TO THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS

Revelation 2:1-7

To the angel of the Church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of Him

Who holds the seven stars in His right hand

And walks among the Seven Golden Lampstands:

2 I know your deeds, your hard work

And your perseverance.

I know that you cannot tolerate Wicked men,

That you have Tested those who claim

To be apostles but are not,

And have found them False.

3 You have Persevered

And have endured Hardships for My Name,

And have not grown Weary.

4 YET I HAVE THIS AGAINST YOU:

YOU HAVE FORSAKEN YOUR FIRST LOVE.

5 REMEMBER THE HEIGHT

FROM WHICH YOU HAVE FALLEN!

REPENT AND DO THE THINGS YOU DID AT FIRST.

IF YOU DO NOT REPENT,

I WILL COME TO YOU AND REMOVE YOUR LAMPSTAND

FROM ITS PLACE.

6 But you have this in your favor:

You Hate the Practices of the Nicolaitans,

Which I also Hate.

7 HE WHO HAS AN EAR,

LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS

TO THE CHURCHES.

TO HIM WHO OVERCOMES,

I WILL GIVE THE RIGHT

TO EAT FROM THE TREE OF LIFE,

WHICH IS IN THE PARADISE OF GOD.

(Revelation 2:1-7)

Christ Jesus tells John to write to the leader

Of the Church in Ephesus;

That it is He who holds the Church Leaders in His hand,

And walks among the Churches.

He tells the Ephesus Church Leader

The things that the Church is doing right:

They have worked hard and have Persevered;

They cannot tolerate Wicked men;

They have Tested those who claim to be apostles but are not,

And have found them Liars.

They have Persevered

And have Endured Hardships for Christ Jesus,

And have not grown Weary;

They Hate the Practices of the Nicolaitans,

However, Christ Jesus holds this against them:

You have forsaken your First Love!

He tells them to remember the height

From which they have fallen!

To Repent and do the things they did from the first,

When they first came to know Him.

The relationship between Christ Jesus and His Church

Is an Intimate Personal Relationship;

It is a Love Affair,

And not a relationship of simply Works!

It is like the relationship

Between a man and a woman when it is as God intended.

It is like the exhilaration

That young lovers have when they first fall in love;

Mind, soul and spirit,

They are consumed with love for each other;

It is all they can think and talk about.

They long to be with the other person,

To be apart is a hardship.

They have intimate and wonderful conversations

About everything under the sun.

They trust and rely upon each other;

They are honest and transparent with each other.

Christ Jesus is saying to the Church in Ephesus,

This is what they have lost and must regain,

If they are to belong to Him.

Then He issues a Sever Warning:

If they do not repent,

He will come and remove their Lampstand from its place;

They will be removed from the Kingdom of God,

And from before His Throne,

Which is where the Lampstands

Of all God's Churches reside.

We understand from this

That “first love” is of ultimate importance.

Christ Jesus then tells them that they have in their favor

That they Hate the Practices of the Nicolaitans,

Who think they can live in their Worldliness and Idolatry

And still belong to Him.

He tells the church at Ephesus,

If you have an ear, hear what I am telling you.

To those who hear, respond,

And Overcome this World and its ways;

Which are Dominated by the Deception of Satan,

He will give the right to eat from The Tree of LIFE

Which is nourished by the River of LIFE,

That contains the Water of LIFE,

That can only be found in the Paradise of God.

Today, we must have ears that hear

What the Spirit is saying to us.

Only by our Diligence will we maintain the fervency

Of our First Love for Christ;

Only by allowing Christ to live in and through us.

We must Hate what Christ Hates.

Then we will maintain our Lampstand

Before the Throne of God.

Then we will have the right to eat from The Tree of LIFE.