LOOSING OUR FIRST LOVE? PART-II
(Lessons from the Church of Ephesus)
Revelation 2:1-7, 04/13/2014
For the past few weeks
we have been on an exciting journey of studying the book of Revelation. This
book is all about the message of God to the world and His Church in particular,
about what would happen before the final return of Jesus, prior to establishing
His eternal Kingdom. You may be wondering why should I read this boring and
irrelevant book with all these weird symbols? Well don’t discard it too
quickly; there is a blessing in simply reading it even when it doesn’t make
sense in the beginning. Listen to what the author of the book John has to say,
Rev 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed
are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time
is near.” For what and whom is the time is near, one may ask?
If you follow the world events and observe certain
unusual signs in the sky like this article a friend of mine sent about the four
blood moons, “America is soon to
be treated with the first of four marvelous sky spectacles. The lunar eclipse
has been celebrated as a sacred event by many religions throughout history, but
the coming of eclipses seems to have been foretold in the prophecy of the
Four Blood Moons. The date of the first total lunar
eclipse will occur early April 14 on the West coast, and April 15 elsewhere in
the States, and will be visible all across America.” Those who follow New Age
philosophy link this to Biblical prophecy of the Lord’s second coming. The
friend who sent me also thinks that Christ may come to North America and not to
the Middle East; I had an interesting discussion with him in regards to why he
will surprise everyone and come to the Middle East.
All these signs
are certainly pointing towards the Lord’s Second coming, and his coming is very
near; in fact nearer than when we first began to talk about it. In view of that
it is important that we take a look at what the last book of the Bible has to
say about the end of the world rather than draw our conclusions based on every
other conspiracy theory.
Two weeks ago we looked at a Church that once
was on fire for the Lord yet ended up losing its first love. Though they received
praise for several things that were going well for them however Jesus was upset
with them for losing their first love. Revelation 2:1-7
Before we delve into our
topic a special note on how we connect these ancient seven Churches to the
Church in modern times? These were seven
local churches in Asia Minor, but they were each representative of a particular
age in church history. Therefore in a
marvelous way, the Lord takes churches currently existing at that time and
compares their behavior and their circumstances with certain epochs which were
yet to appear in church history.
Throughout the book of Revelation the Lord
wants to make one thing clear that he is writing the history of the future. Here is the most common approach to the seven churches in the book of
Revelation. This view holds that the seven churches represent seven periods of
Church history and the character of Christian commitment during those seven
periods:
1. Ephesus: Pentecost- 95 AD- The Apostolic Church
2. Smyrna: 95-315 AD The persecuted Church under Rome
3. Pergamum 315-500 AD the state approved Church under Constantine
4. Thyatira: 500-1500 AD The Middle ages and rise of the Roman Church
5. Sardis 1500-1800 AD The period of the Reformation under Martin Luther
6. Philadelphia 1800-1900 AD The Church and its missionary efforts
7. Laodicea 1900-Present The Modern Church lacking in spirituality[1]
1. Ephesus: Pentecost- 95 AD- The Apostolic Church
2. Smyrna: 95-315 AD The persecuted Church under Rome
3. Pergamum 315-500 AD the state approved Church under Constantine
4. Thyatira: 500-1500 AD The Middle ages and rise of the Roman Church
5. Sardis 1500-1800 AD The period of the Reformation under Martin Luther
6. Philadelphia 1800-1900 AD The Church and its missionary efforts
7. Laodicea 1900-Present The Modern Church lacking in spirituality[1]
Like all letters, the
letter to the church in Ephesus begins with a command, “To the angel of the
Church in Ephesus write.” The word angel must not be confused with angels who
are the spirit beings, whereas here it could be translated as messenger, elder,
leader, bishop or pastor. Vs 2 begins with words “I know” What did Christ know
about the lives of the believers in the Church of Ephesus? That brings us to
the Commendation part of the letter. The believers in Ephesus had persevered, tested
the spirits (I John 4:1) exposed the false apostles, (2 Cor 11:13), endured for
the sake of God’s name, they had not grown weary and hated the deeds of
Nicolaitians and they were commended for it.
