04 The Seven Churches – Ephesus and Smyrna

Slides for this study

The number 7

The seven churches.

  • The number 7 plays a prominent role in the book of Revelation.
  • We have the 7 churches.
    • 7 candlesticks.
    • 7 stars.
    • 7 spirits.
    • 7 seals.
    • 7 trumpets.
    • A beast with 7 heads.
    • 7 mountains.
    • 7 kings.

Where do we see the number 7 first mentioned in the Bible?

  • It’s right at the very beginning in creation.
  • God created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh day.
  • God is the one that gave us the 7-day weekly cycle.
  • It means complete. It means perfect.

So when we look at the seven churches, it is God’s complete church throughout all time.

  • It is the history of God’s church from its inception until the very end.

 

Common Characteristics

Throughout the 7 seven churches, there are things that you find in every church.

  • I know thy works.
    • Each church has something good about it except the very last church. A commendation.
    • Each church has a rebuke because of something bad in it except one church.
    • Each church has a counsel, a solution.
  • He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the church.
  • To him that overcomes.

In every church, God is telling the church, I know your works.

  • Note very clearly that God does not say I know your intentions.
  • He doesn’t say I know your desires.
  • He says, I know your works.
  • God judges us by our works.
  • It is by our works we sin.
  • It is by our works that we reveal what is in our hearts.
  • God doesn’t say I know your heart.
  • He says I know your works.
  • And God is well acquainted with our works in every church.

To every church, God tells the church – He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the church.

  • God desires us to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
  • Jesus promised that after He would ascend that He would send the Holy Spirit.
  • John 16:7
    Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
  • What is the purpose and role of this Comforter?
  • John 15:26-27
    26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
  • The Comforter will testify of Jesus.
  • And since we are studying about the Revelation of Jesus, who best to come and teach us about Him? The Holy Spirit.
  • So we need more than just the study of God’s word to really see a clear picture of the Revelation. We need the Spirit of God.
  • And notice what it says in verse 27 there.
    • And ye also shall bear witness.
    • You see that word witness there? This is how it looks in the actual Greek – martyreō.
    • We’ve seen this before in Revelation 1 already.
    • John was willing to be a martyr, a witness for Jesus.
  • What will help us to be willing and prepared to die for Jesus?
    • We need the Holy Spirit.
    • Only He can give us the courage and boldness to stand for Christ.
  • So having the word of God is only one part of the equation. We need to have His Spirit.
  • And remember the phrase that is said to the churches?
    • He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
  • Could it be possible that one of the most dire needs of the church is the Spirit of God? That many are not hearing God’s Spirit speaking to them?
  • John 4:24
    God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
  • We need both God’s word AND His Spirit today.
  • This also shows that the Holy Spirit is speaking to each of us with lessons from each of the seven churches.
  • Lessons that we need to apply to our lives today. Not just for those churches back then, been especially for us as well.

And lastly, the common phrase that we also see written to all the churches is – to him that overcometh.

  • There are overcomers in every church.
  • In every age, God has had His people that will overcome sin, overcome the condition and challenge that each church faces.
  • So no matter how bad the situation gets, or what Satan might try to do to each church, God will always have His people.
  • And even today, God has His people.
  • So we are given a message of hope to encourage us to press on, no matter what challenges we are facing.

So with that let’s start with the first church today. The church of Ephesus.

 

The Church of Ephesus

Revelation 2:1
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

Ephesus represents the time period from when Jesus ascended up until around 100AD which is the date that many point to around the time that the last apostles died.

Meaning of the name Ephesis:

  • “desirable” or “first.”
  • The church of Ephesus has desirable characteristics for each of us today to imitate.

The way that Jesus introduces Himself is exactly what that church needs to hear and what they need.

  • Revelation 2:1
    1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
  • Jesus is holding seven stars in His right hand.
  • What do stars represent?
    • Revelation 1:20
      … The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches…
    • And the word angel means messenger, by implication, a
    • So Jesus is holding the leaders of the church in His right hand.
  • What does the right hand represent in scripture?
    • Isaiah 41:10
      Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
    • So God is holding up the leaders with His righteousness.
    • He is their support. He is with them.

