G. O. A. D. A. P.

REVELATION 2:12-17

V-12: And to the church in Pergamos write, these thing says he who has the sharp two edged
sword:
V-13: “I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to
My name and did not deny my faith even in the days when Antipas was My faithful
martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
V-14: But I have a few things against you, because you have those who hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat
things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
V-15: Thus you also have those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
V-16: Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of
My mouth.
V-17: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who
overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone,
and on that stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

Pergamos was the provincial capitol of Asia Minor. It had been the capitol for over 400 years, going back to the time of the break up of the kingdom of Alexander the great. This was the beginning of the Selecuid kingdom. After Attalus died in 133B.C., he willed Asia minor to Rome, where Pergamos remained the capitol.

Its geographical location made it an interesting site for a capitol city. The city was perched high on a cone-shaped hill overlooking the Caicus River Valley. It was not on any major trade routes and thus was not a major center of trade. From its location, one could see the Mediterranean Sea just 15 miles away, and any traveler coming through the river valley would certainly be impressed.

Instead of commercial greatness, Pergamos was the cultural center of Asia Minor. It had the second largest library in the ancient world, second only to the one in Alexandria, Egypt. A Pergamene king called Eumenes started a centuries-long feud with the Egyptians when he tried to hire the chief librarian away from Alexandria. Ptolemy, the ruler in Egypt at that time, promptly arrested the librarian and placed an embargo on papyrus to Pergamos. The people of Pergamos, not to be deterred, set about and developed parchment, which eventually replaced papyrus in the ancient world.

Pergamos was also a great religious center for Asia Minor, especially as the keeper of the Greek way of worship. Two of the most popular sites were the Temple of Athene and the Altar of Zeus. They both were 800 feet up on the mountain and could be seen by anyone approaching the city. Historians say that the Altar of Zeus stood 40 ft high on a large projection of rock and from a distance looked like a gigantic throne. Around its base was a majestic carving depicting the victory of the Greek gods over the barbarians’ giants. Smoke went up from the altar all day long from the continual sacrifices being made.

More important, Pregamos was the home to the god Asciepios. If there was any god who would be known as the god of Pergamos, it would have been Asciepios. He was the god of healing. People came from all over the ancient world to Pergamos for healing. It may have been the closest thing to a teaching hospital then known in the ancient world.

What probably caused Pergamos to be called the seat of Satan is that it was the capitol of Asia Minor. This made it not only the administrative center but also the center of emperor worship itself. While other cities jousted for position to build this temple or that temple to an emperor, Pergamos was the definite center for Emperor worship in Asia Minor, and they took that very seriously. Emperor worship was the only form of worship in the empire that could require punishment by death if one failed to concur. This wasn’t during all times and wasn’t always carried out in all places, but it was a fact.

This is pointed out in verse 12, where Jesus refers to Himself as ‘He who has the two edged-sword.’ Roman governors were divided into two classes – those who had the ius gladii and those who didn’t. The ius gladii would be one who had the power of the sword, thus having power over life and death. In Pergamos the governor had the ius gladii, and there was always a chance for the congregation to have that power wielded against them; but Jesus wants them to remember that HE is the one with the two-edged sword. Jesus has the final say. While the power of Rome might be satanically powerful, it would never be as powerful as the risen Christ.

This is not the first time the two-edged sword is mentioned in Revelation. It is also noted in Revelation 1:16. What I said there also applies to this scripture. It comes from Genesis 3:24, when God expels Adam and Eve out of the Garden. There is placed an angel with a two-edged sword, which turns every which way in order to keep them out. Also, in Hebrews 4:12, Paul talks about the two- edged sword as the word of God, “For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Hebrews text speaks more clearly to verse 16, where Jesus says that He will come among them and slay them with the sword in His mouth. The “them” refers to the teachers of the doctrine of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. Piercing the division between the true believers and the heretics, the sword of His mouth is Christ’s word. It is with His word that He will defeat them – and it is the same with us! It is with Christ’s word that we will be able to defeat the heretics of our day. Not logic, not philosophy, not psychology, but with Christ’s word.

Jesus said, “I know where you stay.” Jesus uses an interesting word here, the Greek word katoikein, which means a permanent dwelling. In most cases when referring to where a Christian lives or stays, the New Testament writers use the Greek word paroikein, which means a traveler or sojourner. Why? The common thought is that we as Christians upon receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are no longer of this world. We are now seekers and citizens of the Kingdom of God, and we are not expecting to permanently dwell here. This world is not our kingdom and not our home – and often the world does not even want us here…. But in this passage, the word katoikein is used to denote that we also follow the Lord who overcame the world. As Christians we are called not to escape the slings and arrows that the world throws at us but to conquer. The work of the Christian is to stand firm even in the face of persecution and possible martyrdom and witness to the Gospel of Jesus. Regarding the man who was executed, Antipas, Jesus calls a faithful witness. Too often this Greek word gets translated as martyr, but the Greek is actually martus, which translates as witness. Unfortunately, for a true disciple a faithful witness can leads to martyrdom. It is one thing to proclaim Jesus in our Bible study group, Sunday school class, or worship service. It is another to stand firm in our faith where our faith is met with even violent opposition….

