Ephesus Notes

Revelation 2 Ephesus ·          Most important city in the area. ·          Paul started a church here and the Ephesus church spread Christianity into the other cities. ·          Ephesus was on the mouth of the Cayster River on a gulf of the Aegean Sea. ·          It was an important commercial and export center. ·          When the ships unloaded in the bay of Ephesus there was a 35 foot wide street lined with columns that led from the harbor to the center of the city. ·          Population at this time was 250,000. ·          Three great trade routes met at this city:   -through Colossae to Euphrates   -through Sardis to Galatia   -going south through the Maeander valley. ·          Pergamum was the capital of Asia ·          Ephesus was a free city and had been granted self government by Rome ·          The city had a major stadium, a marketplace and a theater that seated 25,000. ·          Temples had been built for Emperor worship to:   -Claudius   -Hadrian   -Severus ·          Major religion was to Artemis (Diana in Latin).  This temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the world.  It was 425 long, 220 feet wide, 60 feet high.  It had 127 pillars or Parian marble.  36 of the pillars were overlaid with gold and jewels.   Paul had brought Aquila and Priscilla to Ephesus in 52 AD to introduce Christianity at the end of his second missionary trip. (Acts 18:18-22)  Paul comes and stays in Ephesus for three weeks during his third missionary trip. (Acts 19:8-10).  Timothy was a pastor there (1 Timothy 1:3) 2:1  To the angel of the church of Ephesus write     2:1  These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand   2:1  and walks among the seven golden lampstands:   2:2  I know your deeds your hard work and your perseverance. “Know” is “oida” and refers to complete and full knowledge.  Most of the seven letters begins with the Lord commending the church. “Deeds” is “erga” (“erga”) menas  “works” and is used 20 times in Revelation, 12 in ch.2-3 “Hard work” is “kopon” (“kopon”) means “laborious work, toil.”   This word does not mean   just “labor” but working to the point of exhaustion.  They have not just labored for the  Lord but have gone beyond to the place that they are working while most people would   have given up.  The only thing that keeps them going is the drive not to quit.  There   effort at this level requires physical, mental and emotional commitment.  These believ  ers would have been evangelizing, teaching and meeting physical needs in their   community. “Perseverance” is “‘upomonhn” (“hupomonen”) means “patience, and endurance under   difficult circumstances.  There is a Greek synonym for “perseverance” which is “  “makrothumia” which refers to patience with people.  Here “hupomonen” refers   clearly to patience with difficult circumstances. The focus is on their EFFORT and their ENDURANCE. This formula is seen in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 as work (ergou) of faith, labor (kopou) of love,   steadfastness (‘upomonhV) of hope.  The same three words are used and connect as   genitives to faith, love and hope.  Now consider 1 Cor. 13:13   2:2  I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have   tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have  found them false. These are two more things they are commended for in regards to:   1)  Not tolerating wicked men. . . .sin   2)  Not tolerating imposters and false doctrine. . . .truth   The first is in regard to men who may name Christ and profess to Christianity but have no power over sin.  They are unregenerate in their lifestyles.  No one is perfect or sinless, but if there is no change, no production of righteousness, and no fleeing from sin this man should not be tolerated.   “The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar,    and the truth is not in him.”     1 John 2:4   “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning.  No one who continues to sin has either   seen him or known him.”       1 John 3:6   The second is in regards to Paul’s warning in Acts 20:28-31 concerning false shepherds. The Bible warns in:   Matthew 7:15, “Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s   clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will  recognize them.”   2 John 7, “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in   the flesh, have gone out into the world.”    2 John 10, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching,   do not take him into your house or welcome him.    2 Peter 2:1 “There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will    be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive   heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them. . .”   The early church had traveling apostles and teachers that would go around and encourage and teach the believers.  John trained men and sent them out.    “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us.  For if they had   belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that   none of them belonged to us.”  1 John 2:19   The Didache gives this advice concerning traveling teachers:   “Welcome every apostle on arriving, as if he were the Lord.  But he must not stay   beyond one day.  In case of necessity, however, the next day too.  If he stays three days,  he is a false prophet.  On departing, an apostle must not accept anything save sufficient   food to carry him till his next lodging.  If he asks for money, he is a false prophet.”    Didache 11:4-6   In Ignatius’s book to the Ephesians in 6:2 and 9:1 he wrote to the Ephesians concerning this same issue about twenty years after John wrote Revelation:   “You heed nobody beyond what he has to say truthfully about Jesus Christ. . . I have  heard that some strangers came your way with a wicked teaching.  But you did not let   them sow it among you.  You stopped up your ears to prevent admitting what they   disseminated.” False teachers were present and identified in each of the first four churches:   2:2,  6,  9,  14-15,  20   The use of the word “apostle” refers to: “Apostle” or “apostoloV” occurs three times in Revelation:   1)  2:2 as a term for a special messenger, an itinerant missionary, whose legitimacy could be confirmed or disconfirmed by certain criteria.  