(2011) Revisiting the first letter, Ephesus In v.7, Jesus inserts this interesting phrase SLIDES 2-9, 2-10 Those who have ears to hear, let them hear In other words, those who have the ability to understand what I m saying should pay attention to what I say next Jesus then describes that group as the one who overcomes What does overcoming mean? Again, we understand phrase properly by looking at the context of the verse and the context of Scripture overall The context of the verse says that the result of overcoming is to eat of the Tree of Life in Paradise, which is heaven in the eternal age (Rev 21& 22) So if the reward is participation in heaven, then the term overcomes must mean to be saved We find that confirmed in the overall context of Scripture in John s first letter: 1John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith. 1John 5:5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? So to the one who has ears to hear, let him know that because he has overcome the world, he will see heaven This is the first hint of Jesus singling out subgroups within these churches even as he sends His letters to the entire Church Finally, the warning In v.5 Jesus says He will remove their lampstand if they do not repent Since the lampstand represents the Church, He is threatening to put an end to that church - light - in the world
2! He is like a coach benching a poor performing player in the game The church at Ephesus did come to an end with the rest of the city Silt increased in the famous and busy harbor port causing the harbor itself to retreat from the city As the harbor moved farther and farther away from the city, it eventually lost it s main source of income The city is now miles inland rather than on the sea It became ruins, as Christ warned Now we see the proof that He walks among the lampstands Fill out the chart... Dating the church period... SLIDE 2-11 When we look at Ephesus from the historical prophetic perspective, we know it must represent the first church period since it comes first in the seven This is the church period that began with the Apostles This was a church that generally held to sound teaching, since the Apostles themselves were teaching and leading the church It was founded on the first love of Christ Himself, whom the Apostles knew and many others saw It was a church of perseverance against Jewish persecution and did not grow weary under their attacks It remained largely pure to the structure put in place by the Apostles, resisting any attempt to create clergy or formal religious offices
3! Since the early church was founded by the Apostles and it was their leadership and teaching that promoted the strong early church, we date the first period ending with the death of John, the last Apostle SLIDE 2-12 The Ephesus church is the Apostolic Church of the first century The second letter is written to the church at Smyrna Rev. 2:8 And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: Rev. 2:9 I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Rev. 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Rev. 2:11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. Smyrna - the name means myrrh, which is an embalming spice in death Today it is the city of Izmir, which is still thriving in Turkey SLIDE 2-13 Like most Roman cities, it was full of pagan temples, including a temple to the Emperor Tiberius Because it was the center for emperor cult worship, it became Ground Zero for persecution in the church Roman persecution of Christianity began in earnest in Smyrna Bishop Polycarp was martyred here in 155 AD The church in Smyrna was heavily persecuted Roman law prohibited any religion except emperor worship Judaism was the only religion granted an exception due to the stubbornness of Jews In the First Century, Christians were seen to be an offshoot of Judaism and largely enjoyed the same protections as Jews
4! But by the Second Century, the Church was predominantly Gentile leading to a separation in the minds of Romans Jews themselves persecuted and exposed Christians thus becoming allies with the Romans against the Church Looking at the letter, the description of Christ is that He is the first born of the dead A reminder that Jesus experienced persecution and death in obedience to the Father An encouragement to a church destined to repeat that sacrifice And not only did He go to the grave, but He rose again to life And this church could look forward to that same hope Jesus then offers his commendation, telling this suffering church that he knows both their tribulation and poverty He knows they are a persecuted church, but He doesn t say He will remove their tribulation And He says He knows their poverty, but He doesn t offer to remove their earthly poverty Clearly, Jesus first priority is not to ease our earthly suffering He desires greater things for His children Instead, He reminds them that they are actually rich Rich in heavenly rewards made possible by their faithful endurance in the face of tribulation and poverty Matt. 5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Matt. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Their suffering for the sake of the Gospel would be richly rewarded in Heaven even though Jesus had no plans to grant Earthly riches In fact, to give them earthly riches would have negated their heavenly reward
5! This is a principle in Scripture We can only be rewarded once for our service to God Matt. 6:5 When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. Matt. 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Jesus says He knows the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews Blasphemy in this context must mean speaking against the testimony of Church that Jesus was Messiah These people say they were Jews, but Jesus says they were actually of the synagogue (or assembly) of Satan What does Jesus mean? Rom. 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. Rom. 2:29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. Jesus was calling out Jews who descended physically from Abraham but who lacked faith and were not born of Spirit Today, we would say these people were wolves in sheep s clothing And they persecuted the early Christians mercilessly Jesus then gives an exhortation to not fear what is coming Some of them will be in prison where they will be tested for ten days Roman prisons were not places of permanent confinement Romans had no incentive to house prisoners for long periods of time Why feed and clothe people for free? They would either whip or fine or kill you
6! So the time of 10 days is consistent with the time for the justice system to bring a verdict and carry out a sentence More likely, it was the time required for them to be transported to a Roman venue where they would be fed to Lions This is the persecution they expected They are told to remain faithful until death and receive the crown of life This statement is a good example of several statements in these letters that can cause poor Bible students to misunderstand Jesus words Is Jesus suggesting that a believer could lose salvation if they weren t faithful until death? And if so, what does faithful mean? This is not at all what Jesus is saying, and the mistake comes from misunderstanding the reward The reward Jesus holds out is the crown of life o o The phrase crown of life doesn t mean salvation The only reason we might think it does is the word life The key is in understanding the Greek word for crown o o o The word in Greek is stephanos It is the crown given to olympic athletes who run a good race It is a reward that is earned Our salvation is never said to be earned, and something that is not gained by effort is not to be maintained by effort either The crown refers to an eternal reward for faithfulness in our walk with Christ This crown is similar to the one Paul says he was trying to earn