Let’s be real – this is happening more and more in our world today. There is opposition within the church against fellow believers. Those who believe in the authority of Scripture are being called names, denounced, and vilified because of holding to scriptural correctness above politics or whatever society says is correct at the moment. Their definition of correct continues to change with the wind. There is also a growing opposition to Christian faith in our local communities as well as officials all the way to the top tiers of the government.

Friedrich Nietzsche, the French philosopher, is best known for his writing in which he supposedly proclaimed, “ God is dead.” Nietzsche was taken out of context. He saw the world around him and all the changes that were happening which at the time seemed like a very quick pace. He saw the societal changes and said basically that the ways of the church and the worship of God at the time was not meeting the need of the people of that time. Now this is a discussion for another day, but there were a lot of changes in the study of theology, especially out of Germany, which had spread throughout Europe and also to the United States which made that true. However, Nietzsche also wrote that there would always be a god, because humanity would make one to put in His place. Imagine that insight….

We see this today with the fascist leftist medias attacks on the faith of those who believe in the authority of Scripture. The Bible itself is being jammed into the category of hate speech. It is being called exclusive. Laws are in the process of being passed which will cancel a Christian’s right to free speech if they disagree with the social justice culture. There are talks of indoctrinating people to believe as the government thinks one ought to believe. Some of the people in the 2021 president’s administration believe that those who will not bow should be imprisoned in special camps. Look at what is happening in China regarding the imprisonment of Islamic believers and the enforcing of slave labor. There has been even talk of holocaust-type murders of Islamic believers in China, where the Christian church is also persecuted. As the violence and deceptive speech of the cancel culture and social justice warriors are rammed down peoples’ throats – and all media is being controlled to the point where dissenting voices are canceled, censored, or silenced – who’s to say the same thing will not happen in the U.S. ? Jesus is telling the congregation at Pergamos, and the congregations of today, that He is proud of their witness in the face of deadly opposition. He is telling them – and us – to continue to stay where we are, stand, and witness, even if it means death. He reminds us that He has overcome the world, no matter what the happenings around us look like. (We shall see later that the death of Antipas will be revisited when we talk about the stone and the name written on it.)

Who are the heretics? Well, apparently there are two groups and not one, as in Ephesus. The first are those who hold the doctrine of Balaam. Balaam was a great sorcerer who was contracted by Balak, the king of Moab, to cast a curse on the Children of Israel as they were passing through Moab on their way to the Promise Land. Balaam tried three times, but the Lord God only gave him blessings to pronounce. Yet Balaam told Balak that while the Lord God would not allow him to curse Israel, Balak could get them to curse themselves by going in the back door and tempting the children of Israel to blaspheme through the women of Moab. Thus, the children of Israel sinned against God by doing the same things mentioned in verse 14, sacrificing and eating things sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality. We have already noted that Pergamemes saw themselves as the keepers of pure Greek culture, as well as taking pride in their support of the emperor cult; and most Greek temples and their worship included male and female prostitutes. Unless you knew of a good Jewish butcher, all meats sold in the marketplace had been sacrificed to idols. The meat was not a problem unless it was eaten at a pagan temple as part of a pagan celebration. This purchase location would also be the same time that a person might be seduced into sexual immorality with a temple prostitute. Now, one might say, “ OK, just stay away from pagan temple functions.” But the Christians had family that were not Christians, and temples were the places for birthday celebrations, weddings, and many other secular social events. Apparently the congregation at Pergamos had become lax in the scrutiny of some of the fellow believers. While not all were guilty of these sins – maybe not even the majority – the congregation was not holding each another accountable.

The second group of heretics was the Nicolaitans. Again, go to my writing on Ephesus and reread. These were the early form of gnosticism, which would become an even greater problem in about 50 years (the flesh was not important, only the spirit mattered). The Christian lifestyle was nonexistent for them. What one did, what one ate, and where one worshiped were not important. These folks evolved to believe that Jesus did not exist as a human but was only was spirit. He didn’t die on the cross. Sin was of the flesh, and Jesus was all spirit. Thus, He didn’t have to die, and the life lived in the flesh was not important – only the spirit was important. Again, these people were not in the majority, but they were also not being held accountable. What a false compassion – where the feelings and desires of persons takes precedence over the Sovereignty, Authority, Will, Holiness and Righteousness of God!

We can see this in the break- up of major Christian denominations today. Where Scriptural authority is set aside and sin is ignored or disclaimed to support a false compassion for the feelings of persons. Where is the real compassion, when we are willing to condemn a person to Hell because we are unwilling to confront their sin since we don’t want to hurt their feelings? We act like Luke telling Darth Vader, “I see the good in you.” But we fail to compare the good in them to the righteousness and holiness of God. The people of the congregation in Pergamos were willing sell their fellow members short because they did not want to ruffle feathers or hurt feelings.

