Revelations. 1:4b-8; 2:1-7 - A Call to Return to Love - Christ the King Sunday 2024

^{Rev. 1:4}John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So, it is to be. Amen. ⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. 2:1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands: ²“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. ³I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.⁵Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶Yet this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.

Salutation: Rev. 1:4-8

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:  We do not know why these seven churches in Asia were selected.  We do know that they were not the only churches around. Perhaps the word ‘seven’ gives us one clue. Seven was a word that indicated wholeness and completion. For that reason, the issues in these churches, and the called for response, may have applicability to all others.  The form of the salutation implies that practical teaching is to follow as opposed to formal theology or doctrine.  We know from the very beginning that Revelation is about ‘what to do about something.’

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, from and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, - “Grace” refers to the favor and acceptance that God offers to people in Christ.  It is because of God’s grace that people can enjoy peace.  “Peace” here, means inner poise and tranquility even in the midst of desperate circumstances.  “who was and is and is to come” stresses the eternal nature of God. The fact that John begins with “is” stresses that God is the ever-present one now!

And from the seven spirits who are before the throne: Nobody knows for sure who these guys are. However, since the salutation is making up a Trinitarian greeting, many suggest that they refer to the Holy Spirit. The fact that they are seven is intended to imply plenitude, power and completeness of the Holy Spirit.  Some also see here an allusion to Isaiah 11:2 in which we find a way of taking about the Spirit that includes 7 attributes (Spirit of wisdom, knowledge, understanding etc.)

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  The Trinitarian greeting is completed with an elaborate description of Jesus and all that Jesus has done for the people. 

“Faithful witness” refers to one who tells the truth and to one who is a model for life. Since many were suffering for faith, Jesus was an especially poignant witness since he held to his faith in the face of the worst that humanity could do. 

“Firstborn of the dead” is an echo of Psalm 89:27 and Col. 1:18. It relates to Christ’s status in the resurrection.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sin by his blood, - Note the tenses here. Jesus’ love for us is in the present tense.  Freed is in the past tense.  This reminds us that the cross secured our freedom once and for all.  The word “freed” literally means ‘loosed’.

And made us to be a kingdom of priests serving his God and Father, - Kingdom of priests asserts that through Christ, Christians have direct access to God and can pray on behalf of others.

To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. This whole section may have been a part of an early Christian hymn. In any event, Revelation begins by focusing on God and praising God for who God is.

Look!  He is coming with the clouds; - This language reminds us of the imagery surrounding the Son of Man when he comes to judge.

Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.  So, it is to be.  Amen.  This phrase is rich with Old Testament imagery (Daniel and Zechariah). The main point is that when Jesus returns it will be good news for some and bad news for others.  Sometimes individuals can experience both good news and bad news.  Truth is often painful, but also freeing.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. The salutation reaches its climax here by reminding us that God was before all things and will outlast all things.  “Alpha” is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and “Omega” is the last.

Messages to the Churches (chapter 2)

Background:  Unlike chapter 1, with its setting in heaven, chapters 2 & 3 are set on earth.  These two chapters contain messages from the Risen Christ to 7 specific churches. As we saw in chapter 1, these churches are concrete and specific, yet the language used to speak to them makes clear that the issues they face, and therefore the message itself, is for all churches. Which message speaks today is a matter of discerning the degree to which contemporary churches experience the underlying dynamics that these early churches experienced.

Use of the term “Angel”. In general, in the Bible “angels” are created beings that serve God as messengers or protectors of human beings.  In Revelation, ‘Angel’ is used in a specialized sense. Here ‘Angel” is to ‘church’ as ‘Head’ is to ‘state’ in the term head-of-state. It is both a part of and represents the whole of the church. The word may also refer to a specific local church leader. Biblical scholar Walter Wink talks about the angel of the church as being a way of describing the ‘interiority’ or the essence of the church…its character. All of these technicalities aside, the message that Christ gives to the angels is for the whole church.