Revelation 2:1
1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

  • In Revelation 1, what do we see with Jesus in relation to the seven candlesticks?
  • Revelation 1:13
    And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man…
  • Jesus is standing in the midst of the seven candlesticks.
  • We know already that the candlestick represents the church.
  • But now we see some added detail. Jesus is WALKING in the midst of the 7 candlesticks.
  • Where have we see Jesus walking?
  • Genesis 3:8
    And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…
  • God was coming to look for them. He was seeking out Adam and Eve.
  • So God is telling the church of Ephesus that He is coming to look for them like a shepherd when there is a lost sheep.

He is upholding them with His righteousness, and He is seeking for them.

  • There is a personal relationship between Christ and the leaders of the church.

Revelation 2:2
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience”

  • Where have we seen works and labour and patience?
  • 1 Thessalonians 1:3
    Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
  • What is missing in Ephesus?
    • Faith, love and hope.
  • Not that they began this way, but later on they lost this.
  • 1 Corinthians 13:13
    And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

    • The greatest is love.
  • And we’re going to find shortly that this church lost its love.

But this was a strong church. They were engaged with spiritual warfare and were alert to the attempts of false agents to influence the church. Therefore they examined and investigated everyone who claimed to be an apostle.

  • They could not bear those who were evil.
  • But they could bear persecution and sufferings for the sake of Christ.

 

Revelation 2:3
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

God recognizes that they are doing their best.

  • They have laboured, they have had patience, they have not fainted. They were faithful!
  • Acts records the incredible growth of the church and their zeal for Christ.
  • Paul could say that he had preached to every creature under heaven!
  • However, the early church began to falter.
  • What was the issue that arose?
    • It was not sinfulness or heresy or compromise of their faith.

 

Revelation 2:4
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

However, here was their problem – they left their first love.

  • This shows a decline in the zeal of God’s people.
  • When did this take place? Most likely after the death of most of the apostles.
  • Acts 20:29-30
    29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
  • Paul was martyred around 68AD.
  • Little by little, worldliness and coldness crept into the church.
  • The church became selfish and ease loving.
  • 1 John 2:15
    Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
  • John is writing from a standpoint from what he saw probably taking place in the church around 100 AD.

 

Revelation 2:5
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Christ’s counsel:

  • Remember where you fell from.
  • Repent.
  • Do the first works.

They knew the way back to Christ. Recount their past experience.

  • Their early love for Christ.
  • Their original standards of conduct.
  • Their first labours.

Repent.

  • Seek for a change in mind and also in action.
  • Romans 13:10
    …love is the fulfilling of the law.
  • They had to come back to obedience to God’s word, His law, if they wanted to regain back their first love.
  • Love is full-hearted obedience.

If not, what would happen?

  • Their candlestick would be removed.
  • The candlestick was God’s church.
  • In order for God’s church to shine the light, they needed to be filled with His love.
  • Otherwise, it wasn’t fulfilling the purpose of why God called them to be in the church.
  • God desires to save us through the church shining God’s light and love, but He then wants us to turn around and keep shining that light.
  • When Saul was converted to Paul the great apostle, God could have given him all the instruction that he needed to be saved and the work that He wanted him to do. But instead of doing this, God put Paul in touch with His church. Ananias was instructed to help Paul.

However, there was another commendation for this church.

 

Revelation 2:6
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Who were the Nicolaitans?

  • We’re not so much interested in the literal meaning but its spiritual meaning.
  • Nicolaitans means “victorious over the people, a heretic.”
  • This lines up with what we read about them at the beginning. They were able to detect who were the liars, the false apostles.
  • And there was a lot of heresy being taught during those early days as well.
  • We will see the Nicolaitans again later on in the churches.

 

Revelation 2:7
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

What did this church need to overcome?

  • Selfishness and worldliness.
  • And to repent and return to God.
  • This requires self-denial, which is the biggest battle for any believer in any age.
  • They needed love that would be manifested in works and obedience to God’s commandments.
  • And so we read:
    • Revelation 22:14
      Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

So we understand then why the promise is that they will have access to the tree of life and its fruit if they are overcomers.