Jesus tells the believers of Pergamos that if they are not willing to confront their fellow congregational members, then He will, by the sword in His mouth. Remember the words of Paul in Hebrews, “The word of is like a two edged sword.” Jesus says He is going to fight the heresy with His word; and because His word can sever between soul and spirit, joint and marrow, He can deal with the heretics without harming the faithful. Isn’t it interesting that while we try to handle things by political maneuvering, Jesus says, “I will handle it through My word.”

Again, let those with an ear (singular) hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the overcomers, to those who are faithful to the end, Jesus promises three rewards: 1) I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. It is believed by Hebrew scholars that one of the signs of the Messiah will be that He will feed the remnant with the manna from heaven as God did the children of Israel in the wilderness. This was the sign Jesus used in His own ministry with the feedings of the 4000 and 5000. Here Jesus is telling them that they will not have to worry about food or meat sacrificed to idols because they will eat at His heavenly table and eat His heavenly food. 2) I will give them a white stone. In the ancient culture of the day, there were a couple of different thoughts about the white stone; but since we are talking about end time and judgment, I believe the correct thought is one based on the judicial practices of the day. In a court case, unlike today, there was usually more than one judge. The judges would hear all sides of the case and then would pronounce their judgment, not by speaking but by casting stones. Each judge would have a white stone and a black stone. The black stone was if they found against a person, and the white stone was for if they found for a person. Similar to this was that in the early priesthood of Israel, a priest sought the will of God through the urim and the thummin. While the color of the urim and the thummin are not known, it is greatly believed that they were stones. The urim and the thummin are not mentioned again after the 7th chapter of Nehemiah. Jesus is telling the overcomers, both in Pergamos and in today, that He has cast for us the white stone. We win!!
3) There will be a name on the stone, a name that no one knows but the one who receives it. Now, most people want to make a big deal about the secrecy of the name, that no one will know it except they who receive it. But I would like to share that the name is not the secret. The name is mentioned in Rev.2:13 of our present study and was mentioned earlier in our study in Rev. 1:5. It is the name given to Antipas and the name given by God the Father to Jesus in Rev. 1:5 – Faithful Witness. You may say, “But Dap, Jesus calls Antipas a faithful martyr.” Please remember the Greek word for martyr is literally witness. The secret is not the name. The secret is that only the one who overcomes can understand the meaning behind the name…..

Let’s review:
1.) Jesus is the one with the two-edged sword in His mouth. Jesus is the one who speaks the truth of
God. His word is truth. The power of His word is greater than the sword of Rome.
2.) Jesus knows their works, the hardship of where they dwell, and their faithfulness even in
persecution unto death.
3.) Jesus has one shortcoming against them, found in two areas: their failure to hold accountable those who are not constant in the faith (those who adhere to the doctrine of of Ballam) and those who refuse to adhere to the basic beliefs of the faith (the Nicolaitans).
4.) If they do not repent and do their duty as faithful believers, Jesus Himself will come and deal with
the unfaithful THROUGH HIS WORD.
5.) To the overcomers, Jesus will give three rewards: 1) They will be allowed to eat the bread of Heaven saved for those who overcome. 2) They will be judged righteous via the white stone.
3) They will be given the name that Jesus was given by the Father and which Jesus gave Antipas – that of Faithful Witness.

AMEN

In Christ,

The Dap

Remember to pray Psalm 91 in the first person daily. If you want to be more empowered, pray Psalms 23, 27, and 121 as well.

Revelation 2:8-11

8) And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, “These things says the First and the Last,
who was dead and came to life:
9) I know your works, tribulation and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy
of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10) Do not fear any of those things you are about to suffer. Indeed the devil is about to throw
some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be
faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes
shall not be hurt by the second death.”

Smyrna is second in line because it was second only to Ephesus in greatness among the cities of Asia Minor (although they never thought of themselves as second to anyone!). Unlike Ephesus. which basically does not exist today, Smyrna was the site of the present day city of Izmir. Smyrna was situated about 40 miles north of Ephesus and commanded the mouth of the Hermus River valley. This fed into a natural land-sided harbor which could easily be defended. It also stood at the end of the crossroads to Lydia and Phygia, which gave Smyrna command of all the trade through the rich Hermus valley.

Smyrna was a very wealthy city. It was also a very beautiful city. Originally founded by Greek colonists around 1000 B.C. it was destroyed by Lydians about 600 B.C. For almost 400 years it was nothing but a collection of small villages scattered about. Then in 200 B.C. a gentleman by the name of Lysimachus put together a project to reconstruct the city as a planned whole, and Smyrna thus became the first planned city. Its streets were set off in perfect squares with one main thoroughfare arising from the harbor and one crossing it around the Pagos ( the mountain that rose up from the harbor). All the temples and buildings were planned as they were built up the side of the Pagos. The city was aesthetically beautiful and was known as the Jewel of Asia Minor.

