Letter to Ephesus Church · 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

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

[email protected]

(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.