  • There will be a group that will be obedient to God’s commandments.
  • And there will be a group that will be able to deny self just like Christ did, and what Adam should have done at the very beginning when he lost paradise.

 

CONCLUSION for the Church of Ephesus:

  • God holds His true servants firmly in His hand.
  • God notes our labours for His cause.
  • God does not want us to tolerate evil.
  • There is danger when our love for God declines and our love for self grows.

 

The Church of Smyrna

Revelation 2:8
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

Smyrna represents that time period from 100AD to 323AD

  • You’ll see why we chose 323AD later in the next church.
  • These dates are not inspired. They vary here and there. But you will get the general gist of it.

Meaning of Smyrna – “myrrh” or “sweet scent”

  • What is a sweet scent to God?

 

Revelation 2:8
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

  • Seems like this church is going through some persecution.
  • They need to know that Jesus not only died, but that He resurrected as well.
  • They are given a promise of resurrection.
  • Myrrh was also used to embalm the dead:
    • John 19:39
      And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.

 

Revelation 2:9
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

“I know they works, and tribulation”

  • This church is going through GREAT tribulation and persecution.
  • The Roman Caesar’s reacted to seeing Christianity thrive and grow and expand and spread throughout the whole land.
  • As a result, millions of lives were sacrificed for Christ.
  • But what happens when we go through tribulations?
  • Romans 5:3-5
    3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
  • God helped this church to regain its love, its zeal, by allowing them to go through tribulation and persecution. The problem of Ephesus is fixed in this church!

“poverty, (but thou art rich)”

  • This church was physically and literally poor. They had to run for their lives. Possessions were not important. They lived underground and in the catacombs.
  • However, they were spiritually wealthy!
  • In contrast today, the church is materially rich but spiritually poor.
  • The Laodicean church is called:
    • Revelation 3:17
      poor, and blind, and naked:
  • This explains why sometimes God permits persecution and trouble and tribulation to come upon us.
  • To help us to focus on the spiritual dimension of our lives instead of constantly pursuing the material blessings.

“I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan”

  • What is the definition of blasphemy here?
    • Saying you are a Jew (Christian) but you’re not, but you’re really the synagogue of Satan.
    • You’re really opposite to what you profess to be.
    • A fake Christian.
  • These people started creeping into the church already.
  • What is a true Jew?
    • Romans 2:29
      But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
  • It is to be born again, true conversion, true circumcision of the heart.
  • There were people who were unconverted that were creeping into the church.
  • This is quite different to the church of Ephesus. They were able to detect the liars and those that were false apostles.
  • But now there is compromise creeping in.
  • The church is in trouble.

 

Revelation 2:10
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Clearly there is great persecution taking place during this time.

  • The emperors supported the persecution of the Christian’s in their reign. It was allowed.
  • Most notably, during the reign of Diocletian, the Christian church would face its fiercest persecution from 303-313 AD.
  • This can be understood as the fulfillment of the 10 days of tribulation.

 

Revelation 2:11
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Once again, the promise is given of the first resurrection – the resurrection of the righteous, who would be spared from the second death.

  • This is exactly what this church needed to hear. That their sacrifice for Christ was not in vain.
  • Though they were poor in this world’s eyes, they were rich in the eyes of heaven.

This is a reminder to us today who will one day face the greatest persecution ever known to man. A time of trouble that has never been experienced since the beginning of time.

  • There is a preparation that we must makes plans for today.
  • Praying for God’s love to fill our hearts that we would become witnesses for Him.
  • That we would be willing to make the sacrifices needed in our lives so that we can receive the spiritual blessings, the spiritual riches, that God so desires to give us.
  • And that we would make a concerted effort to focus to laying for ourselves treasures up in heaven and not on this earth.

Mark 8:34-37
Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

  • What is your life worth?
  • How important that you enjoy this life now in comparison to the eternal life we have waiting for us in heaven?
  • What are the sacrifices that we need to make today to make our salvation sure?

 

Conclusion for the church of Smyrna

  • The church is going through great persecution.
  • God reassures us that there will be a resurrection awaiting us.
  • We need to be faithful unto death.

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