Clifford Hill looks at the letter in Revelation 2 addressed to the Ephesian Church.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (Rev 2:1-7)

Ephesus was one of the three great cities of the eastern Mediterranean in the Greco-Roman period – the other two being Antioch of Syria and Alexandria of Egypt. Paul spent three years of his ministry there and John is thought to have settled there sometime after Paul – probably taking with him Mary the Mother of Jesus. John was evidently banished to the island of Patmos during the reign of Domitian (81-96 AD), who was the first Emperor to initiate serious and widespread persecution against Christians.

John was 'in the Spirit' on 1 August (the day named after the Emperor who was the first to be deified) known as 'Lord's day' when many Christians would be refusing to do homage to Caesar at the local shrine by saying "Caesar is Lord!".

As was said in the introductory article last week, the personal messages sent to the Seven Churches were intended to be read aloud in each of them together with the following chapters. The whole message was intended:

...to embolden the timid, to strengthen the weak, to warn the complacent, to give reassurance to the faithful and to give understanding of the purposes of God during this period of hardship and persecution before the second coming of our Lord.¹

Ephesus Then and Now

Ephesus was a busy seaport as well as a centre of commerce and communications. At the time of Paul's ministry its population was somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000. It was also a centre of culture with large numbers of visitors coming to its famous library, much of which Mark Anthony gave to Cleopatra - although many of the scrolls and tablets would probably have been replaced by the time Paul arrived some 20 years later.

Today, Ephesus is the best preserved ancient city in the Mediterranean world because, although it suffered some earthquake damage, it was never conquered and never destroyed by hostile armies. It was simply abandoned when the river silted up making the port unusable and mosquitoes and other insects made it uninhabitable.

Visitors today can walk down the well-preserved main street called Marble Way, with restored buildings on either side. It is usually crowded with visitors which gives the feel of a busy city as it was in Paul's and John's day. A great attraction is the beautiful architecture of the library with its infamous tunnel under the street to the brothel. The library itself was adjacent to the Hall of Tyrannus which Paul rented for his daily teaching.

John was 'in the Spirit' on 1 August, or 'Lord's day', when many Christians would be refusing to do homage to Caesar at the local shrine by saying "Caesar is Lord!".

Rules for VisitorsTheatre in Ephesus.

Visitors to Ephesus would normally enter the main gates at the upper level and would no doubt have been impressed by the efficient organisation of the city with its strict immigration procedures. All caravans and chariots had to be left outside the city gates just as coaches and taxis are today.

The first building inside the gates was the baths and all visitors were required to wash their bodies on entering the city. Next, they had to go into the City Hall where the rules of the city were displayed. Visitors then went into a small theatre where they were addressed by the city elders who elaborated the regulations ensuring that everyone was familiar with the rules and norms of behaviour required.

Christian visitors can see the spiritual significance of this in terms of entering the Kingdom of Heaven. New converts first have to leave behind the baggage of the world. They are then washed of the sins of the world through baptism after which they receive the word of God which is expounded by the elders. Finally, they are free to enjoy living in the city of God.

Success of the Gospel

In addition to the well-preserved Main Street with its numerous buildings, Ephesus also has a magnificent theatre with 24,000 seats. It was this theatre that was filled by the riotous mob led by Demetrius (Acts 19), the leader of the silversmiths' trade union, shouting "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!". They were protesting that Paul's ministry was threatening their trade in making images of the fertility goddess Artemis.

Ephesus was renowned as a city of vice and idolatry attracting sailors and traders from around the world, but Paul had enormous success in converting large numbers with the Gospel, resulting in many of them publicly burning their scrolls and images (Acts 19:19).

Turkish guides are often not aware of the most significant part of Ephesus for Christians. After leaving the great theatre, the guides usually lead their parties to the exit gate where the coaches wait. But Christians should look for a small track on the left-hand side that leads to the ruins of the church of St Mary the Virgin with its well-preserved chancel – a beautiful place to sit and pray.

The building was originally built by the Romans as the Financial Exchange, before becoming a church. At the end of the nave on the right-hand side there is a transept with the oldest remaining baptistery in the world. This church is where the Council of Ephesus took place in 431 AD, which fixed the Canon of the Bible and settled many questions of doctrine.

Like those entering the Kingdom of Heaven, visitors to Ephesus would have had to leave behind their baggage, go through a cleansing process and then receive new instruction on how to live.

Paul's Message

In the personal message to the Christians in Ephesus sent by John there was praise for their "deeds, hard work and perseverance". The message continued "I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary" (Rev 2:3).

This was followed by the rebuke: "But you have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen!" They had been diligent in upholding the true faith of the Gospel. They themselves had discovered the true God of the universe and they wanted everyone to know him and to share their faith. They had overflowed with love for each other in the fellowship of believers and their love was so great that it overflowed to their pagan neighbours – but that was the early days, probably back in the heady days when Paul was around and everything was new and exciting.

Having to sort out false teachers who had come among them made them suspicious. Testing false doctrine had put a strain on personal relationships and even made them critical of each other in the fellowship, resulting in false accusations. They were however perfectly right in opposing the Nicolaitans for their false teaching. It was right to expel false teachers; but there was a cost – the cost was their love.

Believers in Ephesus had diligently upheld the true faith – but in doing so had lost their initial love for God.

The fellowship of believers in Ephesus could be summed up in a few words: they were 'vigilant but loveless'. The message of Jesus to his beloved ones in Ephesus was to return to their first love.

This is such a relevant message for us today. The Church has been assailed by many false teachings in recent decades that have brought division and conflict within fellowships and between one church and another. The struggle to hold fast to the faith has been costly for many believers and has often resulted in the loss of personal relationships of love. We all need to hear this call to return to our first love for the Lord Jesus and for his Gospel.

References

1 Hill, C & M, 2005. Ephesus to Laodicea, Handsel Press, Edinburgh, p106.

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