The Overview of the Letter to Ephesus
The first address is to the church at Ephesus. There is praise for this church, which included their ability to discern false teachers (vv2-3). They are admonished to return to their “first love.” The letter concludes with a promise of eternal life to the overcomers. The characteristics of this church began in the first century apostolic era, and continues to the end of the Mystery of God.
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;
Introduction to the City of Ephesus
The population of Ephesus, at this time, was close to two hundred fifty thousand. It was a seaport city with a harbor which came inside the city walls by spurring off of the Cayster River, which river emptied into the Aegean Sea three miles away. The city was at an intersection of major trade routes, both land and sea. This propitious location made Ephesus a major commercial center. It ranked with Rome, Corinth, Antioch, and Alexandria, among the foremost urban centers of the Roman empire, and was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Ephesus’ greatest claim to fame was its association to the goddess Diana (Grk: Artemis); see Acts 19:23-31. The temple to Diana ranked as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Coins of the city were minted with the slogan, “Neokoros,” Temple Warden.
In these opening lines are given both the addressee and the addressor. The letter is addressed to the angel (messenger) of the church at Ephesus. The addressor is Christ, who describes Himself in terms pregnant with apocalyptic meaning.
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write;” ～ The addressee is identified as the angel of the Ephesian church. We have looked to this subject already, but, begging the readers leave, we may do well to visit it again, if only briefly. Because the term “angel” is employed, some suppose that the Revelation was written to spirit beings (created angels) who were assigned to each congregation. This seems unlikely, in that the letter was intended to be read aloud in the assemblies (1:3). The word angel, angelos in the Grk, means messenger, and is better understood to mean the presbyter of each congregation, in this case—Ephesus.
This church, to whom the Lord spoke, is the selfsame church that was the recipient of the Epistle to the Ephesians, written by the Apostle Paul (A.D. 60) from Rome. This same apostle founded this church during his second missionary journey (A.D. 49-52) by leaving Priscilla and Aquila there, while he continued his journey to Jerusalem (Acts 18:21-22). Upon his return, during the third journey (A.D. 53-57), Paul spent two years and three months (Acts 19:8, 10) establishing this church in the faith. Later, when in Miletus, a city south of Ephesus, also on the coast, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders, who came to Paul at Miletus. The purpose of mentioning this is to establish the authority Paul held, in the Church, as their apostle. No doubt, this order continued until the Apostle’s death in A.D. 67-68. Paul was beheaded in Rome during the Great Tribulation, under the reign of Caesar Nero. At the time of their apostle's death, and the possible date for the writing of the Revelation, the church of Ephesus was, perhaps, seventeen years old.
“These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand,…” The addressor describes Himself with the prerogatives of divinity by stating His possession of the seven stars, which, He says, are in His right hand. This, also, speaks to the divine care given by Him to the New Testament ministry—which the stars represent (see 1:20 and comments there). One is reminded of Christ’s words concerning the same imagery,
“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:28, NKJV)
“…who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;” ～ The One sending the letter was “in the midst of the seven lampstands” (NKJV). In that the seven lampstands are symbolic of the seven churches (1:20), the significance of this self-identity of Christ is to emphasize His presence IN the churches. The New Testament writers wrote that, indeed, the church is the temple (dwelling place) of God: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Cor 3:16). Both the Elizabethan “ye” and the “you” of this text are the plural “you all.”
The Greek Text
ouk oídate hóti vaòs theou este kaì tò pneuma tou theou oikei en humin;
humin su, Pronoun (personal) second plural dative you; you people (when plural)
Apostolically Speaking,
☩ Jerry L Hayes
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The Apocalypse, is the introduction to the biblical book of Revelation. Here Bishop Hayes also gives a verse by verse commentary of the first three chapters of the Apostle John's Revelation of Jesus Christ, covering the letters addressed to the seven churches of Asia Minor. The Bible student will thrill at the Bishop's easy evangelistic style of presenting deep and unique truths never before published. In this study a wealth of information will be shared with the disciples of Christ on each verse of this great manuscript.
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