In this series of Bible Study articles, Letters To 7 Churches In The Book Of Revelation, we are going to study the letters to 7 churches in the book of Revelation. These letters to 7 churches are in Revelation 2 and 3. These are letters and messages that Jesus told John to send to 7 actual churches located in Asia Minor. Asia Minor is Turkey in modern times.
Some of the letters to the 7 churches are important messages to us today, because there are many similarities to today’s modern churches, especially in America. Specifically the letters to the churches in Ephesus and Laodicea.
John was exiled to the island of Patmos for his faithfulness to Jesus, and because of his witness to others about Jesus. Prior to his exile to Patmos John was the leader and pastor of the church in Ephesus.
In the first part of this series of Bible study articles about the Letters To 7 Churches In The Book of Revelation we studied Revelation 1. Specifically about how John was led to write the Book of Revelation. And how Jesus appeared to John when he was in exile on the island of Patmos, and Jesus’ appearance.
Now we will begin to study the letters to the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation, starting with the letter to the church of Ephesus. We will find this letter to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7
Letters to 7 Churches In the Book of Revelation
The City of Ephesus
Ephesus was an important cultural and commercial city located in the Roman province of Asia Minor, which today is modern day Turkey. It was the closest of the churches in the 7 letters to where John was exiled on the island of Patmos. John also served as the pastor and shepherd of the church in Ephesus for approximately 20 years prior to be exiled for his faithfulness and witness for Jesus.
Ephesus was located on the coast of the Aegean Sea, and had a large port. It was also located on major trade routes. This made it an important center of commerce. Ephesus was also considered an important cultural center. The city had many beautiful buildings, and also had the largest outdoor theater in the world holding 50,000 people. Ephesus had more than 250,000 inhabitants, and was the 2nd largest city in the Roman Empire, second only to Rome.
Ephesus was also a center of pagan worship and idolatry. The temple of Artemis (also known as Diana), which was considered as one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient world. Artemis was the false goddess of fertility and hunting. Being a part of the Roman Empire, there was considerable pressure and expectation to worship the Roman emperor. The emperor of the Roman Empire was considered to be a god, and you would be expected to worship and publicly declare your worship & loyalty to the emperor.
Letters to 7 Churches In the Book of Revelation
Background & History of the Church in Ephesus
Paul played an important role in the founding of the church in Ephesus. On his second missionary journey he visited Ephesus (Acts 18), and he left Aquila and Priscilla there to oversee the new church.
Paul also visited Ephesus on his third missionary journey in Acts 19. That time Paul stayed in Ephesus for approximately 3 years.Paul taught the believers there about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the 12 of them received the Holy Spirit.
He and the followers of Jesus in the church in Ephesus began to preach the Gospel at the Jewish temple. They tried this for 3 months, until some of the Jews became obstinate and began to oppose them.
“Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.  But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way.” – Acts 19:8-9
After that Paul and the disciples/Christ followers of the church of Ephesus started to preach the Gospel daily at the school or lecture hall of Tyrannus. This was a place where ideas and philosophies and beliefs were publicly discussed. They continually shared the Gospel for 2 years in Ephesus, until all the people in Asia Minor heard the Gospel.
“So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” – Acts 19:9-10
With Paul’s help and guidance, the church of Ephesus had a love and passion for Jesus. And they had a love and passion for reaching the lost, and for making disciples. The faithfully and passionately obeyed Jesus’ command in Matthew 4:19 to “follow Jesus and be fishers of men”. And His command in Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation”. And His command in Matthew 28:19-20 to “Go and make disciple of all nations, baptizing them… and teaching them all I have commanded.”
