Bible study : The book of Revelation (Church at Ephesus)
CHURCH AT EPHESUS
Speaker : Pst. Manoj Arunkumar
Summarization : Sis. Nancy Manoj
Revelation
2(NKJV)
“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.”’
So in the last bible study we saw that Jesus introduces
himself to each of the 7 churches, namely;
1)
Ephesus;
2) Smyrna; 3)
Pergamos; 4) Thyatira;
4) Sardis; 6) Philadelphia and Laodicea
All these letters end with
the same evaluation - “He who has as ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the
Church”
If you read carefully, it you will notice that out of
these 7 churches for only two churches Jesus did not criticize nor condemn that
is Smyrna
and Philadelphia church (Rev
2:8, 3:7)
But regarding the church at Ephesus
God says in Rev 2:5, “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”
A lampstand has seven lamps, three on the left and three on the right and center is Jesus. If God
removes the lampstand it is all gone. The Bible says in Luke 23:45 that when
Jesus died on the Cross The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple
was torn down the middle. Means Jesus became
the permanent Light to the World. If Jesus is not going to be there means the
Holy Spirit is going to be removed and if Holy Spirit is not there what will be
the state of the church. Church cannot function without the Holy Spirit.
Without Holy Spirit we can do nothing.
But we have a God of compassion
and love. He is a God of second chance. He just wants His children to repent
and return to their first love.
So we will study each church and study their positive and negative
points, the result of their sin, commands given to them and the meaning of the
churches name.
So let’s start with the Church at Ephesus today (Rev
2:1-7)
1. EPHESUS was a celebrated city in Asia Minor, and was about 40 miles south of
Smyrna.
2. EPHESUS people were distinguished for refinement of manners, and also for
luxury, for music and dancing, and for the seductive arts festivals.
So, let’s see where was the Church of Ephesus situated or
what was the strongholds around the church of Ephesus? As we study this let us
also examine our church and see where we stand as of today.
1. The Temple Artemis or Artemision,
also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis. It was located in Ephesus (near the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey). One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was completely rebuilt three times before its final
destruction in 401 AD.[1] Only foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest
of the temples at the site remain. The Temple
of Artemis was located at an economically robust
region, seeing merchants and travellers from all over Asia Minor.
The temple was influenced by many beliefs, and can be seen as a
symbol of faith for many different peoples.
WHO WAS ARTEMIS?
Artemis was the Greek goddess, daughter of Zeus and Leto,
the twin sister of Apollo. Believed to be born in Ephesus. She was the goddess
of fertility and birth. Many breasts which are considered to be Bulls
testicles of her denoting her fertility. The Greek Artemis was dressed in
a long garment, holding a bow and arrows like her brother Apollo, which killed
the pregnant woman. Each year in spring a feast was organized dedicated to
Artemis. During the feast days, there were live sacrifices, athletic games
and speech competitions. The feast was also a national holiday for the
Ionians of the Asia Minor]
2. They
had a big theatre for entertainment which had a seating capacity of about 25,000
people.
3. Huge
Library
4. Market
place
5.
Domitian Temple - It was
built in the 1st century AD. It was originally believed to have
been dedicated to the Roman Emperor Domitian, the first Emperor who allowed
Ephesians to erect such monuments to the Romans. Domitian was known as one of
the most brutal Roman emperors. During his reign he persecuted many Christians
in Roman cities including Ephesus. History holds Domitian as the one who exiled
John the Apostle to the island of Patmos. The unpopular emperor was eventually
killed by one of his servants. When they learned of his death, the citizens of
Ephesus celebrated erasing Domitian’s name from inscriptions around the city.
a. Temple
of Hadrian - It is one of the best preserved and most beautiful structures
on Curetes Street. Emperor
Hadrian was one of the Five of Good Emperors. Hadrian appears to have been
a man of mixed sexual interests. The Historia Augusta criticizes both his liking of
goodlooking young men as well as his adulteries with married women. It is
belived that he tried to poison his wife. When it comes to Hadrian's
homosexuality, then the accounts remain vague and unclear. Most of the
attention centres on the young Antinous, whom Hadrian grew very fond of.
Statues of Antinous have survived, showing that imperial patronage of this
youth extended to having sculptures made of him. In AD 130 Antinous accompanied
Hadrian to Egypt. It was on a trip on the Nile when Antinous met with an early
and somewhat mysterious death. Officially, he fell from the boat and drowned.
