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2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES

Wednesday in the Word

Second Baptist Church

November 8, 2023

Revelations 2

  1. Chapter 2:1-7. The Church of Ephesus. It is appropriate that the church at Ephesus is addressed first. Ephesus was the largest city of the Roman province of Asia. By the time the gospel was preached here, it had a population of more than a quarter of a million people (the size of Richmond, VA). Located at the mouth of the Cayster River on a gulf of the Aegean Sea, it was a flourishing commercial and export center for Asia. Ephesus was also the end for the great road from the Euphrates, as well as other roads from the Cayster and Meander valleys. It was truly a breath- taking city. The traveler from Rome landing at Ephesus would proceed up a magnificent avenue thirty-five feet wide and lined with columns which led from the harbor to the center of the city. It boasted a major stadium, marketplace, and theater. Ephesus was also a prominent religious center. The imperial cult was the central religion in Ephesus. Temples were built to Emperors Claudius, Hadrian, and Severus. The major religious attraction, however, was the Temple of Artemis (Diana in Latin), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. About four times the size of the Parthenon, it was adorned by the work of many great artists. This was also a city that had many influences and was also frequented by many false religious teachers. The prominence and wealth of the city was a very attractive quality to false teachers.

  2. Verse 1. The letter is addressed to the angel or the messenger of the church. The stars are the angels or messengers of the seven churches. This could mean the established leader of the church. Christ holds the pastors in His right hand. This is the only place where His servants can be sustained and strengthened. The golden candlesticks are the seven churches. In the early days of the church of Ephesus, Christ walked in their midst as the recognized head, and men took instructions from Him. In verse one, Jesus establishes himself as the one who oversees and controls the church. The church is victorious and powerful by Christ and not man’s efforts. What we will see is that the Church thought they could be strong simply by being knowledgeable of sound teaching. The church knew doctrine, but failed to practice the two greatest commandments to love God and love their neighbor.

  3. Verses 2-3. The Lord Jesus approved them for their sacrificial service (v. 2; Romans 12:1-2), suppression of evil (v.2; 1 Peter 5:8-9), spiritual discernment (v. 2; 1 John 4:1; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15), steadfastness (v. 3; 1 Corinthians 15:58), and their stand against the deeds of the Nicolaitans (v.6; 1 Corinthians 16:13). They obeyed Paul’s instructions to them in Acts 20:28-31. They could not bear those who were evil. They tried (tested, proved) those who said they were apostles (ones directly “sent from” the Lord), and found them to be liars. They proved these imposters wrong by testing their message and their fruit and realizing that these did not line up with the Word of God. They had endured, and had patience (perseverance), and labored (to feel fatigue; by implication, to work hard; toil) for Christ’s name's sake. And they had not fainted (become weary). They had it all together, but sometimes your strength can be your weakness.

  4. Verse 4. Initially and for years I limited this verse to just forsaking the Lord. I only thought this verse could mean that the church lost its love for God, which is implied in the text, but I think now that they had also lost their love for each other. They were so busy focusing on what they should hate that they forgot what they should love. This church had focused so much on keeping the false teachers out that they forgot who they should let in and how people should be treated. You can become so focused on what isn’t God that you forget to remember that our purpose is to focus on what is God.

  5. Verse 5. What is the remedy? Remember and repent. The church was commended earlier for their love. (Ephesians 1:15-16). Remember what you did at first. Think of how much we need tried to help people when we first got saved. Think of how much zeal we had when we came to Christ. We didn’t know much, but we wanted to worship as often as we could. Instead of worshipping God, they were too focused on seeing if the others were worshipping correctly. The church had developed a critical spirit about false teachers that bled into their relationships with fellow believers. This atmosphere of critique caused their fellowship to grow cold lacking the true love of God. Perhaps hatred of heresy had created suspicion and intolerance of each other’s differences and weaknesses. While doctrinal purity is important to the Christian faith, it can unintentionally lead to witch hunting and condemning spirit. We can defend faith only if we first remember to defend love for one another. They had turned to what wasn’t God as opposed to what was GOD. The Lord shares that if this continues, the church will not survive. The church must return to that genuine Love for God and love for each other (Ephesians 1:15-16; 4:15-16; 5:1-2,). God’s church must be known for its love for God and love towards each other. Jesus told the church at Ephesus to repent and do the first works. This would mean devoting themselves as earnestly and fervently to the Lord as they were when they first walked with Him. Doing good works for the cause/sake of Christ, compassionately striving to win the lost, loving both God and man (charity), faithfully serving the Lord, diligently studying His Word, fervently and continually praying, among others.

  6. Verse 6. The church was commended again for not compromising to the false theology of the day that had infiltrated other churches.

  7. Verse 7. The allusion here is to the Garden of Eden. Just as our Lord walked in the garden in intimate fellowship with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8), so He walks in the midst of the churches (Rev. 2:1). Satan robbed Adam of the joy of fellowship with God in the garden by turning his eyes away from the tree of life to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man had become preoccupied with knowledge and lost access to eternal life in Paradise. The church can lose its witness and its light by not focusing on the greatest witness which is LOVE.

