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Our Mission: Revelation 14:6-12
If I Were Told the Future - Lesson 22
Letter
to the Church of Ephesus
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Let's begin this lesson with a short prayer to God:
Heavenly Father,
Your letters to the seven churches are a valuable source of teaching and exhortation.
Today, we will tackle the first letter, intended for the church of Ephesus.
We thank You in advance for guiding our study, so that the content of this letter may help
us draw closer to You. In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Revelation 1:9-11
I, John, both your brother and companion in tribulation, and in
the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the
word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a
trumpet, saying, (...)
«What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to
Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to
Laodicea.»
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In our last lesson, we learned that Jesus Christ Himself had
instructed the apostle John to write a letter to the seven churches of Asia.
The first letter was addressed to the church of Ephesus, a Greek name meaning
«Desirable».
This letter will be the subject of our lesson today.
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Acts 18:19,20
And [Paul] came to Ephesus, and left [his companions] there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent.
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Acts 19:1,10,11
Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus.
(...)
And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord
Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul.
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The local church of Ephesus was renowned for its faithfulness to Christ.
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Ephesians 1:1,15,16
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the
saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus (...).
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the
saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.
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In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul underlines the consecration, the faithfulness and the perseverance of this church.
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Acts 19:1,8,9
Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus.
(...)
He went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading
concerning the things of the kingdom of God.
But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the
multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school
of Tyrannus.
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On the other hand, the people of Ephesus were not all willing to receive the message of the Gospel, as Paul noticed.
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Acts 20:17,18,28
From Miletus [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of
the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them:
«(...) Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His
own blood.»
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In his last speech to the elders of the church of Ephesus, Paul thought it advisable to remind them of the importance of persevering in what they had learned, and the necessity of exhorting the congregation to do likewise.
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Acts 20:29-31
For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come
in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the
disciples after themselves.
Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night
and day with tears.
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In this same speech, Paul also warned the church of Ephesus
against the coming of false teachers.
Did they follow Paul's valuable advice? We will find the answer in the first letter,
addressed to the church of Ephesus.
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«What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven
churches.»
(Revelation 1:11)
Before beginning, let's remember that each one of the seven
letters presents the following five points, as we have seen in our last lesson, «Introduction to the Seven Letters»:
1. Portrait of Jesus, according to the spiritual state of the
church.
2. Praise, acknowledgement of the positive points.
3. Condemnation, identification of the negative points.
4. Correction, counsels to restore the situation.
5. Promise, encouragement to persevere.
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Revelation 2:1
To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
«These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst
of the seven golden lampstands.»
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Revelation 1:12,13,16
I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man (...). He had in His right hand seven stars.
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The letter to Ephesus indeed starts with a portrait of Jesus
taken from John's initial vision.
What does this description mean?
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Revelation 1:19,20
The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
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Once again, the Bible explains its own symbolism.
By holding the seven stars in His hand, and by walking in the midst of the lampstands,
Jesus gives us a comforting message: He holds the reins of His Church, protects it and
promises that He will always be there.
But Jesus is not a tyrant: if the Church chooses to reject Him, He will not impose His
will.
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Revelation 2:2,3
I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot
bear those who are evil.
And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them
liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and
have not become weary.
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After the portrait of Jesus, we find the positive points of the
church of Ephesus.
First of all, the church has actually followed Paul's advice, and has «tested those who
say they are apostles and are not».
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Revelation 2:2,3
I know [that] (...) you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.
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Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
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As we have learned in our last lesson, this letter can also be directed at each one of us, inviting us to persevere, even during trials.
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Revelation 1:19
Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
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Daniel 2:39,40
After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron.
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Also, we have seen that the letters to the seven churches have a
prophetic range.
Following the pattern of Daniel's prophecies, they describe the seven stages of Church
history, from the days of John until the end.
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Revelation 2:2
You have tested those who say they are apostles and are not.
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1 Timothy 1:3
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia - remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine.
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So the first letter describes the first stage of the Christian
Church: the Apostolic Church, renowned for the purity of its doctrine.
This period begins in A.D. 31 (the year of Jesus' ascension), and ends in A.D. 100 (the
year of the death of John, the last apostle).
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Revelation 2:2
I know your works, your labor, your patience.
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Colossians 1:23
(...) and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
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The Apostolic Church has experienced a lightning growth,
explaining Paul's enthusiasm.
