1600-5 Church

REVELATION 2:1-7
CHAPTER 2 sake hast laboured, and hast
not fainted.
A. Ephesus: A Church 4 Nevertheless I have some- 4 The complaint: They had
Without Love, 2:1-7 what against thee, because left their first love
thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from 5 The counsel: Remember—
whence thou art fallen, and repent—do
1 The recipients Unto the angel of the repent, and do the first works; 6 The warning
a. The messenger of the church of Ephesus write; or else I will come unto thee
church These things saith he that quickly, and will remove thy
b. The Ephesian church
DS1
holdeth the seven stars in his candlestick out of his place, a. Your church, the can-
2 The speaker—Jesus right hand, who walketh in except thou repent. dlestick will be removed
the midst of the seven golden 6 But this thou hast, that b. Your doctrinal purity is
candlesticks; thou hatest the deeds of the not enough
3 The commendation 2 I know thy works, and thy Nicolaitans, which I also
a. For works & labor labour, and thy patience, and hate.
b. For stedfastness how thou canst not bear them 7 He that hath an ear, let 7 The promise: To the
c. For not bearing evil which are evil: and thou hast him hear what the Spirit saith overcomers
d. For testing & rejecting tried them which say they are unto the churches; To him
false apostles apostles, and are not, and hast that overcometh will I give to
found them liars: eat of the tree of life, which is a. The tree of life
e. For bearing up & not 3 And hast borne, and hast in the midst of the paradise of
fainting patience, and for my name’s God. b. Paradise

THE CHURCH: SEVEN CHURCHES OF REVELATION

A. Ephesus: A Church Without Love, 2:1-7

(2:1-7) Introduction: this passage begins the great message of Christ to the seven churches of Asia. But note a significant
point: verse one says that Jesus Christ is addressing the church at Ephesus, but He is in the midst of all the churches. This
means a most wonderful thing: the Revelation is for all the Lord’s servants and followers. He gave the Revelation so that all
believers could know the things that are to take place in the end time. But note: if Jesus Christ was making the Revelation to
all of His servants, why is the letter addressed to only seven churches in Asia? Why was it not addressed to all the churches
down thorugh the centuries? The following chart clearly shows what we are asking:

Revelation was addressed to these Revelation was not addressed to these
churches in Asia churches in Asia
g159 Ephesus g159 Troas (Acts 20:5; 2 Cor.2:12)
g159 Smyrna g159 Miletus (Acts 20:17)
g159 Pergamos g159 Colossae (Col.1:2)
g159 Thyatira g159 Hierapolis (Col.4:13)
g159 Sardis
g159 Philadelphia
g159 Laodicea

Church history even tells us that there were other churches in Asia beyond these eleven. John certainly knew of them all.
Why then address the Revelation to only seven of the churches? There has to be a reason, for Jesus Christ was giving the Re-
velation so that all of His servants would know about the events of the end time (v.1). What is the reason? Note that John
does not say. He does not even give a hint. But two things tell us.
g159 Thinking about the matter leads to one clear conclusion. The seven churches must be representative of other
churches. The characteristics that are found in these churches must be the same kind of characteristics that
are found in other churches. Each of these churches must represent a certain type or kind of church. In
speaking to the seven churches, Jesus Christ expects every church to identify itself and to heed the
exhortation given to each. He wants all followers to heed the truths of Revelation; therefore, He has
selected seven churches that are representative of all churches.
g159 The characteristics of the churches clearly show that the churches are representative of other churches. The
conditions that existed in each of the seven churches differed, and as we study the different types of
churches in society and throughout history, we clearly see that there are seven types of churches. Therefore,
in addressing the seven churches, Jesus Christ was addressing all the churches of the earth. Each church, no
matter its condition, can discover what kind of church it is by honestly taking inventory of its major traits
and checking those traits against these seven churches. This is clearly seen as we study the messages to the
churches.

The point is this: the messages to the seven churches were given for personal application. Jesus Christ expects us—all
churches and all believers—to apply the messages to our own situation. Jesus Christ expects us to search our hearts and to
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