These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2I 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. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5Consider 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. 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7Whoever 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.
Thoughts: There are some who see the seven churches as representative of seven ages in church history. But nowhere in the text itself does it indicate that this is the way we should interpret these texts. The seven churches are seven real locations in Asia Minor- and places that John had visited. In some ways, these are the most practical verses of the whole book. We can learn from the examples and mistakes of these churches in our own day.
The church in Ephesus worked hard and persevered under persecution. It was in Ephesus that Paul was arrested. The rioters shouted, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians- for the Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the world. The Ephesians were also good and commended for guarding the faith and not tolerating heretics and wicked people. Paul had warned them to "keep watch over the flock" (Acts 20:28). However, their love and enthusiasm for Christ had grown cold. Their call by God was to repent and do the things they did at first. What were these things? Acts tells us they burned millions of dollars worth of sorcery scolls and magical charms. We are called by this passage to evaluate our love for Christ and see how it compares to our love when we first believed.
The church in Ephesus worked hard and persevered under persecution. It was in Ephesus that Paul was arrested. The rioters shouted, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians- for the Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the world. The Ephesians were also good and commended for guarding the faith and not tolerating heretics and wicked people. Paul had warned them to "keep watch over the flock" (Acts 20:28). However, their love and enthusiasm for Christ had grown cold. Their call by God was to repent and do the things they did at first. What were these things? Acts tells us they burned millions of dollars worth of sorcery scolls and magical charms. We are called by this passage to evaluate our love for Christ and see how it compares to our love when we first believed.
Prayer: Lord, may my love for you be renewed and grow stronger instead of fading with time.
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