REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 2.4
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES
CHAPTER 2
Outline
1. The
Addressee – To whom the
letter is addressed (2:1)
2. The
Address – To where the letter is
addressed (2:1)
3. The
Addresser – From whom the
letter is addressed (2;1)
4. The
Approval – The acclamation
of good qualities (2:2-3)
5. The
Accusation – The
presentation of bad qualities (2:4)
6. The Appeal
– The application to change (2:5-6)
7. The Advice
– The recommendation to change (2:7)
Ephesus
After reading all the good things about the Church
at Ephesus, you are probably thinking, "Wow, what a fantastic Church! If
there was one in my area, I would join its membership immediately. They have
everything I’ve always wanted in a Church.”
Itemized:
1. They had sound doctrine
2. They had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
3. They heard first-hand accounts from the disciples
4. They did not waiver from their beliefs
5. They worked and practiced their faith
6. They had an intolerance for evil
7. They
possessed solid moral standards
8. They had
spiritual discernment
9. They
loved the Lord
10.
They loved
one another
11.
They had
time for worship
12.
They
praised the Lord in song
13.
They had
Bible studies
14.
They
studied the whole counsel of God
15.
They heard
and acted upon the Word
16.
They had
prayer time
17.
They
prayed for one another
18.
They had a
heart for evangelism
19.
They had a
heart for missions
20.
They
persevered through suffering
21.
They stood
up against false preachers and teachers
22.
They were developing
the fruit of the Spirit
23.
They wore
the armor of God
24.
They
searched the Scriptures
25.
They were
Berean minded
In effect, Christ just finished saying all these
nice things about this church. What could be wrong? Notice what the Lord says
next: Nevertheless, But…
5. The Accusation – The presentation of bad qualities
(Verse 4)
Nevertheless I have somewhat (this,
something) against
thee (you).Because thou hast(you have) left thy (your)
first love (for Me).
Jesus had found a fatal defect in the character of
this Church, and He says, to them, “I need to correct you.” Then He proceeds to
portray their failure. Notice first: Jesus said they did not lose their first love, but they left their first love. The
problem was:
1. They fell out of love with Jesus Christ
2. Their first love waned
3. They lapsed into spiritual poverty
4. They professed Christ instead of possessing Christ
5. Their first love took a back seat to everything
else
6. They were superficial on the outside and void on
the inside
7. Their cooled heart caused a departure from the
faith
This is a perfect example of when a church becomes
apathetic. But Jesus warned against this:
John 15:5 - I am the Vine, ye are
the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.
Jesus is saying, "Without the vine, the
branches are useless. Where is that exciting engagement romance you once
embraced? Your love for Me must always be a priority in your life. I need your
uncompromising love.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 - And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
I Corinthians 13:13 - Three things will last forever--faith,
hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love.
Love is the
one thing that outweighs all other things.
Love
There are four basic words in the Greek language
that designates the expression of Love:
1. Storge – This type of love is an
emotional form of love that exists between family members, such as mother and
daughter.
2. Eros –
Eros is a word used for highly
emotional and sensual love, such as a
physical attraction between a male and a female, i.e., intimate love.
3. Phileo –
This form of love is a friendly or
brotherly love between believers apart from any physical attraction.
4. Agapao – Agape love
is the highest and purest love anyone can attain. This kind of love is always
associated with God. It is a self-sacrificing love - not a feeling.
Examples:
John 3:16
- For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.
Ephesians
5:25 – Husbands,
love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it;
John 15:9
- As the Father
hath loved
me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love.
What happened in Ephesus? How does a church grow
complacent with that kind of foundation? First of all, the love for Jesus
Christ diminished. It was a heart issue. Then, once this love is lost, the love
for one another begins to decline. And when that disappears, one becomes a part
of the world again. As each letter to the churches unfolds, this formula
becomes visible.
Question:
How does a person leave his first love?
Answer:
One peruses the wrong personal goals apart from Jesus
Christ. Temptation is the main culprit.
There are three main temptations in the Bible [as
demonstrated in the Temptation of Jesus
in the wilderness (cf. Luke 4:1-13)] listed as follows:
1. The lust of the flesh - sexual
2. The lust of the eyes - material
3. The pride of life – mental/ego
Scripture:
1 John 2:16 - For all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is
of the world.
Secondly, a brief comparison to the Church at
Corinth, Greece examples of other problems that lead to spiritual bankruptcy. This
assembly also had a genuine beginning. Corinth likewise was similar to Ephesus.
Polytheism dominated the city. This congregation was engulfed in heathenism.
Of all the churches Paul addressed, Corinth was the
most burdened with obstacles.
The root problem with the Corinthian church was divisions
within the body of Christ. All other problems in any church stem from this
cause and can lead any church astray, and into deterioration. These divisions
were caused primarily by believers following different church
leaders within the assembly. For example:
1. Those who were supporters of Paul’s teachings
2. Those who were following the teachings of Apollos
3. Those who were pupils of Cephas
4. Those who were disciples of Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 1:12-13a - Now this I say, that every one of you
saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided?
