Days of Vengeance - The Preterist Archive

2:1-3
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THE SPIRIT SPEAKS TO THE CHURCH:
OVERCOME!
Ephesus: Judgement on the False Apostles (2:1-7)
1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who
holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks
in the middle of the seven golden lampstands, says this:
2 I know your deeds and your toil and your perseverance, and
that you cannot endure evil men – that you have tested
those who call themselves apostles but are not, and have
found them to be false.
3 And you have perseverance, and have endured hardships
for My name, and have not grown weary.
4 But I have this against you: You have left your first love.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent
and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming
to you quickly, and will remove your lampstand out of its
place – unless you repent.
6 Yet this you do have: 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 grant to eat of the
Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of My God.
1 The city of Ephesus was the most important city in
Asia Minor, both in politics and trade. It was an
important cultural center as well, boasting such
attractions as art, science, witchcraft, idolatry,
gladiators, and persecution. Main Street ran from the
harbor to the theater, and on the way the visitor would
pass the gymnasium and public baths, the public library,
and the public brothel. Its temple to Artemis (or Diana
– the goddess of fertility and “nature in the wild”) was
one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. St.
Luke tells us another interesting fact about the city, one
that has important bearing on the Seven Messages as a
whole: Ephesus was a hotbed of Jewish occultism and
magical arts (Acts 19:13-15, 18-19). Throughout the
world of the first century, apostate Judaism was
accommodating itself to numerous pagan ideologies
and heathen practices, developing early strains of what
later came to be known as Gnosticism – various hybrids
of occult wisdom, rabbinical lore, mystery religion, and
either asceticism or licentiousness (or both), all stirred
up together with a few bits and pieces of Christian
doctrine. 1 This mongrelized religious quackery was
undoubtedly a primary spawning ground for the
heresies that afflicted the churches of Asia Minor.
Yet, despite all the multiform depravity within Ephesus
(cf. Eph. 4:17-19; 5:3-12) the Lord Jesus Christ had
established His Church there (Acts 19); and in this
message He assures the angel of the congregation that
He holds the seven stars in His right hand, upholding
and protecting the rulers whom He has ordained: “He
fills them with light and influence,” says Matthew
Henry’s Commentary; “He supports them, or else they
would soon be falling stars.” 2 He also walks in the
middle of the lampstands, the churches, guarding and
examining them, and connecting them to one another
through their unity in Him. “I will put My dwelling
place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk
among you and be your God, and you will be my
people” (Lev. 26:11-12).
2-3 The church in Ephesus was well known for its toil
and hard work for the faith, and its perseverance in the
face of opposition and apostasy, having endured
hardships for the name of Christ. This was a church
that did not know the meaning of compromise, willing
to take a strong stand for orthodoxy, regardless of the
cost. (It is noteworthy that, of all Paul’s letters to the
churches, Ephesians alone does not mention a single
doctrinal issue that needed apostolic correction.) The
rulers of the church were not afraid to discipline evil
men. They knew the importance of heresy trials and
excommunications, and it seems that this church had
had a good share of both: Its rulers had tested the false
“apostles,” and had convicted them. The elders of
Ephesus heeded well the exhortation Paul had given
them (Acts 20:28-31): “Guard yourselves and all the
flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the Church of God, which He bought
with His own blood. I know that after I leave, savage
wolves will come in among you and will not spare the
flock. Even from your own number men will arise and
distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after
them. So be on your guard!”
Forty years later, this church was still renowned for its
orthodoxy, as St. Ignatius (martyred A.D. 107)
observed in his letter to the Ephesians: “You all live
according to truth, and no heresy has a home among
you: indeed, you do not so much as listen to anyone, if
he speaks of anything except concerning Jesus Christ in
truth. . . . I have learned that certain persons passed
through you bringing evil doctrine; and you did not
allow them to sow seeds among you, for you stopped up
your ears, so that you might not receive the seed sown
by them. . . . You are arrayed from head to foot in the
commandments of Jesus Christ.” 3
There are several striking parallels in these verses:
Christ tells the church, “I know . . . your toil [literally,
weariness] and your perseverance, and that you cannot
1. See Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, The Book of Revelation: Justice and Judgment
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), pp. 114-32. For an example of the sort
of insane literature this movement produced, see James M. Robinson, ed.,
The Nag Hammadi Library (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1977).
2. Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (New York: Fleming H.
Revell Co., n.d.), vol. VI, p. 1123.
3. St. Ignatius, Ephesians vi, ix.
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