Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
REVELATION OF JOHN – Revelation 2:1-11
D. 2:1-7 EPHESUS: A CHURCH HAVING LOST ITS FIRST LOV
a. 2:1-3 8-FOLD COMMENDATION OF JESUS TO EPHESUS
To ag-GElo to en E-PHEso ek-kleSIas [1577] GRApson:
To the angel :of the church in Ephesus write:
TAde LEgei ho kraTON [2902] tous hepTA asTEras en te de-xiA auTOU,
These things says he who holds the seven stars in his :right,
ho pe-ri-paTON [4043] en MEso ton hepTA luch-niON [3087] ton chruSON:
who walks midst the seven :golden lampstands:
OIda ta ERga sou, kai ton KOpon [2873] kai ten hu-po-moNEN [5281] sou,
2 I know your :works, and your :toil and :patience,
kai HOti ou DUne basTAsai [941] kaKOUS [2556],
and that you cannot bear evil men,
kai ePEIra-sas [3985] tous LEgon-tas he-auTOUS a-posTOlous [642],
and did try them that call themselves apostles,
kai ouk eiSIN, kai HEUres auTOUS pseuDEIS [5571];
and they are not, and did find them false;
kai hu-po-moNEN Echeis kai eBASta-sas [941] diA to OnoMA [3686] mou,
3 and you have patience and did bear for my :name’s sake,
kai ou ke-koPIa-kes [2872].
and have not grown weary.
b. 2:4 LEAVING OF FIRST LOVE: SOLE REBUKE
alLA Echo kaTA sou,
But I have this against you,
HOti ten aGApen [26] sou ten PROten [4413] aPHEkes [863].
that you did leave your first :love.
c. 2:5 REMEMBER AND REPENT – OR REMOVAL!
mneMOneu-e [3421] oun POthen PEPto-kes [1601], kai me-taNOe-son [3340]
Remember therefore whence you are fallen, and repent
kai ta PROta ERga [2041] POIe-son; ei de me ERchoMAI soi,
and do the first works; else I come to you,
kai kiNEso [2795] ten luchNIan sou ek tou TOpou [5117] auTES,
and will move your :lampstand out of its :place,
eAN me me-ta-noEses.
except you repent.
d. 2:6 COMMENDATION: HATRED OF WORKS OF NICOLAITANS
alLA TOUto Echeis, HOti miSEIS [3404]
But this you have, that you hate
ta ERga ton Ni-ko-la-iTON, ha ka’ ’GO miSO.
the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
e. 2:7a COMMAND: LET ALL CHURCHES HEAR THE WORD OF THE SPIRIT
HO Echon ous,
Who has an ear,
a-kouSAto [191] ti to PNEUma [4151] LEgei tais ek-kleSIais.
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
f. 2:7b PROMISE TO OVERCOMERS – PARTAKERS OF THE TREE OF LIFE
To niKONti [3528],
To him that overcomes,
DOso auTO phaGEIN ek tou XUlou [3586] tes zoES [2222],
to him will I give to eat of the tree of :life,
ho es-tin en to pa-raDEIso [3857] tou TheOU.
which is in the Paradise of :God.
E. 2:8-11 SMYRNA: A CHURCH IN TRIBULATION
a. 2:8-9 CHRIST KNOWS AND CARES ABOUT ALL OUR TROUBLES
Kai to agGElo to en SMURne ek-kleSIas GRApson:
And to the angel :of the church in Smyrna write:
TAde LEgei ho PROtos kai ho EScha-tos [2078],
These things says the first and the last,
Hos eGEne-to neKROS [3498], kai Eze-sen [2198]:
who became dead, and lived:
OiDA sou ten THLIpsin [2347], kai ten ptoCHEIan [4432] (alLA PLOUsi-os [4145]) ei,
9 I know your :tribulation, and :poverty (but you are rich),
kai ten blas-pheMIan [988] ek ton leGONton I-ouDAIous EInai he-auTOUS,
and the blasphemy from them that say they are Jews,
kai ouk eiSIN, alLA su-na-goGE [4864] tou Sa-taNA [4567].
