Ephesus in Modern Turkey
Letter to Ephesus Church
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 (see
Revelation 1:11-16 & 20).
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: And hast borne, and hast
patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured,
and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat
against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
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. But this thou hast,
that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes,
which I also hate. 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 (Revelation
2:1-7) KJV
Within the letter to the Ephesus church, Jesus
identifies Himself, speaks of the good
things the church is doing and points out things He
has against the church. He gives the remedy
regarding the negligent situation and allows the
church to know what their reward will be for
continued disobedience and what their reward will be
for obedience.
Brief Glimpse
If the church, at Ephesus overcomes, they will be
able to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of
the paradise of God. Great !!! A great gift from the
KING of kings and LORD of lords.
September 2010 VOL. 1 ISSUE 3
Letter to Ephesus Church
Remember & Repent
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches (Revelation
2:7) KJV
…What thou seest write in a book, and send it unto
the seven churches which are in Asia (Revelation
1:11) KJV According to the prior scriptural
passage, John would need to write letters to seven
designated churches; Ephesus was the first church.
Throughout the history of the bible, the LORD
God always forewarned His people before
judgment. The church at Ephesus was no exception.
Sometime ago, Paul the Apostle journeyed to
Ephesus (see Acts 19:11-20). During the time that
Paul visited Ephesus, “the LORD wrought unusual
miracles by the hands of Paul. So that from his body
were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons,
and the diseases departed from them, and the evil
spirits went out of them (Acts 19:11-12) KJV
The original text quoted “special” miracles. Paul’s
ministry was directed by the LORD Jesus Christ
via His Holy Spirit Presence. The above scriptural
passage further stated “so mightily grew the Word of
God and prevailed (Acts 19:20)” KJV However,
some itinerate Jews (going about from place to
place) or as the scriptures within the book of
Acts refer to them as “vagabond Jews” tried to
cast out evil spirits as well, only to receive a
severe beating by same (verses 14-16).
Because of the Mighty Prevailing Word of God,
people burned their books of “curious arts” known as
magical books. The incident with the “vagabond Jews”
became known to all the Jews and the Greeks that were
dwelling in Ephesus and they were afraid, “and the
Name of the LORD Jesus was MAGNIFIED
(Acts 19:17)
The Word of God grew mightily and PREVAILED
Letter to the Ephesus Church
Each one of Jesus’ letters to the seven churches
began with a strong introduction in reference to His
characteristics. Within the letter to Ephesus, Jesus
refers back to what was stated in Revelation 1:16: “and
He had in His right hand seven stars” and to what is
stated in Revelation 1:13: And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man.” John, the
Apostle actually saw the above vision and was told to
write what he saw. John wrote the letter as was told.
Jesus’ letters to Ephesus and all the other churches
within Revelation followed a specific format:
A strong introduction
I Know thy works
Named the good things regarding the church
Stated the problem with the church
Gave the REMEDY to the problem
Encouraged the church to persevere
Stated the REWARD for obedience or
disobedience
If any, emphasized other good deeds
Ended with “He that hath an ear let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Background of Ephesus
What did Jesus Know?
About the Ephesus Church?
Refer back to Acts 19 and read the scriptural
passages and then read the following verse in
Revelation 2:2
“I Know thy Works and thy labour, and thy patience
(perseverance) and how thou canst not bear them
that are evil; and hast tried them which say they are
apostles and are not, and hast found them liars.
And has borne and hast patience, and for my
Name’s sake hast labored and not fainted (become
weary).” Note: Read all of Psalm 1 and note the 6th
verse: “For the LORD knoweth the way of the
righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
The Ephesus church had tested teachers to see if
they were rooted in the Word of the LORD. I
John 4:1 states: Beloved believe not every spirit,
but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God,
because many false prophets are gone out into the
world. Question: What was the test? “Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus is come in the flesh is not of God… (I John
4:2-3).” Note: Read & study I John 4 in its entirety
& II Corinthians 11:13-15. In Revelation 2:3, Jesus
states that the Ephesus church had not fainted
(Read Isaiah 40:31regarding waiting on the
LORD).
Jesus has something against Ephesus
Revelation 2:4 states that Jesus told the Ephesus
church that they had left their first love (read & study I
John 4:7-21 & I John 5:1-21).“Remember therefore
from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the
first works.” Jesus also warned them regarding the
consequence of disobedience (see verse 5). Jesus
stated that the Ephesus church had left their first
love, and that they were to remember from whence
they had fallen and repent and do the first works.
Let’s delve further regarding the love issue.
Consider I John 4:7-11: “Beloved let us love one
another, for love is of God; and every one that loveth
is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth
not knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that
God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that
we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son
to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved if God so
loved us, we ought also to love one another.”
Graciously, Jesus gave the remedy to remove the
problem at the Ephesus church. Obedience would
place this church back into alignment with the Word of
God; and thereby would reap their reward.
Disobedience would cause their church to be
removed. Note: Read & study Jesus’ parable
(Matthew 21:33-44) concerning the Householder
with special attention to verse 43.
Finally, Jesus commends the Ephesus church for
hating the deeds of the Nicolaitanes (hardly any
substantial information regarding this sect). Jesus
hated what the Nicolaitanes were e doing (Revelation
2:6). Note: The Ephesus church was engulfed by a
culture and custom of idol worshippers.
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of
God. And this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come;
and even now already is it in the world. (I John 4:3-4) KJV
Believe in Jesus Christ
Ye are of God little children, and have overcome them, because
GREATER is He that is in you than he that is in the world
(I John 4:4 ) KJV
House of Prayer by Faith – Stone Soup Ministries
theprayerclinic.org
(C) ALL Rights Reserved 2010
To: Ephesus ChurchProvince of Asia Minor
House of Prayer by Faith – Stone Soup Ministries
P.O. Box 928
San Pedro, CA 90733
Website: theprayerclinic.org
e-mail: [email protected]
Ruby Levy, Ph.D.
From: He that hath the seven stars
in His right hand, who walketh in
the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks.