Revelation 2:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the inscription. First, this letter is sent to the church in Ephesus, a well-known church planted by the apostle Paul in Acts 19. It was later cared for and guided by John, who seems to have lived there much of the time. We can hardly think Timothy was the one pastor and bishop over this church at this time, because a man of his spirit would not likely have become so careless that he deserved the rebukes given here.

Second, we see who sent the letter. It comes from Christ, using one of the titles given to him in John’s vision in the previous chapter, he who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands (Revelation 1:13, Revelation 1:16). This title has two parts. He holds the stars in his right hand, which means the ministers of Christ are under his special care and protection.

This is a great honor for the Lord Jesus Christ. God knows the number of the stars, calls them each by name, and controls their movements. In the same way, the ministers of the gospel, who are greater blessings to the church than stars are to the world, are in Christ’s hand. He directs their work, places them where they belong, gives them light and usefulness, and keeps them from falling. They are tools in his hand, and all the good they do comes through his power with them.

He also walks among the golden lampstands. This shows his close relationship with his churches, just as the first part shows his relation to his ministers. Christ is truly present with his churches on earth. He knows their condition, watches over them, and takes pleasure in them, like a man walking in his garden. Even though Christ is in heaven, he still walks among his churches here below, seeing what is wrong and what they lack. This should greatly encourage those who care for the churches, because the Lord Jesus has engraved them on the palms of his hands.

Now to the message itself. Christ first gives the church of Ephesus praise, and he always begins by saying that he knows their works. That means both his praise and his rebuke are careful and true, not guesses. He knows exactly what he is saying.

He commends them for their diligence in duty: “I know your works, and your labor” (Revelation 2:2). This may especially refer to the ministry of the church, which had been hardworking and faithful. Honor brings duty with it. Those who are stars in Christ’s hand need to keep moving and giving light to those around them. For his name’s sake, they had labored and not grown tired (Revelation 2:3). Christ keeps account of every day’s work and every hour’s work done for him, and their labor will not be wasted in the Lord.

He also praises their patience in suffering: “Your labor and your patience” (Revelation 2:2). It is not enough to be active. We must also be patient and endure hardship like good soldiers of Christ. Ministers especially need great patience, and no Christian can do without it. There is a patience that bears injuries from people and the hard things God sends in providence. There is also a waiting patience, so that when we have done God’s will, we may receive what he has promised. “You have borne, and have patience” (Revelation 2:3). Our path and our work will bring hard things that require patience if we are to keep going and finish well.

He further commends them for zeal against evil: “You cannot bear those who are evil” (Revelation 2:2). Christian patience is fully compatible with refusing to put up with sin. We must show kindness to people, but we must also show clear zeal against their sins. Their zeal was even more worthy of praise because it was guided by knowledge. They had carefully tested those who claimed to be apostles but were not, and they had found them to be liars. True zeal acts wisely. No one should be rejected until they have been tested. Some had risen in this church claiming to be apostles, not just ordinary ministers, but their claims had been examined and found false. Those who honestly search for truth can come to know it.

Yet Christ also gives this church a rebuke: “Nevertheless, I have somewhat against you” (Revelation 2:4). Those with much that is good may still have something seriously wrong. The Lord Jesus, as a fair Master and Judge, notices both. He begins with what is good, since he is ready to mention that first, but he also sees what is wrong and will faithfully correct it.

The sin he charges them with is a decline in holy love and zeal: “You have left your first love.” This does not mean they had completely turned away from Christ, but that they had lost the warm strength they once had. People’s first feelings toward Christ, holiness, and heaven are usually lively and warm. God remembered the love of Israel when she was newly joined to him, when she would follow him wherever he went. But these early affections grow weaker unless they are carefully guarded and kept active. Christ is grieved and displeased when his people grow dull and cold toward him, and he will in one way or another make them feel that he is not pleased with it.

Christ then gives them counsel: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent” (Revelation 2:5). Those who have lost their first love must remember what they have lost. They should compare their present condition with their former one, and see how much better it was before than now. They have lost peace, strength, purity, and joy by leaving their first love. They once could lie down and sleep more quietly, rise in the morning with more cheer, bear trouble more patiently, enjoy God’s blessings more properly, and think of death with less fear. Their desire for heaven and their hope of it were stronger too.

They must repent. They should feel inward sorrow and shame for their sinful decline. They must blame themselves, humble themselves before God, confess it, and judge themselves for it. They must also return and do their first works. In a sense, they must begin again, step back until they come to the point where they first went wrong. They should seek to recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and pray as earnestly and watch as carefully as they did when they first began to walk in God’s ways.

This warning is pressed home with a severe threat if it is ignored: “I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place.” If Christ’s grace and Spirit are treated lightly, we should expect his displeasure. He will come in judgment, suddenly and unexpectedly, against stubborn churches and sinners. He will remove them as a church, taking away his gospel, his ministers, and his ordinances. Then what can the churches, or the angels of the churches, do once the gospel is gone?

There is also an encouraging word about what was still good among them: “You hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Revelation 2:6). Though their love for what is good had grown cold, they still hated what was evil, especially what was openly wicked. The Nicolaitans were a loose group that hid under the name of Christianity. They held hateful teaching and practiced hateful deeds, hated by Christ and by all true Christians. The church at Ephesus is praised because it kept a true zeal and strong dislike for those corrupt beliefs and actions. A spirit that makes little difference between truth and error, or between good and evil, may be called charity or gentleness, but it does not please Christ. Our Savior adds this praise to his warning so that the counsel will have more force.

The letter then closes, as the others do, with a call to listen: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Notice three things. First, what is written in Scripture is spoken by the Spirit of God. Second, what is said to one church matters to all the churches, in every place and age. Third, we can never use our hearing better than by listening to God’s word, and we deserve to lose it if we do not use it for that purpose. Those who refuse God’s call now will one day wish they had never been able to hear at all.

There is also a promise of great mercy for those who overcome. The Christian life is a battle against sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh. It is not enough to begin that fight, we must continue in it to the end. We must never give in to our spiritual enemies, but keep fighting the good fight until we win the victory, as all faithful Christians will. That struggle and victory will end in a glorious reward. Here the promise is that they will eat from the tree of life, which is in the middle of the paradise of God.

This means they will receive the full holiness and settled blessedness that Adam would have had if he had stood firm in his trial. Then he would have eaten from the tree of life in the middle of paradise, as a sign that he was confirmed in a holy and happy state. In the same way, all who endure their Christian trial and warfare will receive from Christ, who is the true tree of life, perfection and lasting strength in holiness and happiness in the paradise of God, not the earthly paradise, but the heavenly one (Revelation 22:1, Revelation 22:2).