The Church That Lost Its First Love

I have been reading through the Book of Revelation, which is also known as the Book of the Apocalypse from the Greek word apokálypsis that literally means “revelation” or “disclosure.” And this is exactly what this last book of the Bible does—it reveals what will happen in the future when Christ triumphs over the devil. The seven churches described earlier in the book were actually around at that time. What is intriguing to me, though, is that those churches seem similar to many of our churches today. Therefore, I have decided to delve more into what was going on in these churches for the next several weeks and see how we can learn from each of them and apply it to our modern-day churches and even our lives.

I am no Biblical scholar, so I am going to need some help, as the Book of Revelation is a bit difficult for me to understand.  It is often a mystery to me,  so I am thankful that there are many true scholars who are erudite in Scripture who have studied this and have helped to unravel the mystery.  The Pulpit Commentary states this about these letters to the churches:

Verse 1-3:22. - The epistles to the seven Churches. Once more we have to consider rival interpretations. Of these we may safely set aside all those which make the seven letters to be pictures of successive periods in the history of the Church. On the other hand, we may safely deny that the letters are purely typical, and relate to nothing definite in history. Rather they are both historical and typical. They refer primarily to the actual condition of the several Churches in St. John's own day, and then are intended for the instruction, encouragement, and warning of the Church and the Churches throughout all time. 

The first letter was sent to the angel of the church of Ephesus in Asia Minor.  This city no longer exists today, but its archaeological site can be found in the province of Izmir in Türkiye (Turkey).    

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’ Revelations 2:1-7

Many theologians believe that the angel to whom these letters may have been written is the leader of that church. However, “angel” literally means “messenger.”  Jesus already revealed in Revelation 1:20 that  the seven stars were the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands were the seven churches. Jesus is holding those seven stars in His right hand, signifying that He has authority over these leaders or messengers. This reminds me of Isaiah 41:10, when the Lord told the Israelites that He would strengthen them and help them, and that He would uphold them with His righteous right hand. This is what Jesus was doing to the churches then and now. And He is to be present in the midst of our churches. If our church leaders are not in the safe hands of Jesus, then the church will be in trouble. And if Jesus is not in the midst, then it really is not a church, but just a group of people gathering together to meet. The Church is supposed to be all about Jesus, and He is supposed to have authority over it through its leadership and be the center of it all.

Jesus pointed out what was going on in the church of Ephesus. I like how He was clear that He knew their works. Sometimes we feel like we can do whatever we want and go undetected by the Lord, but that is not so. His eyes are always roaming throughout the earth. Nothing misses Him, so He definitely knows what we are up to, even if we try to hide our deeds. He saw that the church of Ephesus was good and didn’t play around with evil. They tested those who called themselves apostles and found out they were liars. We need to learn from this church and test the spirits. I have learned the hard way many times that people aren’t who they say they are, even in the church, and this can be quite dangerous.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3

The church of Ephesus was careful to do this, and we need to do the same in our churches today, too, and also individually, because there are many so-called prophets and apostles on social media who may be quite deceptive. The Ephesian church also persevered and was patient and never got weary in working for the sake of the Lord’s name. These are good things for us to emulate.  However, they had left their first love. Their first love was supposed to be Jesus. Could it be that they were so busy with their church work that they neglected their relationship with Him?  How many of us are guilty of this? We may also need to repent of our neglect and return to our first love by going back to sit at Jesus’ feet. If the lampstand is removed, then the church will cease to be light, as it would have lost the presence of the Lord.  Flashing lights and eloquent speeches from the pulpit do not mean the church is being light.  Nevertheless, this church hated what the Lord hated—the deeds of the Nicolaitans.  Note that they didn’t hate the people, but their deeds. Benson Commentary gives us a few ideas why their deeds would have been hated by the church of Ephesus and Jesus.

According to ancient writers, their doctrine and their lives were equally corrupt. They allowed the practice of the most abominable lewdness and adulteries, as well as sacrificing to idols; all which they placed among things indifferent, and pleaded for as branches of Christian liberty.

The Nicolaitans were abusing God’s grace while calling it “Christian liberty,” as many churchgoers do today. We must never forget that the Lord is holy and He hates sin. But, these Nicolaitans were ready to willingly compromise their faith for the pleasures of the flesh, yet still incorporate it into their Christianity. This is abominable to the Lord, and it should be to us also. We need to do what is pleasing to Him—lewdness, sexual sin, and idolatry are not, and should never be done by people who say they are followers of Christ.

It behooves all of us as Christians to check whether we need to go back to where we have lost our first love and reignite our intimacy with the Lord. If not, we will not overcome and eat from the tree of life.