Revelation 2:1-29

As we read the following seven prophetic writings to/for the angels and their different churches, we ought to remember that John is primarily writing to benefit people with the Judean / Israeli / circumcision background. These readers/listeners will therefore be able to identify and link much of what is revealed here regarding the past, present, and the future to the previous prophecies and occurrences recorded in the old covenant writings.

Even though many of the details may relate to a past event, or a present event - these will also relate to a future event. As we progress in this writing (book) of the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John, we will learn the relationship of the past, present, and the future - this allows us to understand the methods, characteristics, attitudes, manners of actions, etc, of those who will be participating in the future events. 

Several of the events prophesied have already occurred, and the judgments prophesied to/for the angels and their churches by the Lord Jesus Christ have been implemented - but the final judgment and implementation is still future to us today, as recorded in Revelation chapters 19 and 20.

Revelation 2:1-7:

"^2:1To the angel of the church in Ephesus you must write:

'The (one) strongly-holding the seven stars in his right (hand) says the-things-here, the (one) walking in (the) midst of the seven lamp-stands, the golden (lamp-stands) -

^.2I knew² your works and labor and your patient-endurance, and that you are not able to lift-up bad-people, and you made-trial-of the (people) saying themselves (to be) apostles and they are not, and you found them (to be) liars; ^.3and you have patient-endurance and you lifted-up because-of my name and you did not labor². ^.4But I have against you that you left your love¹, the first (love). ^.5Therefore you must remember from-where you fell² and you must repent and you must do the first works - but if not - I come to you, and I will move your lamp-stand out-from its place except you may repent. ^.6But this you have that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans which I also hate.

^.7The (person) having an ear must hear what the spirit says to the churches.

To the (person) being-victorious I will give to him to eat out-from the tree of the life which is in the Paradise of God.'

John continues writing the words from the Lord Jesus Christ: "You (John) must write the following...

• to the angel
  • (literally referring to the spirit-being whose office and character is one of a messenger in official service via words and/or actions - the guardian or messenger assigned-to and representative-of this church of holy-people;
  • but figuratively referring in a prophetic sense to the human guardian or messenger of/from the Judean/Israeli assembly of people offering up prayers to God during old covenant times, and also during the next age which will be between the gathering-together of all holy-people away from the earth and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back on earth)
• of the church
  • (literally referring to the church of holy-people during John's time and also relevant to/for the churches of holy-people today;
  • but figuratively referring in a prophetic sense to the Judean/Israeli assembly of people during old covenant times and during the next age which will be between the gathering-together of all holy-people away from the earth and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back on earth)
• in Ephesus (refer to Revelation 1:11):

'The one who is strongly-holding (the Lord Jesus Christ is exerting his forceful-strength holding) the seven stars in his right hand (referring to the 7 angels in Revelation 1:16 and 20)...

• says the-things-here (emphatically these things which I am telling you),

...the one (the Lord Jesus Christ) who is walking in the middle of the seven lamp-stands, emphatically and specifically the golden lamp-stands (referring to the 7 churches in Revelation 1:12, 13 and 20) -

