia in the Greek OT.   It is best to translate ekklesia "congregation" or "fellowship" in Revelation.