The Letter to Ephesus

Ephesus was a great city; a transportation and commercial hub, and the home of the great temple of Diana. As the recipient of one of Paul’s epistles the church there had quite a rich history when this letter was dictated.

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

Preamble (2:1b)

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.

Jesus describes Himself here by mentioning that He has the seven messengers (angels) in His hand, the whole number of God’s messengers are in His hand, and He walks among the seven churches of Asia, and the whole of His Body. This is of special significance to Ephesus because they have had a problem with “false apostles” (2:2) and have resisted them. Jesus, in this letter, is sending them His true message.

Historical Prologue (2:2-4, 6)

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.

… But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Ephesus has a great history, and Jesus recognizes it here; their hard work for the Gospel, their endurance and resistance to false teaching and their sacrifices for His sake; they have been a lampstand shining forth the light of the Gospel in a dark world… but they have forgotten their first love. So many churches today have this problem; they work hard, they mean well, but in all of their toil, they forget their first love: Jesus.

Jesus addresses this immediately, inserting His warning in verse 5 which we’ll cover shortly, but in verse 6 He eases His rebuke as He wraps up the historical prologue; they have hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. Opinions vary relative to this group, but it appears likely that they represent the heretical group who were followers of Baal and Jezebel; in any case, we will come across them again in Revelation.

Stipulation (2:5a)

Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.

This takes the form of a covenant stipulation, a command that is to be kept. They are to repent and to once again put their relationship (love for) with Jesus first and foremost.

Curse (2:5b)

If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

In a Biblical covenant, a curse is as much a promise as is a blessing. A blessing is a promise for keeping the terms or stipulations of the covenant; a curse is a promise of what will happen if you don’t. Jesus has given Ephesus a stipulation, and if they don’t keep it, their lampstand will be taken away; the church will no longer be present. You are free to draw whatever conclusion from this you like, but there is no church in Ephesus today, nor has there been for many, many centuries.

Witness (2:7a)

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Notice the plural: Each of these epistles is to be read to all of the churches, and they are the witnesses to the covenant renewal, just as the people were in Joshua’s day.

Blessing (2:7b)

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.

If a curse is a negative promise, then a blessing is a positive promise, and the positive promise to Ephesus is that if they overcome, they will have the right to eat of the tree of life, which is to say that they will receive eternal life with Christ. Notice the conditional nature of this promise; they must “overcome” something. To overcome is to conquer, and Jesus overcame the world. We also are to overcome the world, but that doesn’t mean we will rule the world, it means that we will overcome its temptations and trials that seek to pull us away from our first love, which is Jesus.

The Letter to Smyrna

Smyrna was the rival of Ephesus, a great and beautiful city built on the slopes rising out of the sea. Its buildings were a sight to behold and it was the most loyal of allies to Rome. Later it would be the scene of the martyrdom of Polycarp…

To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

Preamble (2:8b)

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

Historical Prologue (2:9)

I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

The people suffered from poverty, extreme poverty. The believers had discovered that following Christ meant a serious sacrifice economically; they were thrown out of their employment for being Christian, they were often hungry and destitute, but they were still rich in grace and in the glorious hope of their secure future in Christ. (cf. Matt. 6:20; 19:21; Luke 12:21).

They were under constant attack by accusing Jews; you might compare these words to those found in Acts 13:50; 14:2, 5, 19; 17:5; 24:1. Those Jews, hardened as they were, probably believed they were the synagogue of God, but it is not God who is “the accuser of our brethren”, no, they were doing the bidding of none other than Satan.

Stipulation (2:10a)

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death

The stipulation here is in the form of an exhortation; they will be imprisoned, they will suffer, they might be killed, and look who is behind all of this: The Devil himself. Satan is making use of the accusing Jews and the governing Romans to put them to the test in his effort to break the church of Jesus Christ… as was his pattern at that time. The real point or stipulation here is that they should remain faithful, even if that should cost them their very lives. The good news is that this intense persecution will only last for a short time. The “ten days” is not to be understood as ten calendar days, as we all know, for 10 is two handfuls, a short but definite period of time. This is often used as an encouragement for perseverance in Scripture; see Is. 26:20; 54:8; Matt. 24:22; 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Pet. 4:6.

Witnesses (2:11a)

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Blessing (2:10b, 11b))

and I will give you life as your victor’s crown

The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

The “victor’s crown” refers to the wreath of the victor in ancient athletic contests and it symbolizes eternal life here. The “second death” symbolizes perdition. Thus, the one who keeps the stipulation and remains faithful may die in the body, but will live forever victorious with Christ.

Please note that there is no curse here; Jesus has found no fault with the church in Smyrna.

The Letter to Pergamum

Pergamum was the Roman capital of Asia, the seat of Roman authority and of Emperor Worship. It was also the center for the worship of the Roman god of healing that was symbolized by a serpent, an image you might recognize today as being connected with healing. Pergamum was also the home of the great altar to Zeus.

To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

Preamble (2:12b)

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.

Notice the way Jesus is described as the one wielding the sharp two-edged sword (the Word of God)

Historical Prologue (2:13-15)

I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

We begin here with quite a commendation; even though this congregation is located in the city where none other than Satan has his throne, they have remained faithful to the name of Christ. Commentators differ on what is meant by the reference to the throne of Satan being present in the city, but one thing is clear; these brothers and sisters were holding valiantly to the truth in the face of heavy opposition. Even so, there were compromises being made, and this was a serious problem. They allowed worshippers of Balaam and Nicolaitans in their midst, with the associated behaviors, and that must be put to an end. My only comment to that is that it should give us food for thought as we look at what is going on today in our midst.

Stipulation (2:16a)

Repent therefore!

Curse (2:16b)

Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

If they do not either cause the offenders to repent or put them out of the congregation, the Lord would take action “with the sword of my mouth”. Yes, it’s a curious thing to say, but let’s not rush by too quickly. The sword represents the Word of God that proceeds from His mouth; that is the mouth of the Word who became flesh. This doesn’t mean Jesus will throw a Bible at anyone, nor does it mean that He is going to start yelling. What it does mean is that the Word of God is pure power; it is what caused the universe to come into existence, and it is what holds all of creation together. The people He is referring to are like wolves in the sheep pen, and Jesus our Good Shepherd will do what is necessary to protect those of the flock who have remained faithful to Him in such difficult circumstance. By telling them this, however, He is giving everyone involved the chance to correct the problems on their own before He steps in.

I’m thinking that should serve as food for thought as well!

Witnesses (2:17a)

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Blessing (2:17b)

To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

This one isn’t so easy to understand. In the interests of brevity, those who receive “hidden manna” are servants of the Lord who will have a seat at His banquet table in the Kingdom. White and black stones were used in the Greco-Roman world when a jury cast its vote for the guilt or innocence of a defendant: White was for innocent, black for guilty. A white stone here would be indicative of being innocent on the Day of Judgment, i.e. having our sins taken away. When combined with the “new name known only to the one who receives it” we have symbolized the Christians of Pergamum being set free entirely from those who oppress and persecute them.