Not only was it aesthetically beautiful, but because of its position on the coast, it caught the westerly wind continuously from the sea, which made it a pleasant place to live – except for one problem. All the city’s waste was emptied from the river into the harbor, and at times the aroma was a little less than desirable. Well, I guess you can’t have everything…

Smyrna was similar to Ephesus in that it was also a free city, which meant it did not have to have Roman troops stationed there and had total self government. The City of Smyrna was very proud of their alliance with Rome. In fact, they were never conquered by Rome. They had thrown in their lot with Rome before Rome became a super power. They vied with other cities for the right to be the first to build temples to the emperors. This would be one of the areas of persecution for the church in Smyrna because of the city’s love of Rome and their desire to show it by emperor worship.

The other source of persecution came from the fact that there was a huge Jewish population in Smyrna. This was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that many Christian converts came from Gentiles who were interested in the belief in a one true God as opposed to polytheism. But they were not interested enough to become proselytes (namely, circumcision). Thus, the Christian faith which talked about the circumcision of the heart instead of the physical kind would seem more to their liking. The curse was that Judaism appealed a lot more to women than to men, and many of these women were wives of the wealthy and influential of the city as well as the wives of many of the government leaders. This made it especially easy to get the governing authorities involved in any persecution the Jews wanted to hand out upon the congregation, or cast a blind eye to whatever the Jews wanted to do to the believers. The Christians in Smyrna were under attack from two enemies in the city. Six slanders were often used to accuse the Christian in Smyrna

1) The taking of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist used the words, ‘This is My body and My
blood.’ Thus, the Christians were often accused of being cannibals.
2) Because Christians called their common meal the Agape or love feast, they were accused of holding
orgies.
3) Because not everyone within a family became believers, Christians were accused of splitting up
families and destroying family values.
4) Because Christians had no carved or molten images for worship, they were called heathen.
5) Because they would not swear loyalty to Caesar and burn incense and worship at his temple, they
were traitors.
6) Because Christians believed in the powerful return of Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven this would
bring, they were insurrectionists.

Cannibalism, orgies, family destruction, heathen, traitorous, and insurrectionist….The congregation in Smyrna was really up against it.

Jesus begins in verse 8 by telling the Smyrna Christians that He is the First and the Last. If we will remember from chapter 1, verse 11, the Greek here is saying that Jesus is the foremost one who was before the beginning. And the last in the Greek means as far from the last as you can get. In this Jesus is reminding the congregation that He is the Eternal One, the One who was alive before there was any creation and the One who will be around after there is no creation. He also reminds them that He is the One who was dead (the Greek here actually means a corpse, lifeless), yet now He is alive (the Greek meaning alive eternally, a life without end). There is also a play of words on the history of Smyrna here. Remember, Smyrna was alive from 1000 B.C. until around 600 B.C. and then was destroyed. It was rebuilt around 200BC and was at this time thriving, vying to be the greatest city in Asia Minor, considered a leading city in the entire Roman Empire. They are totally full of themselves and do not suspect their end. Jesus is reminding the Christians in Smyrna that He is the only eternal One and that in the same way the city of Smyrna cast their lot with a temporary empire like Rome, if they continue with faith in Him, the truly Eternal One, they will be the true overcomers.

In verse 9 Jesus reveals three things He knows about them. 1) He knows of their works. They are true to their Gospel calling. Unlike the Ephesians, knew what their first work and their first love was. They even understood the distress in their lives and continued to proclaim the Gospel and call sinners unto repentance. They maintained a heart for the lost. 2) Jesus knows their tribulation. The Greek for tribulation is thlipsis, which means to crush, press, squeeze, to break in any way possible. This congregation was being attacked from two sides – the folks who condemned them for not worshiping the emperor and the Jews whose position was threatened by loss of possible proselytes from their synagogue to a gospel of a risen Lord who offers eternal life. 3) Jesus knows their poverty. In the Greek there are two words used for the poor. One is penia, referring to a person who is not wealthy, one who has to work for a living. This IS NOT the Greek word used here. The Greek used here is ptocheia, referring to a person who has absolutely nothing, totally destitute, without job or resources of any kind. Yet the Lord tells them they are rich. They are rich in faith. They are rich in love from Christ to them and from them to the lost. They are rich in works, the true works of the church of Christ.

Why would the Christians of Smyrna be so poor in such a wealthy city? Because they were suffering for their faith. In a city where emperor worship was not just practiced bur expected, a Christian who refused to bow to Caesar or pay tribute to Caesar suffered from the cancel culture of that day. They had no 4th Amendment. There was no such thing as illegal search and seizure. The mob could enter and destroy any Christians home or business (if they had one), take what they wanted, and make the remainder unusable. Kind of reminds you of the actions that took place this summer in the USA with no punitive action taken. It wasn’t something that was continuous, but the Christians living in Smyrna lived under this type of threat at all times. As an aside here, the exact same things happened to the early Methodist of the 1700’s in England. In early 18th century England, Methodist were dragged out of their home and beaten or thrown into jail. The men could be forced into the army to fight the wars that were happening at that time. Methodist homes and meeting houses could be (and were) destroyed or irreparably damaged. John and Charles Wesley were both arrested by authorities. They were both seized by mobs and beaten and dragged down streets and around towns. If you need proof, read the journals of both Charles and John Wesley. The Jews in Russia were subject to the same treatment. The Christians of Smyrna were subject to the same abuse.