At the end of the first century, there were already about six million Christians in the
world known at that time.
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Revelation 2:4
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
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Ephesians 6:24
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
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The letter to the church of Ephesus then shows the negative
points.
The diagnosis of Jesus is very clear: the church has lost the love showed in its early
times.
Now, let's note this interesting point: the very last verse of the Epistle of Paul to the
people of Ephesus mentions the importance of loving the Lord with an «undying love».
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Revelation 2:4
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
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Matthew 24:12,13
And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow
cold.
But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
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Here again, the letter to the church of Ephesus is also addressed
to each one of us, underlining that often, as time goes by, we lose the love we had for
Jesus in the first days of our conversion.
This phenomenon also increases a lot in a world full of coldness and hard-heartedness.
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Jeremiah 2:2,5
Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying,
«Thus says the Lord: "I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your
betrothal, when you went after Me in the wilderness (...).
What injustice have your fathers found in Me, that they have gone far from Me, have
followed idols, and have become idolaters?"»
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Each Christian is inclined to abandon his first love.
Yet, God always remains the same.
So it is crucial to keep the fire alive by praying, studying the Bible, and working with
perseverance in God's harvest.
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Revelation 2:4
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
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Finally, the prophetic application is perfect, since the
experience of the local church of Ephesus was the same as that of the Apostolic Church.
In fact, during the second half of the first century, as the apostles were dying one by
one, the Christians progressively lost the vision transmitted at the Day of the Pentecost.
Slowly, they let the evangelical fervor of the early days cool down, that same fervor
which had formerly brought about the conversion of thousands of souls day after day.
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Revelation 2:5
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place - unless you repent.
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Luke 19:40
If these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.
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Jesus tells this to the local church of Ephesus, to the first century Apostolic Church, and to each one of us: we must regain this first love, before He entrusts someone else with the evangelical mission, which will be accomplished anyway.
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Revelation 2:6
But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
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Revelation 2:15
Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
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However, Jesus praises the church of Ephesus for rejecting the
works of the Nicolaitans, unlike the church of Pergamos (subject of a future lesson),
which will be following their doctrine.
What do we know about the Nicolaitans?
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Acts 6:5
They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.
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Acts 20:30
Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
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The Nicolaitans were the disciples of Nicolas, one of the first
deacons of the Apostolic Church.
We do not know much about Nicolas, but it seems that one day, he began to teach a strange
and false doctrine.
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1 Corinthians 6:19,20
Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit,
which are God's.
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Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
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The Nicolaitans were teaching that the body was independent of
the soul.
This way, according to them, it was possible to commit sin in one's body without causing
harm to one's soul.
This doctrine, though firmly rejected by the Bible, can still be found today in some
Christian churches.
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Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.
«To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of
the Paradise of God.»
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Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
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The letter to the church of Ephesus ends with this promise for those who persevere until the end: the access to the tree of life.
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Genesis 2:9
Out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden.
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Genesis 3:24
So [the Lord God] drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
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So, in the letter to Ephesus, Jesus promises to restore access to the tree of life, which had been lost after the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
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Revelation 22:2
In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was
the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.
And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
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In his last vision about the New Earth, the apostle John
describes this same tree.
Don't we wish to eat the fruit of the tree of life? Jesus freely offers us the victory
which will give us back access to this tree!
Let's end this lesson with a summary of the letter to the church of Ephesus.
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The five points of the pattern in the letter to the church of Ephesus:
1. Portrait of Jesus, according to the spiritual state of
the church.
«These things says He who holds the seven stars in His hand.»
(REVELATION 2:1)
2. Praise, acknowledgement of the positive points.
«I know your works, your labor, your patience.» (REVELATION
2:2)
3. Condemnation, identification of the negative points.
«You have left your first love.» (REVELATION 2:4)
4. Correction, counsels to restore the situation.
«Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do
the first
works.» (REVELATION 2:5)
5. Promise, encouragement to persevere.
«To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life,
which is
in the midst of the Paradise of God.» (REVELATION 2:7)
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Let's thank God for His help:
Our Father,
By its prophetic range, Your letter to the church of Ephesus strengthens our faith in Your
inspired word.
But it does even more: by its personal application, this letter is for us a vital source
of advice and encouragement.
Please help us day after day to keep our first love alive, a burning love for You and for
Your work.
We also ask You to give us victory, that we may soon taste the fruits of the tree of life,
and live with You forever. In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 22 is waiting for you!