Revelation 1:19

Revelation 1:19

In Rev. 1:19-20 Jesus is continuing to speak to the apostle John. The Bible says, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which you saw are the seven churches." Jesus told John to write about the things that he saw. John saw Jesus, and John described Jesus for us. Later John will see things in heaven, and he will see things that have a mysterious symbolism about them. The mystery is taken away when we understand the symbolism. And we only fully understand the symbolism when it is explained for us the way that Jesus did in verse 20 with the stars and the candlesticks that John saw.

Jesus told John to write about "things which are." The book of Revelation had a meaning and an application for the lives of the believers in the time of John and also in our own day. We live in the same age of grace that the churches lived in to whom John was writing. We face basically the same challenges and temptations and trials. The problems that existed in the seven churches are problems that exist in churches today. When Jesus spoke to the seven churches, He was speaking to us also. That’s one of the reasons that Jesus had John write these things in a book: so they would be preserved for all generations of believers.

Jesus told John to also write "the things which shall be hereafter." Of course, we all know that John wrote about the future. John was told things about the future and John saw things about the future that are recorded in the book of Revelation. These future events center around the return of Jesus Christ and some of the things that will happen both before and after His return. The Lord does not want us to fear anything, and He does not want us to fear the future. The future events are well planned by God. There will be some good times and some bad times, but in the end it will all work out for good. Romans 8:28 is true concerning the future, just as it is true concerning the daily events of our lives. Believers in Jesus can be calm and secure about the future, because many of the major details have been revealed to us. We know what is going to happen because of what is written in many prophecies in the Bible and especially because of what is written in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Before John starts writing about the events of the end-time, he records the things that Jesus had to say to each of the seven churches. That is, he writes about the things that are. Jesus said in Rev. 2:1-2, "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: these things says he that holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and how you cannot bear them which are evil. And you have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars."

Jesus had many good things to say about the church of Ephesus. So did Paul when he wrote to them in the book of Ephesians. Of the good things that Jesus said to the church, the first thing that He mentioned was their "works." Jesus knows our works because He is going to judge us for the works that are done in our bodies. Works are important. We are saved by faith, and not by works; but once we are saved, works are very important. Many things concerning the work of God in this world are only done if God’s children do them. Jesus is evaluating us, and one of the things that He is looking at in great detail is the works that we do.

Jesus said that he knew their works and their labor. The word "labor" is a synonym of the word "work", but with an emphasis on the effort made by the worker. Work refers to what you do, and labor is an emphasis on putting forth a good effort. Don’t do anything halfway, especially not in the service of the Lord. "Whatsoever you do, do with your might," if you want to do it right.

Jesus commended the Ephesians for their patience. The word that is translated "patience" in this verse means endurance or perseverance. Not only had the Ephesians done good works and labored, but they had done so over a period of time in the face of the difficulties and obstacles that we all face in this world. Some people start well, but then something goes wrong and they stop. There are many people who have lived this life and who served God for a while, but who eventually stopped for one reason or another. The Ephesians are commended because they did not stop. They had patience: they endured, and they persevered. They kept on keeping on.

The Ephesians were complimented by Jesus for what they could bear, and then they are complimented by Him for what they could not bear: false teachers. There are many false teachers. Jesus warned that there would be wolves who would come in sheep’s clothing. Paul wrote to the Romans and told them to mark those who cause divisions and offences contrary to the faith, and to avoid them. Many churches have made the mistake of accepting false teachers out of some misguided desire to be tolerant. Jesus was not tolerant of false teachers. He told them to their face that they were blind leaders of the blind, and that they were of their father, the devil. Jesus does not want His believers to in any way be tolerant of false teachers. If teaching the truth is one of the most important things in the world, then what does that tell you about teaching that which is false?

In Rev. 2:3 Jesus said to the believers in Ephesus, "And have borne, and have patience, and for my name’s sake have labored, and have not fainted." For the second time Jesus mentions their labor and their perseverance. If you want to serve God and to be commended for your service, remember this: do what you ought to do, and continue to do it no matter what happens. This time when Jesus mentions their labor, he points out why they labored. Jesus said that they did it for "my name’s sake." It’s not only important what you do, but why you do it. Motives are important. In order to be commended by the Master and in order to be rewarded, you must do what you do for His name’s sake. Some people labor in religious organizations for the wrong reasons. They seek glory for themselves or for their own name, or they do what they do because of the financial or material rewards. That’s one of the corrupting effects that the organizing of religion can have. People can end up doing what they do and saying what they say for the wrong reasons.