Another reason the Christians in Smyrna were so poor is also found in verse 9. Jesus says He knows of the blasphemy of the Jews. The Greek for blasphemy is blasphemia, meaning to vilify someone, to slander them, to tell falsehoods about them, to lie and speak evil of them and against God. The Jews were the primary instigators against the congregation at Smyrna. They propagated the six slanders mentioned earlier in this writing. Jesus calls them the synagogue of Satan, the Greek literally meaning slanderer, adversary, and accuser. This is what the Jews of Smyrna did and in so doing got the whole city stirred up against the Christians.

Yet in verse 10, Jesus tell the congregation in Smyrna not to fear. Then He follows it up with things that would make one fear. He tells them they are about to suffer. He doesn’t tell them what the total sum of their suffering is going to be, though probably a lot more of the same already mentioned. He specifically says that the devil will throw some of them in prison. The Greek for devil, diabolos, means the one who is full of falsehood and lies, one who slanders and whose main purpose is to lead people away from God and into sin. They will all suffer tribulation and will be tested. The good news is that it will be for a short time. The phrase “ten days” unfortunately does not mean a literal ten days. It does, however, refer to a short period of time. He tells them to be faithful until death, which indicates some will die under the persecution.

Here Jesus tells them of one of their two rewards: 1) Being faithful (Greek word pistos, meaning faithful in duty to oneself and to others, true fidelity) even unto even unto death results in Jesus’ giving them the crown of eternal Life, a life without end. The Greek here for life is zoie, which can either mean just life in general or, as in Scripture, eternal life without end. The interesting fact here is Jesus says the crown of eternal life. There are again two words for “crown” in the Greek. One is diadema, which means a royal crown worn by a king or emperor. The second word is the one found in our text, stephanos, which carries with it the joy of victory. Smyrna had an area where athletic events were held that were were prominent in the city. Victors in these events would receive a laurel crown. Smyrna was also called the crown of Asia Minor, thus one side of their coins would have a victors crown inscribed on it. City officials who left their jobs with great accomplishments, or others who had done great feats, would have coins fashioned with their wearing a crown of victory on one side. The crown was part of the strong imagery and tradition for the city of Smyrna. So it is interesting that Jesus promises a victor’s crown for the reward of the faithful believer. But His reward is not a laurel crown that will wilt, dry out, crumble, and disappear. Rather, it is an eternal crown that remains with the one who has been given eternal life.

Verse 11 begins with, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Then Jesus reveals the second reward for the faithful: 2) There is a promise that they who overcome will not be hurt, damaged, or harmed by the second death. Teachers of the Bible make a big deal about the Sadducees and their not believing in the resurrection of the dead, but most Jews believed in an eternal life. As a matter of fact, the term “second death” is only found a couple of times in the New Testament. The term is not Christian, it comes from Orthodox Judaism. The Orthodox Jews believed that when a person died, they went to a place where their spirits remained until they were judged. At the time of judgment is when they would go to their eternal home, Heaven or Hell. The Catholic concept of Purgatory actually derives from this Orthodox Judaism belief. Jesus promises the believers at Smyrna that they who are faithful till the end, until death, will not face the second death. Here the word for death is not the word for a corpse. It is thanatos, meaning destruction, perdition, misery, implying both physical death and exclusion from the presence and favor of God in consequence of sin and disobedience. The residents of Smyrna may be able to kill the Christian believers in this world, but the faithful will wear the eternal crown of eternal life in the next.

The sufferings of the Christians in Smyrna were not just historical suffering. Humanity has not really moved forward or grown past such atrocities. They are happening in Iran, Pakistan, China, North Korea, Argentina, Venezuela, and other countries in this world today. I really hate to say it, but the way things are going in Washington DC, they may be happening soon in this this country as well.

Let’s Sum it up:
1) Jesus is the First and the Last, He who was dead but now lives.
2) Jesus knows Smyrna’s condition, their works, their tribulation, and their poverty.
3) Jesus tells them that they are rich in what matters – their first work, their first love, their heart for
the unsaved.
4) He knows the false charges that have been brought against them and who brought them – Jews not
following God but following Satan
5) Do not fear the testing that is coming: more tribulation, imprisonment, even death. But it will be for
a short period of time.
6) Those who are faithful until death and those who overcome will receive the eternal crown of eternal life and freedom from the second death.

In Christ –
The Dap

Remember to pray the 91st Psalm in the first person daily. If you want to be even more empowered, pray the 23rd, the 27th, and the 121st in first person as well.

Revelation 2:1-7 (cont’d)

While the letters to the seven churches are written to individual congregations, it is clear that Jesus’ intention was for all the congregations to have knowledge of each letter. The seven letters follow the exact same outline consisting of seven segments. While a couple of the churches may only have 6 segments, the outline is the same:
1) To which church the letter is written
2) The speaker of the words which are to be written
3) The intimate knowledge the speaker has about each church, the church’s accomplishments
4) The church’s actual condition, usually negative
5) The correction to their condition
6) The exhortation of, “he who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”
7) The reward promised to the victor.