REMEMBER: The church life of Asia Minor in the period between 90-120 A.D. is the baseline for the images used in these messages. To understand what they have to say to us today, we have to dig out what the images meant then. It is not enough to apply what the symbols stand for today to our situation. We must know the context. This book has much to say to us today.  We need to do the careful work to discern what is being said!

Message to the church in Ephesus….Rev. 2:1-7

2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:  These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands: - See discussion of ‘angel’ above. Ephesus was a major city in the ancient world. With a population of 250,000 it was wealthy, cosmopolitan and a trade center from both land and sea. It was home to a huge and grand temple to the goddess Diana. This temple was two times the size of a football field with marble columns 55’ high. It was a center of tourism.  Inside this temple was some of the greatest art in the world. Christianity was established in Ephesus in the 60’s. Paul worked there for 3 years until he was run out of town because local businessmen found that conversions to Christianity were bad for business.

This was especially true of the silversmiths who made good livings selling statues of Diana. By the time of Revelation, the church was made up of second-generation believers.  The seven stars refer to the seven angels. Again, seven may be a reference to completeness, implying all of the angels. Holding in the hand is a symbol for having authority over.

The seven lampstands are the churches. It is important that Christ is pictured as ‘walking among’ the lampstands.  Walking is often used in the Bible to describe a way of life. This phrase tells us that Christ lives, moves and works among the churches.

2:2 ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. The words “I know” remind the church that Christ has intimate knowledge of everything about us, both our inner thoughts and our outer actions are known. The words for “works” and “toil” have both a moral and religious quality.  It is labor in and for the Lord. “Work,” together with “patient endurance,” were thought to be necessary for spiritual maturity. Ephesus was besieged with false teachers, as were most cosmopolitan areas.  There were many that tried to domesticate the Gospel to fit their own comfort levels. Some sought ways to apply the Gospel message to their previously held beliefs and behaviors without having to change too much. In these critical early years, it was especially important to cling to the truth so that the faith could be faithfully established.

2:3 I know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. Christ is complementing the church for its spiritual maturity and zeal.

2:4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  The language here is judicial. Christ is commending the church in some areas but saying that there is still an outstanding warrant against them. 

“You have abandoned” implies that they have made a good start but have been unable to follow through. Love here is “Agape”. It is an action oriented, ethical love that is independent of feelings and is manifest in loyalty, compassion and attachment. He is saying that they have abandoned their love for Christ and for each other. In other words, they have settled for doing what they felt like doing and have settled also for the superficial in their relationships.

2:5 Remember then from what you have fallen: repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 

The word “remember” means to rehearse or describe a situation. He is asking them to articulate their stories, how it was in the beginning. “Repent” means to turn away from, to change course, to change the way one thinks. “I will come to you” does not refer to the Second Coming. It is more like a parent saying, “Don’t make me have to come down there!” 

The startling part is the threat to remove the lampstand. The word for “lampstand” is menorah, the sacred light that reminds God’s people of God’s presence and activity with the people. By this Christ lets the church know that its’ existence is not guaranteed. Where faithfulness and love are not foremost, Christ may choose to remove his presence. The church thrives when faithfulness thrives.

2:6 Yet this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  Nicolaitans were a religious sect in Ephesus and Pergamum whose members were denounced for eating food sacrifices to idols and for sexual license.

2:7 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.  To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.

This verse applies to the church in all times and places. In Hebrew, the thought ‘to hear’ means ‘to obey’. It was unthinkable to know what God wanted and to refuse to do it. 

The word for “conquer” is a military term. It implies that the Christian life is not a bed of roses. It is a constant struggle against any force, power or enemy that has the capacity to sap life. The ‘tree of life’ refers to the Genesis creation story in which the Tree of Life is denied to Adam and Eve. This tree, now available to the conquering faithful, represents fertility, abundant life, and eternal life.

Questions for Reflection

1. What was the deep problem at the heart of the church in Ephesus?
2. How do you see those same problems manifest in contemporary churches?
3. What are some solutions to those problems?
4. How might those solutions apply to us in particular?
5. What do you learn here about the nature of Christ?