  8. Smyrna was under Roman control. It was a flourishing commercial city with two harbors. It was a wealthy city with fertile soil and excellent climate. Many Olympian Games were celebrated in Smyrna. Winners in the games received a crown. The “Crown” was what ancient writers referred to as the ‘Crown of Smyrna.” A crown or garland was usually a circlet of flowers or vines. Smyrna was also famous throughout the Roman world for its wealth, science, and medicine. Smyrna has been called “The fairest city,” and “The “ornament of Asia.” The city had beautiful, well-paved, colonnades-lined streets. One street was called the “Street of Gold.” The city had many public attractions such as a public library, a theater that would seat 20,000 people, a grain market, the most magnificent gymnasium in Asia Minor, the Temple of Zeus, the Temple to Nemesis. In 195 B.C., Smyrna was the first city in Asia Minor to erect a temple for the imperial cult of Rome. Smyrna was the center for the worship of Dionysus (the god of wine). During the reign of Emperor Domitian (81-96 A.D.), refusal to worship the image of the Roman emperor as lord was punishable by death. The Church at Smyrna mentioned only in Revelation 1:11 and Revelation 2:8-11 was known as the suffering church due to the severe persecution it suffered at the hands of the Roman government. Out of the seven churches this church is only one of two that does not get a rebuke from the Lord. This church only gets words of encouragement and strength. The letter to Smyrna also has death as a recurring theme.

  9. Verse 8. The name Smyrna is very important for us in this text. Smyrna means "myrrh," a highly valued spice. Myrrh was a material that was used in everything from medicines to perfume to embalming. Myrrh was retrieved from the trees by either cutting the bark or crushing the leaves. When the leaves were crushed the myrrh would be extracted. The myrrh was valuable, but the leaves had to be crushed to get the Myrrh. Myrrh was worth more than gold in ancient times because of its uses. Many of its uses in Scripture fit with what we know of the church at Smyrna. For example, myrrh was a primary ingredient in the holy anointing oil that God commanded Moses to make (Exodus 30:22-33), which was used to consecrate the Tabernacle, the Ark, two of the altars, all of the utensils, as well as Aaron and his sons. Myrrh was a material that was used in everything from medicines to perfume to embalming. Myrrh was worth more than gold in ancient times because of its uses. The name myrrh means bitter. Myrrh was bitter to the taste, but smelled sweet when it was burned. It didn’t taste all that good, but it smelled so good when burned and it was used to cover the smell of a dead person. Myrrh could make a dead person smell sweet. Myrrh didn’t cure death. But it made it more tolerable.

  10. Verse 8 cont. Jesus encourages the church by sharing that he is “the first and the last.” Jesus wants the church to know he has the first say and the last say on what happens to them. Here in Revelation, this title refers to Jesus’ eternal existence. He is the One who creates and consummates history. He is timeless. He has the first say and the last say. He is the first chapter, and he will be the last chapter. Just because some chapters in the middle include some pain and suffering does not mean that it is how it is going to end. We know time does not end with suffering. It ends with Him. This reality would have encouraged the church in Smyrna to bear up under suffering. Jesus was letting them know that your situation might start off bad, but God can turn the bitter into something sweet. Jesus goes on to say that he is the one who died and came to life again. Jesus encourages the people that he is the one who rewrite final chapters. The devil tried to write the final chapter for his life by hanging him on a cross, but Jesus rewrote that chapter and came back to life.

  11. Verse 9. Smyrna was a wealthy city, but the members of the church were poor because of persecution. Jesus tells the church that he knows that they are poor, he knows about their troubles. He knows their poverty and their persecutions and afflictions. He tells them a secret about the kingdom of God. He tells them, that in the kingdom of God, they are rich. In the world’s eyes they are poor and weak, but in the eyes of God they are rich. Jesus lets them know that in the economy of the kingdom they are really balling and shot calling. They are rich in God eyes. Despite their eternal riches, they will have to face some persecution from people who tried to appear spiritual and godly, but in reality, were really agents of Satan. Jesus calls them the synagogue of Satan. Most likely this was a group of Jews who persecuted the church under the guise of doing God’s work. They persecuted them mainly by slander and disenfranchisement. They simply spoke evil about them and hindered their prosperity.

  12. Verse 10. Jesus tells the church to not fear this light and momentary affliction because it will only be temporary. Jesus will have the last say in the matter of their persecution. They will endure hardships of prison, and many will face death, but Jesus admonishes them to stay faithful to his word. For the faithful, he uses imagery from the Olympic Games and reminds them of a crown they would receive for being victorious. Their crown would not be made of perishable gold, but it would be an imperishable reward.

  13. Verse 11. Jesus ends with a common ending for the readers to heed his word. The result of trusting in him would mean that the person would not have to suffer in the second death which will be mentioned later in Revelation 20.

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