19 Apr 2013

Revelation 2:1-5

Posted by joncooper

Revelation 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;”

This represents the apostolic church (AD 30 – 100). I like to think of this letter as II Ephesians. It had a lot of good things going for it:

Revelation 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:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.”

This church abounded in works, excelled in patience, and had excellent discernment. They put people to the test to see if they were genuine or not; they did not tolerate heresy and could not bear evil. Plus, despite persecution, they did not faint. They labored and worked regardless of the cost. These are highly admirable traits. However, the church was not perfect. It had something missing:

Revelation 2:4: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
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.”

They worked hard and endured, but their passion was no longer there. The love that they used to have had faded. They did all the right things but their heart wasn’t in it – at least, not to the degree that it once was. Jesus had a very clear response: repent, or else the Lord would shut down the church (or remove it from His presence).

The Lord is quite aware of what goes on in local churches. That is something we really need to keep in mind. Churches may take great pride in their busy schedules, but if their heart is no longer in it – if that first love is gone – then they are in grave trouble. Love should result in works – in other words, we should be working because of our great love. That is what God wants.

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