Note: People today still want to follow leaders,
instead of Jesus Christ. In many churches, self-appointed religious dictators try
and succeed in overrunning proven pastors. The key principle is this: God
chooses leaders - not man. Throughout the Bible spiritual leaders are chosen
and empowered by God. However, men want to be dominant in the church due to
pride, recognition, and self-righteousness, thus causing division. A pastorate
is a supernatural calling. And God is adamant regarding this. God says in 1
Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15, “Touch not mine
anointed, and do them no harm.”
Most likely this cancer spread in the church of
Ephesus after John was exiled to Patmos. Paul gives a noble argument to quell
this degeneration:
Philippians 3:16 - Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same
thing.
The very first church after Christ’s ascension establishes
the best example for us to follow - being in one accord.
Acts 1:14 - These all continued with
one accord (absolute unanimity) in prayer and
supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his
brethren.
As you read through the epistle of 1 Corinthians,
Paul addresses one problem after another. The letter is an excellent primer on
obstacles that lead a church astray. But God always provides a solution.
6. The Appeal – The application to change
(Verse 5)
Remember therefore from whence
thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and
will remove thy candlestick (lampstand) out of his
place, except thou repent.
Repentance
There are three basic ingredients to repentance (turning
one’s life around). They are found in this formula:
A. Remember
1. How you felt at your conversion
2. How you were excited about Jesus
3. How dearly He meant to you
4. What caused you to become indifferent to Him
5. What caused you to backslide
6. What worldliness and loneliness represented
7. What God’s conditions were for improvement
B. Repent
Repentance is not an admission of sorrow, but the confession
of your faults to God, having a change of mind. Consequently, it requires
action. It is a 180-degree turning away from your sins (turning one’s life
around) and returning to the fellowship, grace, and favor of God. The story of
the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 vividly illustrates this point.
C. Return
In the biblical sense, it is the emancipation of
your old nature to your new nature in Christ. Go back to your first love.
7. The Advice – The recommendation to change
(Verse 7)
He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh (that gains the victory) will I give (to him the right to) to eat of the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
1. Churches
First, notice the word churches. It is an indication
that the total church (past, present, and future - of John's day and subsequent
generations) is still being ministered to by the Holy Spirit. In essence, Jesus
is saying, “He who has an open ear, heart, and mind, listen to what the Holy
Spirit of God is saying to you.” Take the wax out of your ears and listen to
the Holy Spirit – not what others are telling you.
2. Overcomers
Question:
Who and what are overcomers?
Answer:
The Greek word for overcomer is nikao
[The Nike Missile derived its name from this Greek word], which means
to conquer, overpower, prevail, and be victorious. An overcomer overcomes worldly
desires and lives their life for Jesus Christ.
1 John 5:4
- For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
First love is not salvation, but a testimony. It
is not a religion, but a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is pure. It is
unselfish. It is a red-hot, self-sacrificing agape love.
3. The Tree of
Life
The Tree of Life
yields food for physical immortality. I remember my seminary professor once
asking the question: “What would happen if Adam and Eve hadn’t eaten from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil?” Smilingly he answered, “There wouldn’t
be any need for the Bible - and you wouldn’t have class today.”
The Tree of Life first appears at the beginning of the Bible in
the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:9
- And out of
the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight,
and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of
the Garden, and the tree of knowledge of
good and evil.
Genesis
2:16-17 - And
the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of
every tree (Including the tree of life) of
the Garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die
(physical death).
Our first parents ate of the forbidden tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. As a result of their disobedience (known as the
fall of man), sin entered into the world thus causing God’s judgment. [The
pride of life is the motive behind Adam and Eve’s sin (You
shall be as Gods – Genesis 3:5)]. God then removed the tree from
the Garden and placed it in an area where it was unreachable, east of Eden.
Genesis
3:24 - So he
drove out the man; and he placed (the Tree of Life) at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way
of the tree of life.
This is where the tree exists today, guarded by
Cherubim (one designation of angels) with flaming swords.
The Tree of Life
also appears in this passage. And, at the end of the Bible, the tree reappears.
The location:
Revelation
22:2 - In the
midst of the street of it (the city called New Jerusalem), and on either side of the River (water of
life), was there
the Tree of Life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and
yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
We will discuss the Tree of Life in more detail when Chapter 22 of Revelation is studied.
4. Paradise
of God
Strong’s Concordance (Paradises: Greek [G3857])
defines it as a park that is (specifically) an Eden, a place of future
happiness. Paradise is mentioned three
times in the (KJV) Bible.
a. Luke 23:24
- And Jesus said unto him (the thief on the cross), Verily I say unto thee, To day
shalt thou be with me in Paradise.
b. 2 Corinthians
12:4 - How
that he (the Apostle Paul describing himself in a vision) was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which
it is not lawful for a man to utter.
c. Revelation
2:7 - To him
that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst
of the Paradise of God.
In a glorified state, an overcomer of the world
will have the reward of eating from the Tree
of Life, which is in the Paradise of
God, the Eternal Kingdom.
In the next lesson, our focus will be on the
Persecuted Church - the Church at Smyrna. Read ahead.
QUESTIONS:
1. What made Ephesus a favorable church in God’s eyes?
2. Did this church lose or leave its first love?
3. What leads some churches into apostasy?
4. Define the highest form of love.
5. Describe the main cause of a failed church.
6. What is repentance?
7. What are the promises to an overcomer?
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to others.
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