Who are the
Nicolaitans? Last time we learned that,
“the first commentator on Revelation, refers to them as ‘false and troublesome
men, who, as ministers under the name of Nicolaus. They had made a heresy, to
the effect that what had been offered to idols might be exorcised and eaten,
and that whoever should have committed fornication might receive peace on the
eighth day.”[2]
The Church in Ephesus
was commended by Christ for their hatred towards such syncretistic teachings
and practices that were rampant at that time. Are we today any different from
them? Do we find the teachings of Nicolaitians today in the Church worldwide?
We better believe it! The scriptures warn us in the last days, “Many false
prophets will arise, and will mislead many.” On the surface the believers in
Ephesus appeared very zealous for their love for God and His word. They had
persevered, tested the spirits, exposed the false apostles, endured for the
sake of God’s name, had not grown weary and hated the deeds of Nicolaitians.
Yet Christ said; Vs 4
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Really? The
text doesn’t really give us a clue on what it meant by leaving their first
love. Is it their first love for God or their love for the fellow men or could
it be both? How have they left their first love?
Osborne explains “In referring to the word Love
here as many scholars assume that it is horizontal or brotherly love or primarily
love for fellow men. Due to their struggle with false teachers and their hatred
of heretical teachings, the Ephesian believers have left their love they used
to have for their fellow men. Others view that it is Christ.”[3] But
how can we separate love for humans from love for God?
After reading various commentaries I conclude
that the Ephesian believers have left their first love they once used to have
for God which was expressed in their love for their fellow human beings. Hasn’t
Jesus taught his disciples that they were to Love God first? Matt 22:37-39 “You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind….You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.”
In other words our Love
for God must always find its expression in our love for our fellow human
beings. For example; consider these scriptures and see where God places His
emphasis on: I John 4:20 “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever
does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God,
whom they have not seen.” I John 3:16-18, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down
our lives for our brothers and sisters. If
anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no
pity on them, how can
the love of God be in that person? Dear
children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
These are just two
scriptures, throughout the NT love for God/Christ is emphasized as is
love for our fellow believers. Indeed one cannot exist without the other. It is
interesting to reread Paul’s letter to Ephesus in the light of this passage in
Revelation. Paul devoted half of the letter to the purity of doctrine and the
other half to how Christians must walk in love. For example: Ephesians 1:15, “give thanks for their “love
for all the saints.” And he prays in
3:17 that they will be “rooted and established in love.” In 4:2 he urges them
to bear with one another in love; 4:15 to speak the truth in love; 4:16, as the
part of the body of Christ to grow and build themselves up in love. In 5:2 He
encourages them to live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave Himself
for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” In 5:22-32 emphasizes
loving relationship between husband and wife. Chapter 6 is about the
relationships between parents and children slaves and their masters.”
Paul was writing to the
Ephesian believers to maintain a balance in their love for God and for people.
It is not all about loving God only or loving people; both needed to be kept in
balance. When Christ was addressing the Ephesian Church they were out of
balance. The swung to one extreme of just loving God; they were commended for
their zeal against the heresies yet they were condemned because it had lost its
enthusiasm and loving outreach to the community. Therefore Jesus commands them
to “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things
you did at first.” They needed acts of love more than the talk of love.
What does that mean for us
today? Some of us appear to be so spiritual and being busy for the work of the
LORD yet neglect their most important duties of a husband, wife, and a father.
Yet there are others who only care about their spiritual wellness and pay
little or no attention to the welfare of those around them. In Christ’s eyes
they have lost their first love and they need to repent and keep doing the loving
things they did at first not only towards God but also their fellow human
beings especially to those who are in their immediate loving sphere of
influence which is their home and family.
My prayer is that we will
repent and get back our first love. We will remain steadfast under persecution.
We will remain loving to God and loving to our fellow human beings. As and when
we do that we will become overcomers in Christ’s view and He will give us the
right to eat from the tree of life. To
eat from the tree of life is to receive in full the life of God which we now
know only in part. When we do not
compromise our faith with the world but maintain our commitment to Jesus then
he will let us enjoy eternal life in the presence of God Himself. What more
could we desire? Amen