and are not, but are :Satan’s synagogue.
b. 2:10a CHRIST CAN FORETELL EXCEPTIONALLY FIERY TRIALS
me phoBOU ha MELleis PASchein [3958]:
Fear not what things you are about to suffer:
iDOU, MELlei BALlein ho diAbo-los [1228] ex huMON eis phu-laKEN [5438],
lo, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison,
HIna pei-rasTHEte [3985] kai Eche-te THLIpsin he-meRON DEka.
that you may be tried and have a tribulation of ten days.
c. 1:10b A CROWN OF LIFE: THE REWARD OF MARTYRDOM
GInou pisTOS Achri thaNAtou,
Be you faithful unto death,
kai DOso soi ton STEpha-non [4735] tes zoES.
and I will give you the crown of :life.
d. 2:11a COMMAND: LET ALL CHURCHES HEAR THE WORD OF THE SPIRIT
ho Echon ous,
Who has an ear,
a-kouSAto ti to PNEUma LEgei tais ek-kleSIais.
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
e. 2:11b PROMISE TO OVERCOMERS: NO PART IN SECOND DEATH
ho niKON [3528] ou me a-di-keTHE [91] ek tou thaNAtou tou deuTErou.
Who overcomes shall in no wise be hurt of the second death.
NOTE: Many books have been written on the 7 churches of Revelation, from many points of view. The Book of Revelation has been interpreted in 4 major ways:
THE HISTORICAL – Everything recorded took place at the beginning of the church age.
THE DISPENSATIONAL -- Each church represents one of the 7 church ages from the beginning to the end.
THE SYMBOLICAL -- Everything represents a symbolical or spiritual counterpart.
THE FUTURISTIC – All will take place in the future.
Daniel Juster sees all 4 as having some relevancy, but with the emphasis upon the future. The key to this book however is to see how it totally unfolds from understanding the Passover and Exodus:
Pharaoh represents the coming antichrist
Egypt represents the world
Moses represents Jesus
Goshen represents God’s safety place for His people during tribulations and judgments
Israel represents the church
Juster has a message on this that he gave at an April Conference in Kansas City for IHOP. By all means look into it.
Following is another thought. Many have noted that there is a remarkable association in many instances between various groupings of 7. With what other groups of 7 might the 7 churches of Revelation be grouped? For instance, look at Deuteronomy 7:1 and the 7 Canaanitish nations God commanded Israel to drive them out of the Promised Land.
Then see the 7 Capital sins that the Contemplative Movement of the Middle Ages saw related in this area. And how about the 7 days of Creation?
Then let’s consider EPHESUS, the first church of Asia Minor (Modern Turkey) that Jesus addressed. The derivation of its name means “Desirable” or “A Throwing.” The Hivites of Deuteronomy 7:1 moved strongly in a spirit of “Self desire, selfishness or self love.” This is one of the powerful capital sins that men like St. John of the Cross and Madame Guyon learned to see crucified by Christ ruling us inwardly through the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
When Ephesus left her “first love,” then this OTHER spirit crept back in. Is it any wonder that Jesus honed in on this one failure, that endangered all the other 8-fold commendations?
And what of SMYRNA? This name derives from “MYRRH.” It is a precious ointment associated with death and burial. And what brought Smyrna down to such a low level? The spirit of ENVY, another of the 7 capital sins, and associated with the Jebusite spirit.
But Jesus would not allow Smyrna to rest in this spirit. He had no real word of rebuke for her, bringing her into the fellowship of Philadelphia! Yes – testings and fiery trials WERE appointed for her, but through the love, power and goodness of the Lord – He would bring her successfully through them all, with a tremendous promise for the Overcomer! Note also that Jesus wanted his message to each individual church to be shared with the other 6. We can actually see the spirit of each of these churches in each of the succeeding church ages.
The other 5 churches have equally revealing words from Jesus, and helpful associations. And remember – The Interlinear texts above are from Ivan Panin’s Numerically tested texts, the signature God chose to use to protect His Word from counterfeiting.