Letters to 7 Churches In the Book of Revelation
Letter to the Church in Ephesus
Here is the letter to the church in Ephesus in 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. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far 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. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” – Revelation 2:1-7
The letter to the church of Ephesus begins with a partial description of Jesus as John saw him in Revelation 1. Jesus holds the 7 start, or “angels/messengers”, of the 7 churches in His right hand. And He walks among the 7 lampstands, which are the 7 churches in Asia Minor that he writes letters to in Revelation 2 and 3. This is a picture showing that Jesus is intimately involved in the life of the pastors & leaders of His church, and also with the people of His church. And that Jesus is also intimately involved in leading and empowering the church to fulfill the mission He created the church for.
The letter from Jesus to the church of Ephesus has several commendations. And then it has a warning and a call to repent and fix what is wrong.
Letters to 7 Churches In the Book of Revelation
Commendations from Jesus
“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” – Revelation 2:2-3
“But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” – Revelation 2:6
Jesus first commends the church in Ephesus for their hard work and perseverance. They were a busy church that works hard. And they persevered through the difficulties and persecution that was present in Ephesus.
They also were commended by Jesus for how they would not tolerate wicked people and false teachers. They were dedicated to sound teaching and doctrine. And they were commended for being opposed to the teaching and practices of the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans were a sect of people that taught people they could follow Jesus and also do whatever they desired. Thus sexual immorality and idolatry were prevalent in their lives.
Letters to 7 Churches In the Book of Revelation
A Rebuke And Warning From Jesus
After the commendations Jesus turned to His rebuke, warning, and call to repentance. There was something very wrong in the church of Ephesus. It is something that can happen to any church or believer.
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far 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.” – Revelation 2:4-5
The first thing that Jesus mentions in His rebuke is that the believers in the church of Ephesus had forsaken or left their First Love. They started out well under the teaching and leadership of Paul and Aquila and Priscilla, and then later John. And they were very much like the early church in Acts. They were passionately devoted to their First Love – Jesus.
But they left their First Love Jesus. Somewhere along the way Jesus stopped being their First Love, and they replace Him with someone or something else. Or perhaps they started to love self as their first love. This is common in our sinful human nature.
They kept doing the church things they were doing before, and they stayed busy. And they held fast to their doctrine and their beliefs. But their hearts were farther and farther from Jesus. Their hearts became divided between their love and devotion to Jesus, and their first love for something or someone else.
It is no wonder that God tells us to guard our hearts.
“Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.“
Is Jesus Your First Love?
When Jesus is your First Love and passion, you will be passionately devoted to Him. And you will be willing to do whatever it is He wants you to do. And be whatever He wants you to be. And to go wherever He tells you to go.
In your heart Jesus is your First Love, and you love Him more than anyone or anything else. And there is great joy in having Jesus as your First Love (remember joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit). You will follow your First Love anywhere.
And you will be passionate about the things your First Love Jesus is passionate about. Mainly close fellowship with Him. And you will have Jesus’ love and passion to reach lost people that do now know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And Jesus’ love for other believers and His desire and passion for them to become true and faithful and passionately devoted disciples and followers of His.
Letters to 7 Churches In the Book of Revelation
A Call to Repent from Jesus
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far 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.” – Revelation 2:4-5
Jesus told the church in Ephesus that they needed to repent from forsaking Him as their First Love. Repent simply means to change the direction of your life. They needed to repent and make Jesus their First Love in their hearts again.
And Jesus told them that after they repent they needed to “do the things you did at first”. What were these things they did at first?
As I previously said, when Jesus is your First Love in your heart, you will love Him more than anyone or anything else. And there is great joy in having Jesus as your First Love (remember joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit). You will follow your First Love anywhere. They needed to repent and make Jesus their First Love again.
Also, you will be passionate about the things your First Love Jesus is passionate about. Mainly close fellowship with Him. You will spend time with Jesus, seeking to know your First Love more and more. And seeking His will rather than your own.
And you will have Jesus’ love and passion to reach lost people that do now know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And Jesus’ love for other believers and His desire and passion for them to become true and faithful and passionately devoted disciples and followers of His.
