The Seven Churches of Revelation: Ephesus Part 2 of 8

The Seven Churches of Revelation

David Q. Santos

1. Ephesus: The Loveless Church

Revelation 1:1-7 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; 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 hst found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 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. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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 church at Ephesus had several things going good for it. It had been founded by the Apostle Paul (Acts 18:19). Acts 20:29-31 records that as Paul was departing from Ephesus he have the believers stern warning about savage wolves that would come into the church. The book of Revelation reveals that this local church took these warnings seriously. This church did reject all forms of evil. They tested and founded the false teachers and rejected them. But through that they lost their love for Christ. But they were told that if they repented and did their first work they could receive the promise of the tree of life. The first works is important. Any believer is in danger of loosing their first love. But repenting and doing those things that first drew the believer to Christ is the way to be restored. The first love is those things that God gifted the believer to do. Using the gifts that God has given to the believer will bring joy to the believer and will help to build the church and the kingdom of God. Dr. Wallace points out that this church is representative of the Apostolic Age[1] which would be from 64 AD to 100 AD. During this age activity of being a follower of Christ replaced true worship of the Lord of Lords.

Work Cited:
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Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nashville TN. 1997.
Ryrie, Charles, Caldwell. Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth. Chicago IL. Moody Press. 1999.
Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. The Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago, Moody Press. 1978.
Showers, Renald Dr. Maranatha: Our Lord, Come! The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc. Bellmawr, NJ. 1995.
Strong’s Bible Dictionary. The Online Bible Millennium Edition Version 1.2. Winterbourne Ontario, Canada. 1999.
Scofield C.I. Rev. D.D. Scofield Reference Bible-Reproduction of 1917. Greenville, SC. Stonehaven Press.
Townsend, Jeffrey L. The Rapture in Revelation 3:10. Dallas Texas. Bibliotheca Sacra. July-Sept 1980.
Wallace, Roy Dr. Studies from Revelation. Shreveport, Louisiana. Lin Wel Publishing. 2002.
Walvoord, John F. The Rapture Question. Grand Rapids MI. Zondervan Publishing House. 1979.
Walvoord, John F. The Revelation of Jesus Christ: A Commentary By John F. Walvoord. Chicago. Moody Press. 1966.
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[1] Wallace, Roy Dr. Studies from Revelation. Pg 18.