• I knew and continue to know (perceive, see, whereby what is known is known because it has come within my sphere of perception or circle of vision, I see to the end of perceiving and knowing with my mind – I know)
  • your works (your deeds, things wrought, the end-products issuing from you, the effects produced with/by your actions expending your energy)
  • and labor (the word "labor" literally means "a beating" but in the context here it means "exerting wearisome effort"; you exerted a lot of effort, as if beating yourself out physically by what you were doing, your toil)
  • and your patient-endurance (bearing-up, holding, enduring and remaining upright relative to God and the things of God under any obstacles),
• and that you are not able to lift-up bad-people (you cannot, you do not have the able-power or ability, you are not capable of bearing, supporting, carrying the people who are bad, who behave in a manner that is contrary to God’s intention),
• and you made-trial-of (you tried, in the good sense of putting them to the test in order to ascertain the truth about)
  •  the people saying that they themselves are apostles (they are claiming that they are holy-people who are sent forth or away from God or from the Lord Jesus Christ on a specific mission or assignment to a person or people; this word places emphasis on being sent)
  • and they are not apostles,
    • and you found them to be liars (people who lie, who speak false statements; they are false apostles, they have NOT been sent forth/away on a specific mission or assignment by God or by the Lord Jesus Christ, their whole appearance is a façade, it's a lie);
• and the reason that you have (hold) patient-endurance and you lifted-up (you bore, supported, carried many things and people according to God's Word) is
  • on account of my name
    • (the name of the Lord Jesus Christ includes all that the name of "Lord" and the name of "Jesus" and the name of "Christ" represent and stand for - all the authoritative-power, ability, workings, etc, that God gave to Jesus when He raised him up out-from the dead-people, and gave him the name that is above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ; also refer to Acts 2:21 and 38; 3:6 and 16; 4:7-12, and 30; Romans 1:3 and 4; Ephesians 1:19-23; Philippians 2:9 and 10; II Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 1:1-4)
  • and you did not labor and continue not to labor because of my name (in the sense that my name did not grow wearisome or become laborious to/for you).
• But contrary to what is stated above -
  • I have against you (I hold something which I can justly put forward as a case against you to be judged)
  • that you left (you sent-away, dismissed, discharged, let-go from your concern)
  • your love¹,
    • emphatically and specifically the first love (God loved first with His kind of love, and therefore the prime or foremost responsibility of all of God's created beings, including angels and humans, is to love God - this is the love that is first in order and importance, and then we can love ourselves and one-another; the word "love¹" comes from the Greek word agape which is God's kind of love - reference Revelation 1:5 and the article Love in I Corinthians 13).
• Following-on logically, you must actively call to your mind and have in memory - from what manner of action (how, from what source or place) you fell and continue in that fallen state (down from where you should be in your relationship to/with God)
  • and you must repent (change your mind after rethinking, having afterthought regarding the truth of God’s words spoken to/for you)  
    • and you must do (perform)
    • the first works (the deeds associated with your prime responsibility, the original works assigned to/for you to perform within the cause and sphere of action of Godly-love - for the holy-people during this age it is to walk/behave within the sphere of action of the good works that God prepared for us as stated in Ephesians 2:10; but for the Judeans/Israelites during the old covenant and during the next age - it is to believe what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to walk/behave accordingly)
• - but if not -
  • I am coming to you (I am definitely in the process of going to you),
    • and I will move (set in motion)
    • your lamp-stand (the church in Ephesus)
    • out-from its place (from its present location)
    • except/unless you may repent (if it should happen that you would not change your mind and consequently do the first works by the time that I arrive to implement necessary judgment).
• But contrary to what is stated above -
  • you presently have (hold) this-thing which is that
    • you hate the works of the Nicolatians (you have active ill-will towards the deeds, the effects produced with/by the actions performed by the people of Nicolaus, which is a name indicating either a victorious, conquering people or a people being conquered; a sect doing the works which are described in verses 14 and 15 below; this word could be translated as Nikolaitans)
    • which works emphatically I also hate.

The person having an ear must hear (people normally have ears, but here Jesus is referring to anyone who is willing to use an ear paying attention to hear what is spoken to be heard; refer to Revelation 1:3; – he who has an ear must hear, listen attentively becoming informed and learned to the end of understanding what he hears, which is)...

• what the spirit says to the churches (the information originally from God via Jesus Christ concerning the past, present and/or future that John received to speak-forth to, before, or in front of another person or people, and which he wrote down in this writing to/for the assemblies of holy-people; refer to Revelation 1:1-2 and 19:10).

To the person being-victorious (actively gaining the victory, conquering)...

• I will give to him to eat
  • out-from the tree of the life (the living wood, from what is produced from/by this tree - referring to access to God's life thereby preserving that person's life allowing him to continue living with/for God and behaving himself in a manner that is pleasing to God)
  • which is in the Paradise of God (at the time of the future new earth when it will be the Paradise/Garden of God; Paradise is not in existence for mankind during the present time but it will come as recorded in Revelation 21:1 and following - when the new earth will be Paradise where God's people live and the new city of Jerusalem will be the dwelling place of God and the Lord Jesus Christ on earth as the Holy of Holies, the center/middle of Paradise; refer also to Hebrews 8:2, 9:11 and 12, 13:14; Revelation 21:2 and 3, 22:14 and 19).'

All holy-people (Christians) have already been saved to God and we are victorious and we will eat out-from the tree of the life which will be in the Paradise of God.  

All the Judeans/Israelites, who will live during the next age (which will be between the gathering-together of all holy-people away from the earth and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back on earth), will be judged as to whether they are victorious or not (refer to Revelation chapter 20). This kind of judgment will also be applied to people who lived during the old covenant times (prior to the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts chapter 2).

[Reference: Genesis 2:7-9 and 15, 3:22-24; Leviticus 26:12; Deuteronomy 7:7-10, 23:14; Matthew 4:17; John 16:33; Acts 2:36-40, 3:18-21, chapter 19, 20:17-31; Romans 1:3, 8:2, 9 and 37, 12:21; I Corinthians 15:32, 57; II Corinthians 11:13-15, 12:4; Ephesians 1:4-6 and 21, 2:10, 4:11, 12 and 28, 5:1, 2, 11 and 20; Philippians 1:19; Colossians 1:27; I Thessalonians 1:3; I Timothy 1:3-7; Hebrews 1:14, 9:14; II Peter 3:13; I John 2:13 and 14, 4:1-10 and 19, 5:4-6; Revelation 1:1-3, 5 and 19, 19:10, 21:1, 22:14 and 19. Also refer to the Appendix to Romans, the fall of Adam. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]

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