1st Letter to the Church of Ephesus

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Lafftur

Lafftur

Senior Member
#1
Apr 18, 2017
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#1
Hello everyone, :love:

There are 7 Letters to 7 Churches in Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation. Let’s read them one by one and share any understanding that the Holy Spirit gives us.

I’ll create a thread for each letter to each church so we can discuss them separately.

Try to stay away from commentaries…just read the scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit to open them to you and give you understanding…then share with all of us what you heard the Spirit saying….

Here is the 1st Letter to the angel/messenger of the church of Ephesus:

Revelation 2:1-7

1 “To the angel/messenger of the church of Ephesus write,

Greeting:

‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

Evaluation:

2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience/perseverance, and that you cannot bear/endure 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.

Correction:

4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Instruction:

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works,

Consequence:

or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

Commends them:

6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Exhorts them to hear the Spirit and overcome:

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.”’

Looking forward to reading all your posts! :love:(y)
 
Lafftur

Lafftur

Senior Member
#2
Apr 18, 2017
6,739
3,556
113
#2
1 “To the angel/messenger of the church of Ephesus write,

Greeting:

‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

The seven stars are the seven angels/messengers and the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches according to Revelation 1:20.

Jesus is revealing and making Himself known to His Beloved which is all of the 7 churches - Ephesus, Smyrna, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

In this 1st Letter, He makes Himself known as the One that is holding the seven stars which are the seven angels/messengers in His right hand which is the hand of fellowship, ownership, and authority. They are His possession and held in His right hand. He sends and directs them to minister to us according to the Father's Will! :love:(y)

Our Lord is walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands which is His Beloved - the seven churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea).

Yes, these are natural, physical and historical seven churches but, the Holy Spirit wants us to know that these seven churches are the seven phases that the Holy Spirit will bring us through so that we can become the spotless, without blemish Bride of Christ ready at His return. Hallelujah and Amen! :love:(y)
 
Lafftur

Lafftur

Senior Member
#3
Apr 18, 2017
6,739
3,556
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#3
Now, I'm pondering the evaluation that Jesus Christ gives to the Church of Ephesus....:unsure:

Revelation 2:1-7

1 “To the angel/messenger of the church of Ephesus write,

Evaluation:

2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience/perseverance, and that you cannot bear/endure 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.

Jesus is amazing! I'm so thankful He is evaluating and correcting us....it's proof of His love for us. He does not condemn us, He is encouraging us to stay with Him, abide in the vine....remain in His love and do not let our heart stray from Him. :love:(y)

He knows our works...everything we have thought, said and done for Him, the Kingdom of God, others and ourselves. He is acknowledging that He can see us, He sees our labor both publicly and privately, He sees our patience and perseverance to not quit or give up.

He sees that we can recognize and resist those who are evil...those that have a disobedient and unbelieving heart.

He sees that we test the words and actions of those in leadership and find those that are liars and do not speak or do the Truth of God's Word.....we don't just follow someone because they are in leadership, we test them.

Again, He acknowledges that we are good at persevering and having patience and that our labor is for His Name's sake, not our own, not self-promoting and that we have not become weary. He sees our strength and determination.

However, there is a correction coming.....:eek::love:(y)
 
Lafftur

Lafftur

Senior Member
#4
Apr 18, 2017
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#4
Here is our Lord Jesus Christ's correction with instruction and consequence...

Holy Spirit - help us to understand and empower us to do what our Lord instructs us to do. Thank You, amen. :love:(y)

Revelation 2:1-7

1 “To the angel/messenger of the church of Ephesus write,

Correction:

4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

The Lord Jesus takes inventory of our heart...there should be NOTHING there but HIM alone. No one and nothing do we love more than Him. He is our First Love.

He found the Church of Ephesus was getting too busy with good works. They were desiring good works more than Jesus.

When the desire to accomplish good works begin to fill our hearts and compete with the desire to spend time fellowshipping with Him, we have left Jesus as our First Love and have begun to love good works more than Him.

Good works did NOT and will NEVER save us. Only Jesus Christ deserves all our love and all our heart.

We are so full of life when we are so full of desire for Him alone. It frees us from the fear of man, peer pressure, trying to please others, caring what others think and say about us....all these things are yuk! yuk! :sick:

Let our hearts be filled and overflowing with desire for our Beloved Jesus Christ...constant desire for Jesus Christ is Perfect First Love and will cast out all fear...and bring great joy! :love:(y)

Instruction:

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works,

Jesus wants us to remember how wonderful our relationship was with Him when we were filled with desire for Him alone...how happy and free to love and forgive others...just easily flowed...good works just happened without any effort because we were in His Presence.

The first works are seeking and desiring Jesus Christ...to know Him and to love Him, and to abide in Him, in His Presence.

Consequence:

or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

If we do not repent, Jesus will remove us from His Presence. He walks in the midst of the golden lampstands and will no longer be in our midst. All the "good works" we are doing will become too hard and not bear any fruit for God's Kingdom.

Let us repent and do the first works that were filled with desire for Him as First Love!

Lord, we repent and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us afresh with desire for You alone - our Lord, Savior, King and Beloved. Forgive us for chasing after good works and running off without You. The only good works we desire are the ones You desire to do in us and through us and with us.

We want to always stay and abide in Your Presence and NEVER leave You - our First Love! :love:(y)
 
Lafftur

Lafftur

Senior Member
#5
Apr 18, 2017
6,739
3,556
113
#5
At the close of the letter to the Church of Ephesus, Jesus Christ encourages us to hear what the Spirit is saying, overcome and receive what the Lord gives to all who overcome....


Revelation 2:1-7

1 “To the angel/messenger of the church of Ephesus write,

Exhorts them to hear the Spirit and overcome:

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.”’

We will need to be able to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. It will not be with our natural ears but, with our spiritual ears which can hear thoughts...this is how the Holy Spirit will speak to us...in our thoughts.

We need to be able to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit because demons, devils, and satan also speak to us in our thoughts. As a born again, spirit-filled believer our spiritual ears are open but we will need discernment.

The tree of life in the midst of the Paradise of God is the gift of eternal life. All who eat of it live forever. It is the beginning of our journey to the Father. Once our first love for Jesus Christ is fully established in our hearts and minds, we are ready to take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ to the next church....the church of Smyrna where God deals with our flesh, our will....it is to be killed.

We cannot die for Christ until first love is completely and securely established in our spirit and soul, if not then we will not be able to overcome in Smyrna.

Remember....God is Love....love is powerful and can bear all things, believes all things, and endure all things, amen. :love:(y)
 
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