I THE CHURCH IN EPHESUS (The Backsliding Church) [2:1-7]
Vs. 1 – “To the “angel” of the church.” Angel (angelos) can also mean messenger or minister. So the Lord is addressing this letter to the leader of the church. The pastor is the shepherd of God’s people. So these letters to the seven churches are from the great shepherd (Jesus) to the local shepherd (pastor) to read to the people under his care (church).

Vs. 1 – “These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden Lampstands.” CR – Revelation 1:12,13 & 20 Notice the difference in verse 13, Jesus was seen “among the lampstands” and here in the letter he is seen as “walking among the Lampstands”. Jesus is now observing their deeds and their motives. This shift of emphasis is Jesus being vigilant in the church of which he is the head. (Ephesians 5:23-24)

CULTURAL BACKGROUND
- Ephesus was the most important city in Asia Minor. It was the center for worship to the goddess Diana (Artemis), who’s spectacular Temple was one of the 7 wonders of the world. The temple was destroyed in 268 AD.
- The apostle Paul originally went there to plant a church and in so doing was such a threat to the Temple income that a riot ensued that threw Ephesus into chaos (Acts 19:23-41).
- The worship of Diana was extremely vile and filled with immorality. The great philosopher Heraclitus wrote, “No one could live in Ephesus and not weep over its immorality.”
- Huddled in the midst of such cultural and religious idolatry, the Kingdom of God entered in and turned the city upside down. The city’s population at this time was estimated to be close to 500,000 people.

COMPLIMENTS (Vs 2-3 & 6)
- “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.” God sees.
- “I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men” They did not embrace evil.
- “That you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not and have found them false.” We are to stand guard against false teachers.
- “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” Much sacrificed occurred to start this church.
- “But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” Those who embraced this group of followers, lived a life of unrestrained indulgence and wickedness.

CRITICISMS (Vs 4-5)
- “Yet I hold this against you.You have forsaken your first love.” The loss of a vital love relationship with the Lord Jesus opens the door to apathy, a love for the world and not enough love to God or others.
- “Remember the height from which you have fallen!” Despite its outward appearance to people, as a robust church, a deadly cancer was growing in the heart of the church. If left alone the church would die a slow spiritual death. A spiritual evaluation was needed quickly.

COMMANDS (Vs 5)
- “Repent and do the things you did at first.” They needed to recapture their passion for living and worshiping Christ. The apathy is confronted. A warning is given to awaken their souls to the fruit of repentance.
- “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your Lampstands from its place.” Consequences to the spiritual power in the church would follow if the warnings are ignored. Christ himself will remove his spiritual glory from a church that does not obey his teachings.

CHALLENGE (Vs 7)
- “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” This challenge is to all churches. The tree of life was lost to man because of Adam’s sin. The tree of life thus symbolizes living in God’s presence, which is our heavenly reward.

II THE CHURCH IN SMYRNA (The Suffering Church) [Vs. 8-11]
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.” (Vs. 8)

CULTURAL BACKGROUND
- The Bible does not record the founding of this church, nor is it mentioned in the book of Acts on Paul’s missionary journeys. But due to its proximity near Ephesus it was probably started from those who were converted in Ephesus.
- The city was a hotbed of emperor worship. It became a capital offense to refuse to offer the yearly sacrifice to the Emperor Domitian. Many Christians were executed there, the most famous being Polycarp, who John disciple himself and who became a leader in the church.

COMPLEMENTS (Vs. 9)
- “I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich!”
- “I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

COMMANDS (Vs 10)
- “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for 10 days.” An intense tribulation period of 10 days.
- “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” God will reward those who suffer and die for his name sake.

CHALLENGE (Vs 11)
- “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” You may die a physical death under persecution but you will never experience the spiritual second death, which is eternal damnation.

III THE CHURCH IN PERGAMUM (The Compromising Church ) [Vs. 12-17]
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double edged sword.” (Vs. 12)

CULTURAL BACKGROUND
- Twice the Lord refers to the presence of Satan and his throne. This may refer to the first temple built to worship the Roman Emperors as gods. Or it may refer to the altar of Zeus built to the Greek god that overlooked the city.
- This was also a city know for healing through the god Asclepio Soter, which means healing savior. The emblem for this god was a serpent.
- Pergamum was considered Asia’s greatest city. It was the regional capital for 250 years. Pergamum survives today as the Turkish city Bergamum. It was a beautiful city setting on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
- The city housed the second largest library in the world, second only to Alexandria, Egypt. Because of this library, the city was an important center of culture and learning, and people came from all over the world to it.
- The sword refers to the word of God. And its double edge is sharp to deal with all sins even those hidden within the church.

COMPLIMENTS (Vs. 13)
- “I know where you live – where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name.” Despite the laws mandating forced worship to these false gods, the church stood firm against it.
- “You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city – where Satan lives.” Executed by being burned alive on a pagan altar for refusing to worship the emperor. Residents were required to burn incense at the Emperors temple once a year and verbally declare: Caesar is Lord.

CRITICISMS (Vs. 14-15)
- “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.”
- Balaam’s teaching referred to compromising the ways of God and following the ways of the world. You cannot go into the temple of pagan deities and worship and them go to church and worship God.
- “Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” The most common word to describe a Christian is holy, from the Greek word hogios, which means, to separate from the world and be holy. The Nicolaitans taught that holiness and separation were not necessary. Fleshly indulgences were promoted since we are saved by grace. Rom 6:1 “Shall we go on sinning so grace increases?”

COMMANDS (Vs. 16)
- “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” The truth of Christ will defeat them.

CHALLENGE (Vs. 17)
- “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.”
- God will give those who don’t engage in pagan feasts, hidden manna. Feast upon the heavenly word and God will supernaturally provide.
- The “white stone” stand for victory and triumph. In the ancient courts, white and black stones were used for giving the courts verdicts. White stones for acquittal and black stones for guilty. Our new name is written down in glory.