Revelation 2:1-7
The Loveless Church
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: 2 “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; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 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. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
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”’
The first of the seven churches this book was primarily written to was at Ephesus. It is interesting that it is addressed to the angel watching over the church there and not directly to the church. This may be because of the responsibility of the watcher to convey this message, but that is unclear. The Lord who holds these seven angels referred to as stars is the one who walks among these churches to know their works and hearts. He tells them that He knows their works, labor, patience, and that their love of those who are and do good because they cannot bear those who are evil. He commends them for testing false apostles to expose their lies as they persevered in the gospel of truth. They patiently labored for the Lord and did not grow weary (Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13) in going good for the name of the Lord and His honor with demonstrable praise. Then the Lord conveyed His displeasure with them for “leaving their first love.” Their zeal to keep sound doctrine may have kept them from showing love and grace to others, or simply drifted from their close relationship with Jesus Christ in general, or both. He called them to turn back to Him and away from such sin in either case, and go back to their first works which likely meant the love and zeal to please God as when we first are delivered from the power of darkness (Acts 26:18, 1 Peter 2:9-10) and bathe in His marvelous light revealed in knowing Him and His word as a babe in Christ when we first believed. They were warned if they did not rekindle their first love and turn back that they would lose their church as a lampstand of this light of hope to the world. Nonetheless, they were still further commended for standing firmly against false teachers in their love in being valiant for the truth. The final words to this church are repeated to the others to follow as well. If they are listening and paying attention to the word of the Lord, then they will all hear what God’s Spirit is saying to all the seven (and more even now) churches and take decisive action of humble repentance in thought, words, and deeds. The result of being an overcomer (1 John 5:4-5) in Christ is eating of the tree of life (Revelation 22:1-4) in eternity before the Lord’s throne and presence of true Paradise restored from Eden’s Garden when God walked in our presence. We are to constantly watch and keep rekindling our love for God and others in truth with willing obedience to the two greatest (Luke 10:27) commandments.
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