To the Church in Ephesus

 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

The Lord begins with what has been done properly. Works, patience, avoidance of evil and avoiding false witness and fakes are all important. We can only view this in comparison to our own churches to ensure we have not failed to make these priorities. He ends this portion with prairie in their tireless effort to hold up His name.

Then comes the not so good news.

Love wains over time and the zeal that they once had has not inspired the next generation as the church aged. This is a warning that is difficult to hold to the next generation since our love is always less than perfect in performance in comparison to God’s perfect love. We must help the next generation understand not to judge God’s love based on our love performance. God has to be seen and we must not make the focus of love be about us.

Repentance is required on our part to keep our own hearts in love for God. Knowing we are not perfect does not excuse us from doing what is necessary to do better. Hate the works of churches that adopted false teaching and led their members in unhealthy practices that God has rejected over and over again in history. The church does not have the right to redefine sin and allow themselves to be infected.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

This is right in the sight of God, take heed.

Revelation 1:9-11 English Standard Version

Vision of the Son of Man

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Psalm 50:23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Order: (‘arakh, “to arrange”; tassein ( diatassein, taxis, tagma)): “Order” in Biblical phrases may indicate

(1) arrangement in rows,

(2) sequence in time,

(3) classification and organization,

(4) likeness or manner,

(5) regulation, direction or command, or

(6) the declaring of a will.

In many passages it is difficult if not impossible to determine from the English text alone in which of these senses the word is used. (end quote)

We must keep these issues in mind that the word order indicates that these issues are important to God but do not imply that the order in which these churches are listed is one of sequence of time. Nor does it eliminate that possibility.

We may find that (4) likeness or manner is noted in our own experiences in that it appears to be something we see happening during our own lives. Then again, not all of our experiences and observations are equal.

What can be observed is that the advice contained in each and every church is important to God and should not be written off as unimportant in our own time period. Just because we do not see it in our church does not mean it isn’t happening in others.

Things to avoid because of instruction are good for all ages.