Early on the church of Ephesus, thanks to the leadership and example of Paul and others, were filled with the Lord’s love and passion to share the Gospel and reach the lost. And then to teach them all Jesus commanded and help them to become faithful and passionate and true disciples or followers of Jesus. This is the desire and passion in Jesus’ heart.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33
Why did Jesus tell us to seek first God’s kingdom (building God’s kingdom) and His righteousness (close fellowship with God)? Because these are the things that He is passionate about. Our close fellowship with Jesus and His mission to build God’s kingdom (reaching the lost & making true disciples) are the things that Jesus is most passionate about. And He wants us to be passionate about Him and these things too.
Letters to 7 Churches In the Book of Revelation
Jesus’ Message To Us
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” – Revelation 2:7
“Whoever has ears…” means that this letter is also written to anyone who will read it. This means it is written all believers as well. Jesus is saying be careful and listen to what I am saying.
Many churches today, especially in America, are very busy places. They are filled with people that are busy doing ministry and church things. They are at the church many times during the week. Many of them even do things outside of the church in their communities. Christians are some of the busiest people around.
And many of these same people and churches are dedicated to the study of God’s word, and to keeping sound doctrine. They have Bible studies, and small groups that study the Bible, and preach the Word on Sundays. And they have prayer meeting and prayer ministries. And fellowship events. And they do some community assistance events for poor people and other ministry work. And many give some money to support other ministry work and even missions.
But there is something missing in many churches, especially in America. There may be many people that are church members, and the churches may have beautiful buildings and campuses, but something is missing. Something in terribly wrong. Many of these churches, though they may have many people in them, are dead or dying. And they don’t even know it.
Being A Good Church Member vs Being A True Disciple of Jesus
In our more than 20 years of missions ministry we have helped &/or preach in &/or trained more than 250 churches in 33 countries. And we have visited many more churches, and also have met with many more church leaders and pastors. In the US we have tried to help 58 churches, offering preaching, training, and help to reach the lost and make disciples. We never ask for support or offering, we only offer help. Only 3 have had any interest in receiving help in these “first importance” things.
There is a noticeable lack of “first love” passion for Jesus in many church leaders today. And there is a noticeable lack of passion in the leaders and in many people in churches today for the “first importance” things of taking the Gospel out to the lost and making true disciples of Jesus. Most of the churches in America and other places have replaced evangelism with social assistance and other ministry events and projects.
And most churches have replaced teaching believers how to be a true & passionate follower and disciple of Jesus with teaching people how to be a good church member. There is a big difference between being a good church member and being a true and passionate follower/disciple of Jesus. A good church member is taught that he or she needs to attend the worship service to worship God, and attend the Bible study on Wednesday night and a small group if they have them. And they need to serve somewhere in the church, and also give to the church.
So many people in churches end up having a “What a good Christian or church member should do list”. What is interesting (and sad) is to see that most churches do not teach the “First Importance” things anymore. Which again are having Jesus as your First Love and having close fellowship with Him. And our Kingdom building mission of 1) taking the Gospel everywhere and reaching the lost, and 2) teaching believers how to be passionate and true disciples/followers of Jesus.
May God touch and open our hearts, to hear what He is telling us in His letter to the church of Ephesus. And may we repent, and make Jesus our First Love once again, and do the First Importance things.
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God’s Promises In The Bible
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The Names of God & Their Meaning
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Kevin Bart has been a Jesus follower for over 40 years. Kevin has taught Bible study classes, small groups, and discipleship classes for many years. He developed Pursuing Intimacy With God after many years of seeking God and studying His word.
Kevin is a former business owner, and current international missions ministry leader with more than four decades of combined business and ministry experience. After building and running a successful business for 23 years, with God’s guidance and blessings, he sold his company to dedicate himself to full-time global missions.
For over 20 years, Kevin and his wife Nancy have led an international missions ministry. Utilizing learned business and financial management skills, as well as knowledge and experience in travel points and miles, to date they have had 48 mission trips to 33 countries in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