SO LET US STUDY IN
DETAIL WHAT DOES THE WORD EPHESUS MEAN?
(Acts
20:17-32, Ps.105:14, Is.65:1, Ps. 19:8-11)
Ephesus means ”DESIRABLE” or
“LOVELESS CHURCH” and the key phrase in this letter is “remember from where you have fallen” means Church
must have be standing somewhere that’s why it has fallen.
·
Ephesus was a very
powerful church.
·
They tested the apostles
and prophets.
·
They were hard working church but were not
devoted to their work.
·
Something was lacking in
their spiritual life. They had lost their intimacy with God. (The church of Ephesus lost reading the word,
prayer, worship and communion with God. Still God's grace was prevailing over
them)
o
Sometimes we
could serving the Lord and doing lots of ministry, and still miss out deepening
our passion for Christ. And if you don’t have devotion you have lost
everything.
·
The church at Ephesus were faithful to God but had NO FIRST LOVE.
As in a husband wife relationship, husband does not want service from his wife but
he expects love from his wife.
·
Good works becomes dead when Love for God is not the motivating force
behind every service done for Him.
·
Acts 19, 20:31 we see Apostle Paul brought revival in the church of
Ephesus for 3 years. But now the believers there had lost their fervent love,
respect for each other (means the works of the Holy Spirit was stopped in the
church). Because of which they were no longer able to bear each other’s
weaknesses or overlook each other’s sin.
Remember, nothing can be
hidden from the eyes of the Lord (1 Sam 16:7, Psalms 139:1-24, 2 Tim 2:19, Heb
4:12, 2 Chronicles 16:9)
Jesus said to the Church at Ephesus that he will
remove the lampstand out of the church. What does it mean?
3 TASKS THAT WERE PERFORMED DAILY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT TIMES
1. PREPARING THE MENORAH – In the
tabernacle of God the lampstand is called Menorah i.e. Light
2. INCENSE OFFERING – The alter of incense is where prayer was offered
3. DAILY ANIMAL SACRIFICES – Bread and Wine was used
by the priest with every animal sacrifice
3 THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD DO DAILY
1.
MENORAH THE LIGHT – we must read the bible
daily. God’s word is light. In
the New Testament, reading the word of God is a light / lamp unto our feet.
Jesus said that he'll remove the lampstand
because they weren’t reading and following the word of God. Jesus is that
lampstand, the Word of God.
2.
INCENSE ALTAR – Everyday
every believer must have a lifestyle of prayer and worship. Is your Worship
alive today?
3.
TABLE OF SHEW BREAD – Breaking of bread was done daily by the early
Christians and then weekly (ACTS 20 :7). Everyday we need to have communion
with the Lord
A Lampstand has seven lamps (flames); and in the Old Testament.
It's the revelation light of God. When Jesus died, the temple lights went off
because Jesus became the light of the world and a direct access for us to reach
the Father.
The church of Ephesus lost reading the word, prayer and worship
and communion with God. Still God's grace was prevailing over them.
We need to repent for the things which aren't good in the sight
of God. When you read the word, you need to check and examine yourself and repent.
Read it with love and passion. Your prayers should come from within.
Communion means becoming one with the Father. You've become dead
for the world and been made alive for Christ. It brings a reverence for God and
brings peace in it’s place. When you break bread you remember Him.
The fruit you get when you repent, is eternal life. Jesus
himself is the Tree of Life and when you eat this fruit you'll have eternal
life.
Conclusion:
Let
us examine ourselves today.
Let
us examine as a church, whether God is warning us anything through this Ephesus
Church.
HAVE
WE LOST OUR FERVENT FIRST LOVE FOR CHRIST?
When we first came to the Lord we used pray a lot, read bible, run for
every meeting, never miss Sunday church or any church meeting. Mind was focused
on the church. Heart was for the Lord. Was willing to walk the extra mile. Take
the narrow path. But now are we still burning with the same passion for God or
have we lost our First Love for him? Is yes, then you need to repent before God
and ask his forgiveness as He is a God for second chance. He is a loving and
compassionate God.
God says in Rev 2:5, “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”
PROMISE FOR
OVERCOMERS
Rev
2:7 To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’
Meaning,
every second chance will not miss Eternal Life.
GOD
BLESS YOU !
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