Revelation 2: What Must Be Guarded

Revelation 2: <What Must Be Guarded>

4. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

5. 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.

◇ The seven lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia (Turkey). These seven churches were located in the major cities of the Asian region. Therefore, this letter was not merely addressed to those specific churches, but rather to all persecuted Christians throughout the entire Asian region.

The first is the church in Ephesus. Ephesus was the closest city to the island of Patmos, served as the capital of the Roman province of Asia, and was reportedly the fourth largest city in the entire empire.

Ephesus was home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This temple was larger than two football fields and consisted of 100 marble columns, each about 17 meters high. It was a temple of enormous proportions. Ephesus was one of the Roman Empire's most important cities in terms of finance, religion, and athletics.

The praise given to the Ephesian church was for their deeds—their deeds of labor and perseverance. They did not tolerate wicked people and successfully identified false prophets. They diligently endured for Jesus' sake and protected their church from evil and falsehood.

The Ephesian church also received rebuke. They had lost their first love. Jesus tells them to consider where they have fallen from and to repent.

The believers of the Ephesian church were a hardworking church, a church that labored with patience and endurance. They must have faced tremendous temptations from idol worshippers. False apostles likely enticed them to compromise with the world through incorrect doctrines. Additionally, the government applied physical pressure, demanding they confess the emperor as god. The Ephesian believers overcame all these challenges. They endured with strong will and faith.

While fighting against injustice, idolatry, and false doctrines with such strong determination, they missed something crucial: love. Not the first love or initial burning passion for God, but that heart-stirring love they experienced when they first encountered Him. Furthermore, love for their neighbors.

In their efforts to fight against powerful enemies, they built legalistic walls, doctrinal walls, and institutional walls, creating boundaries upon boundaries, and in doing so, they seemed to have lost their first love.

Jesus commends their labor and perseverance. However, He rebukes them with deep concern for having lost the most important thing—love. He appeals to them to return and be restored. He calls them to come back and eat from the tree of life.

This makes us reflect on what the church must guard above all else. We must guard sound doctrine. We must guard justice. But above all, we must guard our relationship with God, which is the foundation of all doctrine and justice. We must also guard our relationships with our neighbors. We must preserve our first love until the very end.

◇ Merciful and righteous God, help us to guard our relationship with You consistently, rightly, truthfully, and wholeheartedly. Holy Spirit, make us strong and bold. Amen.