In actuality only three churches have the full seven. Two, Smyrna and Philadelphia, do not include item #4 and two, Sardis and Laodicea, do not include item #3.

Jesus commands John to write to the messenger of the congregation at Ephesus. Jesus defines Himself the speaker as, “He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands.” The first thing we must glean from this verse is He who holds. The Greek for ‘holds’ is kratein, and it carries with it a powerful meaning: to take hold with complete control. Jesus is telling the congregation at Ephesus that He has and is in complete control of the church. This has a positive meaning and a negative meaning, depending on how one handles it. If we recognize Jesus’ control and submit to it, then we can walk in His presence, strength, and power. The congregation can live in the security of Christ’s love, presence, and power. When we submit, we are under such protection that nothing Satan can do – and no one that Satin can send – can tear us from the protective hands of Christ. But if we rebel…..well, the answer is found in verse 5.

The imagery with kratein is Jesus has all seven stars in His hands. Jesus moves among the seven lamp stands. He holds all, moves among all. What John wants us to understand is Jesus has and is in total control of the WHOLE church. Remember, Jesus tells us the mystery of the stars and the lamp stands in verse 20 of the first chapter. The stars are the angels or the messengers, the lamp stands are the congregations. The messengers are firmly grasped in His hand and the congregations are in His immediate presence. Again, Jesus is in total control, not the messengers or the congregational leadership, not the congregation itself. Only Jesus. The stars are in His right hand. The right hand denotes authority and position. Their position is in His right hand. Their position is under His authority.

In verse 2, Jesus tell the Ephesus congregation what He sees as their accomplishments. He says He knows their works. The Greek for ‘works’ is ergon (pronounced er’-gon) and means the work of a group of people based on doing the right action according to a moral code. In this case, the moral code would be the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They labor for the Gospel, they persevere for the Gospel. They have done good works. They have cared for the sick, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, provided shelter for the homeless, and held true to the Gospel.

Their second accomplishment is that they cannot stand or endure those who are evil. The Greek for evil is kakos, (pronounced kak-os’) and is defined as wicked, viscous in conduct, heart, and character.

Their accomplishment was that they had heeded Paul’s warning 30 years earlier. Paul warned them that there would be wolves and liars and false teachers and false apostles who would come in and try to destroy the church – or at least lead them astray. Jesus said that the congregation at Ephesus had tested these teachers and self-appointed apostles to see if they were what they claimed to be. The Greek for tested is peirazo (pronounced pi-rad’-zo). It means to tempt, to prove and put to the test in order to ascertain the true character, views, or feelings of someone. They worked hard and labored long to test those teachers and apostles to make sure that they were true ambassadors of Christ. In verse 3, Jesus repeats that they have persevered and labored and bore up under pressure for the sake of His name, and that in the process of it all they had not become weary. The Greek for weary is kamno (pronounced kam’-no.) It means to be made sick by constant work. Jesus praises them that their continual battle against false teachers, false teachings, and false apostles has not made them weary or sick. They haven’t given up or quit under the pressure but are constant in this battle. I’m sure we all have battled against problems or issues in our lives for such a time that at one point we have seen no end in sight. We become weary, want to say, “Forget it!” And we sometimes do. Jesus praises the Ephesians for not becoming weary of the fight and for keeping on keeping on.

Verse 4 brings us to the charge against them. Jesus tells them they have forgot their first love. The Greek for love is agape – a word we followers of Christ know well. It means selfless love, sacrificial love. I will close tonight’s study with what the Lord means by this.

In verse 5, Jesus exhorts Ephesus to remember from where they were fallen – basically, to remember how they were in the beginning. It is interesting that the Lord is challenging them to remember what in their past it was that brought them unto salvation. What kind of love it was that enabled them to confess Jesus as their Lord. The love that enabled them to to live a life of assurance of forgiveness. Jesus calls on the congregation at Ephesus to repent. The Greek for repent is metanoeo (pronounced met-an-o-eh’-o). It is stated as showing a genuine sorrow for sin and a changing of the mind toward God with the intended action of returning to God. Jesus wants the Ephesians to stop standing on their accomplishments and return to grace, to stop depending on their good works and return to depending on the finished work of Christ on the cross. Jesus tells them that He wants them to return to their first work, their first ergon. That was proclaiming the Gospel unto salvation.

The Lord ends verse 5 with His punishment if they do not repent and return to their first work. He will remove their lamp stand. They will be cast out, no longer part of the kingdom, no longer under the power of His protection.