7! 2Tim. 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 2Tim. 4:8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. Paul even used the example of a crown earned by athletes to describe the reward he expected for his life of ministry 1Cor. 9:23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. 1Cor. 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 1Cor. 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Having understood that crown of life refers to heavenly rewards and NOT to our salvation, then we go back to v.10 and interpret the meaning of remaining faithful It must mean a good witness, a good testimony Not forsaking the faith, denying Jesus or turning against other believers Leaving this earth knowing that the moment after we take our last breath we stand before the Lord to account for our life Don t let that last breath be one that denies the Lord or shame s His Name Jesus finally reassures the believers (who have ears to hear) that they will not be hurt by the Second Death The second death is a reference to the death reserved for unbelievers (we ll talk more about that death in chapter 20) Fill out the chart... Dating the church period... A church period marked by persecution at the hands of Jews and Romans SLIDE 2-14 Must begin after the Apostolic Age
8! And it ends when the persecution of the church ended in Rome when Constantine declared the faith to be the state religion 313 AD So it is the church of the Roman Persecution Rev. 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: SLIDE 2-15 Rev. 2:13 I know where you dwell, where Satan s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. Rev. 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. Rev. 2:15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Rev. 2:16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. Rev. 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. Pergamum - the name means thoroughly married A powerful city for many centuries and the seat of authority for the province The governor of Asia lived in this city SLIDE 2-16 As governor, he held the right of the sword under Roman law, Meaning he had the authority to decide when to apply capital punishment and decide life and death It was preeminent city of artistic and intellectual power It had a library rivaling the one in Alexandria It was also a Hellenistic culture It also had many pagan temples Esculapius, an snake idol and likely a satanic cult Dionysis, the god of the Royal family
9! There were also many monuments and cults to gods The altar of Zeus, the son of Dionysis The Augustan Temple, the oldest temple of the Asian cult The Asclepeion school of medicine Founded in the fourth century BC Famous as a place of healing Included a hot-spring spa The description of Christ is the one with the two-edged sword The sword is always a picture of the Word acting as a judge Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And in a city where the right to decide life or death was held by the governor, Jesus reminds the church that He is the one making eternal judgments of them Don t get wrapped up in the world s kind of temporary and usually inaccurate judgment Remember the Lord is always watching Luke 12:4 I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. Luke 12:5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! Jesus says He knows this church too, that they dwell in Satan s throne The reference to Satan may be connected to the snake-shaped idol temple in the city But it certainly refers to Pergamum being a seat of evil in the day John wrote the letter This is a church that also suffered persecution in the past, especially a man named Antipas
10! His name means against all and suggests he was a witness who stood opposed to the pagan, satanic worship in the city He was martyred for his opposition But yet the church remained firm in their confession But Jesus has something against this church Some in the church hold to the teaching of Balaam In that they teach to place a stumbling block before God s people To eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality Balaam is a prophet of God in chapter 22 of Numbers But he was a corrupt man and sought money In fact, both Peter and Jude refer to the way of Balaam as a man of God going after money instead of serving God s people In Balaam s case he was hired by the enemy of God s people to curse Israel Though he tried, God prevented him from succeeding So instead he told Israel s enemy how to send in pagan women into the camp of Israel to become wives of Jewish men, thus corrupting the nation from within So, the error of Balaam is loving money, falling into spiritual prostitution Being hired by the enemy of God s people (Satan) And being used to undermine them o Placing a stumbling block before them We can clearly see the universal application of this letter There are many men who are going the way of Balaam today
! 11 In the day of the letter, the stumbling block was eating things sacrificed to idols and committing acts of immorality Furthermore, unlike the church in Ephesus, this church embraced the teaching of the Nicolatians To this church, Jesus says repent or else He will make war Coming to you and will make war against them With the Sword of His mouth The repent is of the believer...repent of the sin they have been led into If they don t repent, then Jesus will come against the Nicolatians (the unbelieving leaders) with the sword of His judgment And to the believer in this church, Jesus reminds them He will give: Hidden manna Hidden because it s invisible to the world A reference to God s provision in a world that offers none And an eternal provision A white stone with a new name written on it that no one but the receiver knows The school of medicine in Pergamum offered healing to worshippers who followed a ritual They entered the front of the medical school, received their treatment while inside and then exited out the rear of the building In the rear picked up a white stone and wrote their name and the disease they were healed from and left them in long rows to testify to the healing These were monuments to false gods White stones were also used in Roman society as a sign of innocence A man acquitted of a crime would receive a white stone as a symbol of his innocence
12! Jesus says He holds out a white stone for believers Signifying our spiritual healing from sin, our declaration of innocence And He gives us a new name to reflect our new nature and destiny in Christ Fill out the chart... Dating the church age... This church had been married to the state (as the name Pergamum suggests) SLIDE 2-17 Constantine ordered the church to become the state religion Everyone had to participate in the church Constantine ordered changes to Christian practice and doctrine to ensure harmony between Christianity and the existing pagan cultures absorbed into the Church But in reality, Constantine was being used as a Balaam by Satan to set stumbling blocks before believers One of the first changes was to baptize infants, thereby officially making every member of the Roman empire Christian But they only joined the visible church They didn t become a believer simply because they were baptized as infants As hundreds of thousands of pagan unbelievers entered the church, they brought idolatry with them, polluting the church orthodoxy The church began to allow worship of certain idols, the introduction of various cult practices This was the church of Constantine, 313AD-600AD, the end of the Roman Empire SLIDE 2-17