Revelation 2:2b I know…your labor,
The Greek term for “labor,” is, “kopos.” It means, “toil (as reducing the strength), pains, or a striking beating, toil resulting in weariness.” Jesus knew the labor of the Ephesians. Paul knew a little something about labor, too.
Revelation 2:2a “I know your works,
Our Lord begins His dissection of the livelihood of the Ephesian church with a commendation. He says that He knows their works. This, of course, is a comment favoring Ephesus, not a dead work done in lieu of having salvation.
Revelation 2:1 To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, and who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
The church of Ephesus is the only church that had an epistle written to them that was canonically accepted into the Bible. Though dates can be (and will be) speculative as to precisely when each epistle was written, it is generally believed that the letter to the Ephesians was written around 60 AD.
I would like to address the concept of truth. There is a saying that has been bandied around for a long time and it goes like this: “All truth is God’s truth.” Perhaps upon first blush that saying sounds right, but is it? What is it actually implying? And how are some well-meaning Christians falling victim into thinking that there is any veracity behind it?
Revelation 1:20 “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
Our Lord gives John an explanation as to what the nature of the stars and lampstands are, so as not to leave the apostle (or us) in the dark. Christ is expositing His own word so that we may clearly understand the symbolism being invoked. And to be transparent, yes, symbolism is used in Revelation.
Revelation 1:19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
This verse requires a little consideration, since it is something of a lynch pin for chapter one. In verse 1 we are told that there are, “things which must shortly take place.” This is further stressed in verse 3, where we read that, “the time is near.”
Revelation 1:18b Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and Death.
The Lord concludes verse 18 with the factual statement that he possesses the keys of Hades, or Hell, or Gehenna, and Death. The NKJV capitalizes the word Death, almost as if the idea of death was being personalized. We find Death and Hell together again in Revelation 20:13 and 14, where both are cast into the Lake of Fire.
Revelation 1:18a I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.
Christ our Lord goes on from telling John not to be afraid, to giving His divine credentials. There are many counterfeit Christs, both ancient and modern. Paul and John wrestled with such ideologies, stemming from Judaizers to Gnostics. Today we have Rome, the Watchtower, Mormonism, Islam’s Jesus, and so many more. They are legion, but they are false, united in their efforts to dethrone the true Christ and replace Him with a man-made counterfeit that will damn those who follow and materially enrich those who endorse the lie.
I come to you with another prayer request on behalf of my family. We are told to pray for one another that we may be healed, and I humbly ask that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for my wife, Gillian.
Revelation 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.”
Verses 13 through 16 describe the glorified Christ using language taken straight from Old Testament Scripture. John finds himself standing before El Shaddai, or Yahweh, King of Israel. His reaction? He fell at Christ’s feet as though dead.
Revelation 1:16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
Verses 16 and 20 are closely related; verse 20 provides something of an exposition of itself for the nature of the seven stars, as well as the seven lampstands that surrounded the glorified Christ when John beheld Him. God willing, we will get to that in due time, so forgive me for skipping this expositional snippet for right now. When we reach verse 20, we will backtrack and incorporate this verse.
Revelation 1:13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. [14] His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; [15] His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
Jesus once told Peter, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?” John 21:22. And now, here He is. John receives his first glimpse of the glorified Christ, standing in the midst of the lampstands, which both represent the seven Asiatic churches, or the spiritual state of the church throughout this dispensation, as well as God the Holy Spirit dwelling amongst the saints in an indwelling unique to the church age.
Revelation 1:11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Verse 11 repeats what Christ spoke in verse 8, further confirming that it is the Lord Jesus Christ and not God the Father speaking with John. How do we know this? In verse 1 John records that this is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which the Father gave to Him to show John. In verse 12, John turns to see who spoke to him, and beholds the glorified Christ, fulfilling the Father’s will by revealing these things.
Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
Verse 10 opens with John worshipping or having fellowship with God on the Lord’s Day. He is, “in the Spirit.” Paul speaks about being in the Spirit in Galatians, contrasting our state of being with living carnally. He refers to this as walking in the Spirit, verses walking in the flesh.