In verse 6 Jesus does what people in the business world call a ‘sandwich’. In verses 2 and 3 He praises them, in verses 4 and 5 He tells them what they are doing wrong, and in verse 6 He praises them again. Jesus tells them that, like Himself, they hate the works of the Nicolaitans. These were a group of gnostics who would become a bigger pain in another 50 years, but even at the turn of the first century, their diversive beliefs were rearing an ugly head. These Nicolaitans are identified with the followers of Nicolaus, the proselyte of Antioch, who was one of the seven deacons of that church. The idea is that he went astray and became a heretic. According to an early church father, Irenaeus, the Nicolaitans lived a life of unrestrained indulgence. Hippolytus says that they departed from correct doctrine and were in the habit of inculcating indifference to food and life. They confused Christian liberty with unchristian living. The Nicolaitans saw no reason for a Christian to be separated unto God. Like the church of today, the Nicolaitans believed the Christian should just blend in. There was no such thing as a Christian lifestyle. It was the spirit that mattered, not the body or a life separated unto Christ. Jesus praises the Ephesians that they hated this heresy as much as He did. We must understand that while the Ephesians may have hated the Nicolaitans, in reality Jesus did not. Jesus hated the heresy and what it did and could do to believers and His church. We will deal again with the Nicolaitans in the church at Pergamos, but it will come from less of a Greek viewpoint and more from an Old Testament Hebrew viewpoint.

In verse 7, we have the proclamation, “He who has ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This proclamation is at the end of all seven letters. Many times this verse is misquoted because people say ears. But notice it is in the singular – ‘ear’. What the Lord is saying is let the one who has a heart after God hear, a heart after the truth of the Gospel, a heart to do Jesus’ work and rely upon His grace, His goodness, His righteousness, His mercy, His holiness, and His word. They will hear and repent and return to Christ. As Jesus puts it, they will be overcomers. They will receive the full promise of salvation. Eternal life, life with no end. They will be received into God Paradise and be allowed to do that which Adam and Eve were not allowed to do – that which their exile from the Garden of Eden prevented them from doing: eating from the tree of life. The Greek word for life is zoe (pronounced dzo-ay’). This carries a different meaning in the everyday Greek and Hebrew. To these languages, it just means a life which satisfies; but in Christian texts, it is used to mean life eternal, a life without end. Thus,we get to eat from the tree of eternal life!

Go back to verse 4. What does the Lord mean by the Ephesians leaving their first love (agape)? We read about their good works, their tirelessness, their willingness to protect the Gospel and the name of Jesus, their unwillingness to be fooled by false doctrine and false teachers by constantly testing them to see if they were true or not. Why is Jesus calling them to repent? Because they lost their first love, which was AGAPE LOVE! If we go to the 13th chapter of I Corinthians, verses 1-3 we read, “Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angel but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” Have you ever gone to a church and heard a sermon that was so hell-fire and brimstone it scared you to death? Yet when the service was over, you thought if you went to the altar it wouldn’t really matter, because the people were about as friendly as a provoked rattle snake? They did their duty. Did they do anything wrong? No. Did you feel a need to repent? Yes. Did you feel love? Probably not. Have you ever encountered a person who could quote Scripture like they were reading it from the Bible? And if you mention a problem or make a mistake or ask for prayer, they just spout out a Scripture? These folks are great at quoting Scripture but not so good at living the life of love that Scripture talks about….

The Ephesians had become experts at testing the teachers and the teachings. They had become experts at protecting the name of Jesus. But they had stopped exhorting the name of Jesus. They could tell you what true doctrine was, but they had either forgotten how to proclaim or just ceased to do so. You see, the first love is the understanding of what the first work is. The first work is the conversion of the sinner. The Ephesians wouldn’t have a Gospel to protect if they hadn’t first been converted and brought into a new life in Christ. They had forgot that their first love was to love people and to love them to the point that they wanted to bring them into the kingdom with themselves. The first work was the saving of souls.

Now you are thinking, ‘Well, Dap, you said that they did good works. They fed the hungry, they clothed the naked, they helped find shelter for the homeless, they gave to or provided ministry to the poor. What more could they do?’ Listen here – they could love those people. They could act/behave in love. Be honest. How often do we do the same things merely out of obligation? How often do we do the same works for works’ sake? How often do we perform the same way, thinking, ‘OKAY! Now I have a bargaining chip with God’? How often do we do the same work in order to be seen and to garner praise for what a good person we are? The Ephesians had lost their heart for the sinner, their concern for the lost. You cannot offer salvation to someone you do not love. We need Revival in our world today more than anything else we could pray for. We give it lip service but not a lot of action. For us to be an agent of change, we first must be changed. We have to pray with David, “Create in me a new heart, O Lord.” A new heart that beats in unison with the heart of Christ. A heart which breaks over the same sins that breaks Christ’s heart. The Ephesians had lost that heart of love, that zeal to seek and offer salvation to the lost.

The Ephesians had gotten so caught up in testing the false teachings and teachers that they had become judges instead of evangelists. Remember how I said earlier that Jesus didn’t hate the Nicolaitans, he hated their heresy? The Ephesians had become so judgmental they hated both the Nicolaitans and their heresy. This doesn’t mean that we don’t test spirits, doctrine, teachings, actions, and teachers. These are a must to do. We are allowed and expected to judge and test those. But we are NOT allowed to judge people to the point we condemn them. We are called to love them, offer them the truth, pray for their salvation, and hope for their redemption. The congregation at Ephesus had forgotten that – THEY HAD FORGOTTEN THEIR FIRST LOVE!!

AMEN!

