The letter to the church in Ephesus
The Church of Ephesus seems to be a good example of a church. But appearances are deceptive and Jesus delivers a devastating judgment on them.
Historical background
Ephesus’ large port was the entrance to Asia Minor and the city was one of the largest and most important cities in the Roman Empire. In addition, the Template of Artemis made Ephesus an important tourist destination.
This economic center had a large Jewish diaspora community (Jews who live outside of Israel); these people were also Ephesian citizens.
Of the sever churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation this church was probably the largest one.
Jesus’ view
Here Jesus refes to himself who holds the stars and walks among the lampstands; this is a reference to the key message of chapter 1. Beleivers are to be a light and to depend on Him. The church must take this to heart or it will lose its calling!
But before Jesus addresses the problem, he pours out a lot of praise:
- He knows their deeds, their hard work and their perseverance. They have been working hard to counteract the effect of the nearby temple of Artemis. This template has already caused an uproar in Ephesus.
- They are not deceived by false teaching or false apostles; this is the problem for some of the other churches.
- They are enduring hardship in Jesus’ name.
The problem
But they have got one thing wrong: they have lost their first love. What does that mean? Is “first love” that romantic feeling when they first met Jesus and would do anything for Him? No, it goes far beyond hits.
Matthew 24:12 says that for many, their love will grow cold and the gospel will be preached to all nations as a witness to all nations. What witness actually mean? A witness is someone who’s life is changed because he witnesses something life changing. It is not just telling some news, but this persons whole life is a message.
But what does love have to do with witnessing to the gospel? A great deal.
- If we love Jesus, we will love our brother and sisters and share His message and love with the outside world.
- If we love our brothers and sisters, we will love Jesus as we see Him in them and preach the gospel with the whole world.
- If we love the world, Jesus and the Church is the best we can offer them.
Sharing the gospel is therefore an act of love, and if either of these things grows cold, the other will diminish.
Ephesus may appears to be an established church as they developed a way of dealing with spiritual challenges, but they have probably forgotten why they are doing it and are focusing too much on themselves rather than making everything right.
The solution
If they want to mature and be a church that God can use, they have to start building the intimate relationship with God up again, represented by the eating from the tree of life in the Garden of Eden.
To encourage them, they get a promise regarding the New Jerusalem.