These men would have connection to the original apostles in some way such as having traveled with them, having been trained or placed in position by them, or having gone through their school.  Today our only connection to the apostles and their original doctrine and belief system is the word of God.  So, today this use of the term true “apostle” would refer to those who teach the doctrines that are presented in the scripture.  A false apostle would fall into one of three classes:   a)  They teach from the scripture but twist and distort the true teaching of the  apostles.   “His letters contain some things that are hard to understand,   which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other   Scriptures, to their own destruction.”      2 Peter 3:16   b)  They teach from their own imaginations concerning visions and revelations  that they have had.  Are their visions more important today than the word   of God from the hand of the apostles??  They were not in the days when  the apostles where alive.  Why would they be today?   “Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and  his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.  He has lost  connection with the Head.”    Colossians 2:18,19   c)  They abandon the word of God and the spiritual concept and teach human   view point and the basic principles of this world system instead.   “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive  philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles   of this world rather than on Christ.”    Colossians 2:8   2)  In 18:20 the apostles are listed with the “saints and . . .prophets”.  They are   persecuted by “Babylon” and witness her destruction.  Here they are a special   group and office within the church.  This would include the 12 apostles but   would be bigger than them alone.   3)  In 21:14  “The twelve apostles” is the technical term to refer to those appointed by  the Lord to begin the church.   2:3  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, “persevered” is “ ‘upomonhn” “endured hardships” is “ebastasaV” and means “to take up” or “to bear” 2:3  and have not grown weary. “not grown weary” is “kekopiakaV” is perfect indicative active of “kopiaw” from above which means “to work or labor to the point of being weary”.  The word implies strenuous and exhaustive labor.     This could refer to  standing moral  in an immoral circumstances.   They did not  give up  morally but continued to resist sin and hold to the truth.    They could have collapsed in two areas:   1)  Sin   2)  Truth   2:4  Yet I hold this against you:   2:4  You have forsaken your first love. Every strength has its weakness. Here the “heresy-hunting” had been paid with the price of fellowship within the church. Their hatred of heresy had closed off any connection with believers with different views.   We need to realize that love and truth both teach that believers are at different levels of maturity and at different levels of understanding.     1)  Maturity   “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him  gently.  But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other’s   burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”    Galatians 6:1,2    2)  Understanding     “So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.”   1 Corinthians 8:11   The church is not about you succeeding and others fail.  The church is not about you being right and others being proved false. The mission of the church is to commit to each other in growing as a body together.  We need to help each other.  This is where “Do not judge” comes into play.  We do need to judge all things, but we judge to assist the body not to destroy it.   The Church needs truth, discernment but also love for each other and an understanding   that we stand together or we fall apart. The plan for truth, maturity and love in the body is seen in Ephesians 4:11-16:   2 John 5 “I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning.    I ask that we love one another.” John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”   2:5  Remember the height from which you have fallen!   2:5  Repent and do the things you did at first.   2:5  If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your   lampstand from its place. “Repent” means “to change one’s thinking, to think differently.” “Repent” is not in the present (tense of present time) imperative (mood of command) but is in   the aorist (tense of occurring action) imperative (mood of command.  The aorist is a  point in time that is divorced from time. There is no English equivalent.  The action of  the verb is presently in progress.  This means “if you do not continue to be repenting of   this fault, I will come to you. . .”  In other words they had repented but needed to finish  the process of returning. This is not a reference to Jesus coming back at the Parousia, but a more immediate visitation.  Similar to Jesus returning to judge Jerusalem in 70 AD.   The church is the light of the world.  Salt is good for nothing if it loses it saltiness but to be trampled on by men.   2:6  But you have this in your favor:    2:6  You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.   Nicolaitans were a sect of false teaching that had infected the Asian area.  They are mentioned in the letter to Thyatira and to Pergamum.  Basically the Nicolaitans had developed a theology that compromised with their society. It appears the Nicolaitans continued in pagan practices like idol worship and sexual immorality.    Church tradition trace the Nicolaitans origin back to Nicolaus, the Gentile proselyte of Antioch who was appointed as on of the first seven deacons in the church in Acts 6:5.    The Nicolaitans claim to spiritual maturity allowed them to practice idolatry and immorality.    2:7  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.    2:7  To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,    which is in the paradise of God. The tree of life is said to make a person immortal in Genesis 3:22-24.  The overcomers will be allowed to eat from this tree when they reach the paradise of God.