October 12, 2021 – Revelation 2:1-7

A few thoughts on the seven churches of Revelation 2 & 3, one by one, the first being the church at Ephesus. In Acts 19, we read that Paul “entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. . . . This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 19:8-10). Many heard Paul and believed and remained faithful, but there were others who opposed the truth and promoted the pagan god, Artemis: “for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’” (Acts 19:34)

The church at Ephesus, confronted with false teaching, kept to the truth. However, the Lord had this against them: “you have abandoned the love you had at first” (2:4). Dr. Thomas Schreiner has noted, “This problem may be very hard to perceive. You may be doing all the right things and believing all the right things, and yet a coldness entangles your heart. . . . [The Ephesian believers] were clearly wandering from the Lord, and were not prizing him in their heart.” Rather, may we sing:

I have found a friend in Jesus-

He’s ev’rything to me,

He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;

The Lily of the Valley- in Him alone I see

All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.

In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay,

He tells me ev’ry care on Him to roll;

He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,

He’s the greatest of ten thousand to my soul. --Charles W. Fry (1881)