Liberty University
Essay Two Paper:
The Church of Ephesus
Craig Hardin
BIBL 450-DO1
Daniel and Revelation
April 30, 2018
Introduction
This essay is three-fold concerning the passage located in Revelation 2:1-7 which reads;
“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.” (NIV)
Interpretive Exposition
When attempting to provide an interpretive exposition of the Church of Ephesus in the
Book of Revelation, one must look at all the surroundings of the church during the time of John’s
vision from Jesus. Ephesus was a center of activity for many people and religions in the time of
the first century. What we would today consider a major city, imagine all the different people that
would have made up the population. Imagine a church with leaders such as Paul and Timothy,
not to mention the Apostle John who received the vision would one day be the leader of the
church once off the isle of Patmos.
Those in Ephesus fulfilled the divine command that they should not believe every spirit but
test the spirits to see whether they are from God.1 Even though this was worthy of mention, there
were still issues inside the church that had to be dealt with. The Ephesians have made progress
on their journey, especially in resisting some unreliable, deceitful guides: “You have tested those
who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false” (Revelation 2:2).2 Again
what looks good from the outside does not always represent what is happening on the inside of
even a church. The impression conveyed by this letter is of a community that has both worked
hard and been beaten down, as implied by the repeated use of words for suffering— enduring
(twice), bearing (twice), testing— but despite all this, they “have not grown weary.”3
There had been a decline in the church of Ephesus and Jesus needed to get the attention of
the church to remind them of what their calling was all about. The church had forgotten what it
was like to love not just those that shared what they believed, but those that also did not share
what they believed. The church had endured in the beginning what they learned from the early
leaders of the church, but by the end of the first century according to Revelation 2:4; “Yet I hold
this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” (NIV) The church had fought the
Nicolaitans viewpoint which was willing to accommodate the views of the Pagans and be less
obedient to God. But as Warren Carter states; “John’s vision of a faithful church does not allow
for diverse practices and thinking about societal participation.”4 In the writing of Paul we see in
Ephesians 4:1-2; “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling
1 William C. Weinrich, and Thomas C. Oden. “Revelation” InterVarsity Press, 2005.
2 James L. Resseguie “The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary”, Baker Academic, 2009.
3 Joseph L. Mangina. “Revelation: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible”. Brazos Press, 2014
4 Warren Carter. “What Does Revelation Reveal? Unlocking the Mystery”, Abingdon Press, 2011.
you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in
love.” (NIV)
Love was the way the church had excelled and now love was the only way that the church
would find its way back into the graces of God. The lessons of loving one another for the
betterment of the entire group had been lost due to the infiltration of false philosophies such as
the Nicolaitans. All was not lost because of the love the church once had. Jesus acknowledges
this in Revelation 2:2; “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.” (NIV) The church was a good church, it had just lost its way
and had begun to look at others thought about them, instead of what God had already provided
for them. The letters attack those Jesus-believers who think it is legitimate and harmless to
participate in their urban society, where both the influence of and the honoring of idols and
images are pervasive.5
The message that was being presented was a warning that if they did not return to what had
made them a star of a church, their love for all, then that star would be dimmed and as John
writes in Revelation 2:4; “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.” (NIV)
Gordon Fee puts the writing of Revelation 2 to the Church of Ephesus this way; “And again,
even though this is addressed to the believers in Ephesus, by the very nature of the book it is
equally intended for the others who were to read it.”6 In other words, if you want to keep your
star you must continue to earn your star.
5 Ibid
6 Gordon D. Fee. “Revelation: A New Covenant Commentary”, The Lutterworth Press, 2013.
Specific Application
When looking at the specific application which applied to the Church of Ephesus in the first
century, what jumps out of the pages of Revelation is the church was receiving a warning.
Ephesus was the home of such great leader in the movement, how could they have fallen in the
eyes of the Lord? The more we think of ourselves the more we are subject to the devilish details
of pride. The pride of the Church of Ephesus was beginning to get in the way of what they were
called to do. Jesus had taught to love your enemies, yet the church was now harboring feels not
of love towards those that had rose against it. The church had forgotten how to love which is the
commandment we are to live by according to Jesus. All had not fallen from this commandment,
but enough had to make Jesus let them be aware that if they did not right the ship, all would be
punished.
Legitimate Applications
As with the first century Church of Ephesus, how many churches today have lost the loving
feeling that was showed to them when they were lost. Why is it that the more we think we know
Jesus, sometimes the further we are away indeed? The church today bust be a place that those we
are fighting should know that it is through grace and love we were save, but the catch is that our
enemies are no different than us, they are forgiven as well. Are we perfect, of course not, so we
are no different than those on the outside of the church walls. Matthew 22:36-49 shares the Great
Command with us when it reads; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.’(NIV) This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second
is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” If Jesus taught we should love God and love people,
then we should do as we are taught!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carter, Warren. “What Does Revelation Reveal? Unlocking the Mystery”, Abingdon Press, 2011.
Fee, Gordon D. “Revelation: A New Covenant Commentary”, The Lutterworth Press, 2013.
Mangina, Joseph L. “Revelation: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible”, Brazos Press,
2014.
Resseguie, James L. “The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary”, Baker Academic,
2009.
Weinrich, William C. and Thomas C. Oden, Thomas C. “Revelation” InterVarsity Press, 2005.