Let’s review:
1. Jesus is writing through John to the congregation at Ephesus.
2. Jesus’ power and Authority is demonstrated by His holding of the seven stars in His Right hand and
His position among the lamp stands.
3. Jesus praises the Ephesians’ works, laboring without growing weary, patience, perseverance, and
testing in order to protect the name of Jesus.
4. The charge against them is that they have lost their first love, agape.
5. They are called upon to repent and return to their first work and their first love.
6. They are told that the punishment if they do not repent and return to their first love is being removed from the kingdom.
7. They are praised again for their not being deceived by the Nicolaitans.
8. When they do repent and return, they will be overcomers and will receive their place in paradise
where they will receive everlasting life.

Be sure to pray the 91st Psalm in the first person. If you want to be even more empowered, pray the 23rd, the 27th, and the 121st Psalms in the first person as well.

Blessings –
The Dap

Revelation 2:1-7

1) 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 lamp stands.
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 lamp stand 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.

There is a lot to know about the church at Ephesus. This will likely take more than one posting…

At the time John is writing this, Ephesus was considered the greatest city in Asia. It had the biggest and best harbor in Asia, and because it sat at the mouth of the Cayster River, it became a center for trade. Not only did the river provide a route of trade into the interior of Asia, but also the broad river valley provided routes of trade from other parts of the Empire. It was at Ephesus that the trade routes form the Euphrates and Mesopotamia reached the Mediterranean via Colosse and Laodicea. It was at Ephesus where the trade from the interior such as Galatia and produce from rich Maeander Valley reached the markets. For Asia, Ephesus was the Highway to Rome. In 50 to 60 years, when persecutions of Christians occurred daily and were wide-spread, it became known as the highway of the martyrs.

Ephesus was what they called a Free City. Because of special actions the city had afforded the Roman government, they received special benefits. They were totally self-governing within their city limits. They were a seat where the Roman Governor held court, and they did not require Roman troops to be garrisoned within the city. Ephesus was not the capital of the province of Asia, but it was where the governor lived most of the time. Much like Jerusalem was the capital of Palestine, yet the Roman Governors spent most of their time in Caesarea by the sea. Ephesus was also the host to the largest athletic games in Asia.

Ephesus was the center of worship for the goddess Artemis or as she is referred to in the scriptures, Diana. Her temple was considered one of the seven wonders of the world at the time. The temple measured 425 feet long and 220 feet wide. It had 120 columns, each 60 feet high, with 36 columns richly gilded and inlaid with gold and precious stones. One might remember in Acts 19 where Paul got in trouble with the gold, silver, and jewelry guilds of Ephesus, because they thought the young church was cutting into their profits. The cult of Diana was a fertility cult and employed over a 1000 male and female prostitutes.

There were also two large and extensive temples dedicated to emperor worship as well as pagan temples of many kinds in Ephesus. Pagan influence and worship were prevalent here. Ephesus was also know as a place where pagan superstition was very widespread. There was in John and Paul’s day a document called the Ephesian Letters. These included charms to do anything from making someone fall in love with you to healing any kind of illness or malady. People came from all over the empire to buy the charms and amulets.

The population of Ephesus was divided into 6 different groups: 1) those who descended from the original people in the area; 2) direct descendants from the original Greek colonist from Athens; 3-5) three groups consisting of Greeks from other areas of Greece; 6) Jews who had been there awhile since they were brought there by the Assyrians after the conquest of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. As a matter of fact, the Jews may have been the first refugees even before the Greeks ever appeared.

Because of the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus was not only a center of religion and a center of trade, it was also a center for crime. No matter how offensive the crime, a criminal could receive asylum in the temple. Thus, many criminal elements would operate out of the temple grounds.

Paul stayed in Ephesus longer than anywhere else during his missionary journeys. Paul’s apprentice, Timothy, was called the first Bishop of Ephesus. Apollos made his headquarters in Ephesus. Paul wrote some of his letters to other churches from Ephesus. (Both letters to the Corinthians) But Ephesus did not only belong to Paul, it was an important church in the life of the writer of Revelation.
John was as big an influence in Ephesus as Paul, maybe even bigger. While Paul visited no other cities in Asia than Ephesus, as mentioned earlier, John was the Apostle to Asia, going to the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel which had been exiled there by the Assyrians several hundred years prior. Ephesus was John’s base of operations in Asia Minor.

When Revelation was being written, Paul had been dead for over 30 years. The Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed for 23 years. Because the Temple and the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed, there was no longer a Jerusalem church. It would be a little over 200 years before Rome, under the rule of Constantine, would begin to ascend as a center of the Christian faith. Therefore, believe it or not, the church in Ephesus along with the church in Alexandria Egypt became the centers of the Christian faith. When John is writing to Ephesus in this Revelation, he is writing to an authoritative center of the Christian faith.

We will stop here for today’s study. I thought it would be good to understand the importance of Ephesus to its world in its day as well as the importance of Ephesus to the church at the time of John’s writing. Both give us a better understanding of why Ephesus was the first of the seven letters.

In Christ,

The Dap

Remember to pray Psalm 91 daily in the first person. If you want to be more empowered, pray Psalm 23, Psalm 27, and Psalm 121 in the first person as well.