The seven churches: Ephesus
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The seven churches of Revelation are located in Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey. The Revelation is John’s letter that traveled to many churches, so his messages were for every church then and now. Yet, Jesus pointed out the specific strengths and weaknesses of each church, illustrating how those strengths and weaknesses can impact a church community as well as an individual’s walk of faith.
I remember the first time I walked through the streets of Ephesus, amazed at the beauty and grandeur of the ruins and antiquities. You can make a virtual “visit” if you have never been there. Ephesus was a favorite city for some of Rome’s wealthy leaders. It’s located on the Aegean Sea with cool ocean breezes, making summer heat more bearable. In addition, it was located on a river that brought a continual source of fresh water. The wealthy from Rome could have owned a summer home in the city and often retired to that part of the world. Ephesus was also a major port city, making numerous goods from around the world available to those living there.
Why might Jesus have started with Ephesus?
In his revelation to John, Jesus mentions seven key churches in Asia Minor. Paul visited most of these churches on his missionary journeys. Ephesus was central to the region’s commerce, culture, and politics, and most Christians receiving John’s letter would have traveled to that city at some point.
Ephesus, a cultural seaport city, was well known for its many pagan practices and temples. The temple of Artemis, or Diana, is considered one of the “seven wonders of the world.” Diana was the goddess of fertility, and “worship” in that temple usually involved prostitution. Many sacrificial altars in the city involved dark and evil practices.
It is thought that John brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Ephesus when they were forced to flee from Jerusalem. There is a home that is thought to be where she lived. The ruins of the Basilica of St. John are located next to the site where the apostle is said to have been buried. John ministered to all the churches mentioned in the Revelation, but apparently, Ephesus was his “home,” and Jesus spoke to that church first.
What did Jesus say about the church in Ephesus?
Jesus said, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:1–3).
The “angel” is likely the pastor who would have read John’s message to the church. The words read are the words of Christ who walks among the churches—the “golden lampstands” (Revelation 1:20). The job of the church and its congregation was to share the light of Christ with others.
Those in the Ephesian church were given reasons to be proud of their character. John praised them for:
- Their works or their Christian deeds done for the sake of the church and one another. They “toiled” to serve Christ through the church with patient endurance.
- They did not put up with the people who “called themselves apostles” but were actually “evil.” John had written letters to these churches warning them to pay no attention to the Gnostics, a group that distorted the gospel of Christ and the original apostolic truth of Paul and others. The Gnostics’ message was considered more popular in Greco/Roman culture, and they had successfully turned some people away from the truth. The Ephesian church had not grown weary of faithfully honoring the pure truth of the Christian faith.
Jesus also said, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). It’s difficult to fully understand what Jesus meant when he spoke those words. We know these churches had likely existed for about forty or fifty years by this time. Many in the early church were convinced that Christ would return quickly, yet decades had passed without his final coming. Life as a Christian in Ephesus had become increasingly difficult, and many suffered physically, mentally, and financially to continue in the Christian faith. Jesus praised them for their patient endurance but then told them they had “lost their first love.” Quite possibly, their devotion to Jesus and to sharing the gospel message had changed. Jesus told them to “remember” and “repent” or turn back to the “works” they had done at first.
Remembering our “first love” for Christ is always a good idea—heartfelt gratitude and praise we felt when we realized our souls had been saved and heaven was our promised hope. We eagerly shared our faith with others, excited to share the good news.
We are to love Jesus now, just as we loved him then. Jesus wants us to remember Easter and all he did to give us eternal life with God as our Father.
The message to the Ephesian church reminds us that we can be faithful to our works or deeds at the church, yet forget to gratefully love and honor the One who is the reason for our church community of faith.
Jesus told the Ephesian church, “I will come and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelation 2:5). In other words, the light of God’s word is hindered or even extinguished if it does not shine through people who love its Author.
What does Jesus hate?
Jesus continued his message to the church in Ephesus with one last important message. He said, “Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Revelation 2:6).
Much study and writing have been done about the Nicolaitans, a group we don’t know much about. A Christianity Today article said, “The Nicolaitans appeared to conform to this Roman culture and seemed to encourage Christians in Ephesus to do the same in a time of dire persecution (1 Corinthians 6:12). In eating the food given to the idols. This implies they had gone to the temples to receive the food and would’ve had to engage in the immoralities there to acquire this meat.” Some believe a man, possibly named Nicolas, had led some in the church to compromise their faith to make their lives more bearable or pleasant. Jesus praised those who “hated” that behavior and said he hated it as well. The Christianity Today article also said, “Overall, the warnings against the Nicolaitans in Revelation emphasize the importance of maintaining the purity of the Christian faith and avoiding compromise with practices that are contrary to the teachings of Christ.”
The message to Ephesus
Jesus closed his message to the church in Ephesus, a message for every church, saying, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).
Those who are Spirit-led are privy to the voice of Jesus in their lives today. Jesus promised those Spirit-led believers that they could look forward to an eternity in the “paradise of God.”
If your “first love” has faded, or if you have accepted teaching that is contrary to the pure perfection of God’s word, you can “repent” and turn back to a purer faith walk with Christ. All of us need to “have an ear” and “hear what the Spirit says to the churches” and to us.
These messages are timeless truth, directly from the teaching of Christ to John. We are blessed to read and study his truth. We will be abundantly and eternally blessed if we will listen and heed it today.
