To the Church in Ephesus
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:1-7).
Ephesus was an ancient, important Greek city in what is now known as modern-day Anatolia, Turkey. It was a major center of trade and commerce in the Mediterranean region. Ephesus had numerous conquerors throughout its history, but it became most known amongst Christians for its early church beginnings by the Apostle Paul and is a popular archaeological site.[1]
The Apostle John was instructed to write to the angel of the Ephesus church. So, who was the angel the Lord was referring to? While the Bible is silent as to a specific name, we can best understand that the angel of Ephesus was a human leader of that particular church, for a celestial being would not need a physical letter to read to the church. Angel, angelos, or angelon (ἄγγελόν), as pronounced in Greek, means messenger.[2] The Lord often used human messengers in the Bible to deliver words to His people. John the Baptist was such a messenger and was called an angelos in the Greek New Testament text. The Bible says: “…I will send my messenger (angelos) ahead of you who will prepare your way before you” (Matthew 11:10b). Just as John the Baptist had been sent to prepare the way for Jesus, God’s leaders are His earthly messengers sent to deliver words from Him to prepare people’s hearts for His soon return.
Once again, Jesus reminded John, as he wrote, that He was the One who held the seven stars (messengers) and walked among the seven golden lampstands (the churches). The Bible says: “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20). Isn’t it interesting to see that Jesus was and still is actively watching, working, and walking among His body? Jesus held the seven stars in His hands, which meant that He was their source of protection, guidance, and support. The Bible says: “ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30). The Lord never leaves us, but we are the ones to leave Him. If we hold on to His hand, He will hold on to ours and not allow the enemy to snatch us away from Him. He is not a neglectful parent, and He always takes great care of those who are His. He walks with us, talks to us, and leads us in the direction He wants us to go. The Lord had this message for Moses’ successor, Joshua: “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8).
*Where is another place in the Bible where the Lord walked amongst His people? The Bible says: “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8).
The Lord had watched the church of Ephesus and had seen everything they had done for His service. The Lord commended them because they had worked hard and had endured many hardships. Remember, this was during a difficult time for the early church, as they were undergoing heavy persecution. Nevertheless, nothing we do goes unnoticed by God because He is everywhere and sees all. “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 4:11). It is important to live righteous lives before our Creator so that we may please Him and represent the Glory of God for others to see.
Ephesus was also commended for not tolerating the wicked and was acknowledged for having tested the fruits of those who claimed to be apostles of Christ, which were proven false. The church of Ephesus was correct in testing the spirits. The Bible says: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). There are countless false prophets even today who often mislead self-professed believers. However, if one sincerely wants to know if these people are of God, prayer and a daily study of the Word of God will give a spiritual x-ray to differentiate the real from the phony. The Bible says: “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” (Psalms 25:5).
The church remained strong and had not grown weary. Yet, the Lord held something against them. They had lost their first love. They had become like robots and were doing things out of ritual instead of taking joy in the works of God. It was like a marriage where the couple was in love when they first met, but the marriage sparks had grown dim and had become dull after years of being together. God was unhappy regarding this and wanted them to repent and do their first works again. “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:10-11). Therefore, despite the many years of service we may offer to the Lord, He wants us to stay ignited and passionate about Him.
Jesus warned that if the Ephesus church failed to renew themselves in Him and repent, He would remove their lampstand. For the Lord to do this would mean total darkness for the church. Even now, allowing our love for Christ to grow dim is wrong. It also means that the belief that once saved and always saved is incorrectly being taught in many churches because one can allow their light to grow dim and lose fellowship with Christ. You can be erased from the Book of Life if you do not do the will of the Father. “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them” (2 Peter 2:11). The Apostle Peter is saying in this text that you can lose your salvation if you willfully and willingly turn away from God’s commands. Therefore, to be found without fault, one should repent of sins every day, for we are granted new grace and mercies daily. To Be CONT...
[1] History.com Editors, "Ephesus," HISTORY, last modified March 2, 2025, https://www.history.com/articles/ephesus.
[2] Strong's Editorial Staff, "Greek Concordance: ἄγγελόν (angelon) -- 22 Occurrences," Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages, last modified 2025, https://biblehub.com/greek/angelon_32.htm.