The Ephesians did what they did for the right reasons, but Jesus said to them in Rev. 1:4, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." When someone becomes a Christian, for the first time in their life they give their heart to Jesus with nothing held back and with nothing between them and the Lord. They have a zeal and a love that is the result of being born again and tasting the joy of forgiveness. All new converts experience this. II Cor. 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." One of the great challenges in being a believer is to not lose that first love. With all of the entertainments and distractions in this world, a believer can easily find themselves in the situation that the Ephesians were in: they served God in many ways, but they had lost their first love. Thy no longer loved the Lord the way they once did.

The greatest and the highest of all standards is forever held up to the believers in God and His Son. God hopes that we will love Him, because He first loved us. Jesus hopes that we will love Him, because He showed His love by dying for us. "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." One of the most important things about you is what you love, and how much you love. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all the heart and with all the mind and with all the strength. It’s not so much what you do, but what you love. People will notice what you love. God knows.

The Ephesians had this one failure, that they left their first love. The remedy for this failure is the same as the remedy for all failures. It’s given by Jesus in Rev. 2:5 where He said, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except you repent." A person becomes a Christian through repentance, and a person continues to serve God also by repentance. No one should repent only once in their life, but they should repent whenever it’s necessary. A Christian should live a life of repentance.

Repentance is more than saying you are sorry. You have not repented unless you have also changed your behavior. Jesus said to repent and to also "do the first works." One of the wonderful things about the Christian life is that God will give us a fresh start and a new beginning, if we need it; and if we repent and change our behavior. But there is also a warning to those who have some kind of failure in their life and who do not repent and change. Jesus warned the Ephesians that that he would remove their candlestick out of it’s place, except they repent.

A candlestick is a light. A church is called a candlestick because one of the great purposes of God for the lives of believers is that they would be shining lights for Him in a world of spiritual darkness. Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount to "let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify the Father who is in heaven." It’s a great privilege to be given a work to do for God in this world, but God will take that privilege away, if we neglect to repent when we have failed Him.

Jesus had one more compliment to give to the Ephesians. He said in Rev. 2:6, "But this thou hath, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes which I also hate." This is one of the places in the Bible where you really need to know the meaning of one of the words in the Greek language in order to understand the verse. Jesus commended the believers in Ephesus because they did not like the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. Literally the word "nicolaitane" means to conquer the people or to rule the people. One of the most important doctrines of the church is the equality of the believers. Remember that in the body of Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, and there is neither male nor female but we are all one in Christ. There are different gifts, but the same Spirit, who works all in all.

Something happened very early in the groups of believers, even in the city of Ephesus, that became an enemy to the concept of the equality of the believers. People rose up who wanted to conquer, to dominate, and to control the people of God. It’s not only pastors of churches who have made this mistake, but it is also deacons and other members of the church, including some women. This desire to rule and control an organization is found everywhere in the human race, but it’s not supposed to exist among the people of God. Jesus said that he hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. Some churches have welcomed them and accepted them.

The last thing that Jesus has to say to the church of Ephesus is something very similar to what He will say to each of the seven churches, and it’s very similar to things that he said when He was on the earth. In Rev. 2:7 Jesus said, "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

There is a message that can come directly from God and enter the heart of any person. God is not a respecter of persons: what He has revealed to one person, He will gladly reveal to another. If God loves everyone, what is the final deciding factor that will determine who understands the truth, and who does not understand it? According to Jesus, having an ear to hear is the deciding factor. The human will and the human desire shall determine once and for all the destiny of the human. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened, ask and it shall be given you."

This is true in regards to salvation, and it’s also true in regards to learning certain important things after salvation. In Rev. 2:7 Jesus is telling us that there is something very important for Christians to understand. You must understand how very important it is for you to win the battles that you are going to face. You are going to face battles and great difficulties in this crazy world. Jesus will eventually come back and straighten everything out, but until He does; you have some battles to fight and obstacles to overcome. God has given you the battle so that you would win. He wants you to win the fight of faith, and you can win, and it’s very important that you win. There are no rewards for losers.

You are saved by faith and by faith alone. But your works, your efforts, your accomplishments in the battle of faith are very important to the Lord Jesus Christ. He fought those battles when He was a man on the earth, and now He gives you the privilege to fight them also. There are rewards to be won or lost. There are eternal consequences to what you do, or fail to do. For however much time you have in this life, this is one of the messages that Jesus has given to you as well as to the church of Ephesus: "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life."

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