Revelation (Part 13) – Chapter 2: Ephesus and Smyrna

In chapter 1 the glorious Christ, pictured in certainty and judgment, tells John to write letters to seven churches in Asia Minor. Those messages are included in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation. At this point, it may be helpful to take a step back to see the basic structural outline of the book. In the first 8 verses of chapter 1, we were introduced to the book as a whole. We found that the book is a revelation of Jesus Christ to his servants. Its purpose is to reveal God’s plan in providing security and surety for his people in the post-resurrection time through the consummation of this age in Christ’s coming and final judgment over evil and into the age to come.

The rest of chapter 1 (verses 9 through 20) provide an introduction to the church messages of chapters 2 and 3. This introduction is a view of the message-sender (Christ) in the imagery of power, deity, command, judgment, purity, and certainty. Chapter 4 of Revelation is also an introductory chapter, preparing us for most of the rest of the book (chapters 4 through 22:5). The final verses of the last chapter (22:6-21) provide a closing to the book as a whole.

Although Revelation is written in a style that is different from the other New Testament epistles, we may address the book with a familiar approach at least in one area. In reading Romans or I Corinthians or some other epistle, we have little difficulty in understanding that the epistle was written to a certain church or group of Christians. First Corinthians was written by Paul to the church at Corinth with the specific intent of addressing certain needs that that church had. However, as we read that letter to those people, we also have no difficulty understanding that God’s intent was also to provide us in the church of the 21st century with these same words for our understanding, instruction, encouragement, and worship. Yes, 1 Corinthians was written to Corinth, but it was also written for every generation of Christians since. When reading the messages of Revelation, we should keep this same idea in mind. The messages were written specifically to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea—but they were also written to every generation of Christians since. That was God’s intent. And because of that, we may profit from their instruction and encouragement.

We will find that the rest of Revelation may also be viewed in this manner. We will note (with the Preterists) that much of the imagery seems to speak of the 1st century Christians and their struggles with Roman persecution. Yet we will also see that the struggles and principles revealed are common to this entire age and apply to all Christians. Thus the same antichristic elements that showed strongly from Domitian on through the Roman persecution will be the same antichristic elements of struggle that have existed through the centuries, even to our generation.

The messages to the seven churches found in chapters 2 and 3 all begin alike. Christ tells John to write “to the angel of the church in ….” Who are these angels to whom the messages are addressed? Are these actual heavenly beings? The Greek word used here is aggelos. It means messenger. Its overwhelming use is in depicting the heavenly messengers from God, announcing Christ’s birth, revealing the empty tomb, proclaiming his return after his ascension, interacting with the apostles in the church’s formation, etc. Yet it is somewhat difficult to understand that Christ is addressing these specific commendations and rebukes within the church messages to heavenly beings even if particular angels are assigned to specific churches. It is strange to imagine that an angel would have the responsibility (even representative responsibility) for the weaknesses and failures of Christians within a church.

Because of this difficulty, a couple of other options have been offered. Some scholars suggest that the messenger addressee is the pastor of the church, representing his people. While this does provide a more comprehensible representative responsibility, the New Testament does not normally speak of pastors as angels. In fact, only one instance (Galatians 4:14) may be thought so to speak (although that instance is also debatable). Other scholars have suggested that the angel is not a specific being but rather the general spirit of the church. This has the advantage of associating the addressee with the particular good and bad performed in the church. Yet here again we have little NT support for the word used in this manner.

There is yet another option which I favor because it seems to make a lot of sense. However, even with it, I am certainly less than dogmatic. In synagogue organization, there was (and is) a position called Sh’liach Tzibbur. While the position has evolved into its current role of simply a cantor, the position had more leadership and representational aspects in the first century. The title Sh’liach Tzibbur means “messenger of the community.” Following are some notable descriptions of the role of the Sh’liach Tzibbur:

1. In public synagogue worship, he officiates as both cantor and leader
2. Main function is to lead the congregants in communal worship
3. Referred to in the Talmud as an individual appointed to supervise community affairs
4. Officiated at morning, afternoon, and evening services every day, acting on behalf of the congregants to fulfill their worship obligations
5. He stands before the Ark not as an individual, but with a congregation. He must identify himself with the congregation. His task is to represent as well as to inspire a community.

Notice especially the last two items. These speak specifically to a representational role of this position for the community. Of course, this is a position in the synagogue. In Revelation 2 and 3 we are dealing with Christian churches. Is there a connection? Although we have no biblical evidence that early (1st and 2nd century) churches were organized with any other positions besides elders and deacons, the early church fathers give us a hint that the organization of early churches may have employed some of the same structure that the Jews had in synagogue. Justin Martyr writes of the “president” or (as in the synagogue) the nasi of a church. If these early churches did have a prayer leader referred to as the Sh’liach Tzibbur or messenger for the church community. It would then seem a natural address for Christ to the church representative.

Whether the specific addressee is the pastor, the spirit of the church, or a position called “messenger,” we know that Christ addresses the attitudes and actions of the people within these churches. That is the focus of Christ, and will be our focus as we study them.

The messages all have common elements although every message does not have each element. These elements include (1) a statement about Christ, (2) a commendation, (3) some extra activity mentioned, (4) a rebuke, (5) an exhortation, (6) a warning, (7) a witness, and (8) a reward for overcoming or conquering. Some scholars have recognized in this format an association with Near East covenants. The covenant format (along with the above elements) is as follows:

Preamble - statement about Christ
Prologue - commendation; activity; rebuke
Stipulation - exhortation; warning
Witness - witness
Blessing - reward

The first church addressed is Ephesus. Ephesus is a port city on the Aegean. We believe that John (the Apostle and writer of Revelation) lived in Ephesus before being exiled to Patmos (an island penal colony off the coast from Ephesus) from which he wrote Revelation. Christ is depicted at the opening of this message as the one who holds the 7 stars (messengers) and walks amid the 7 lampstands. This picture shows a relational involvement with the churches. Both the Old and New Testaments speak of Christ (God) in relational communion with his people. Ezekiel 37: 26b-27 tells us that God “will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” With a quotation from Leviticus 26:12, 2 Corinthians 6:16 also reads, “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’”

The Ephesians were zealous about ensuring that the Gospel of Christ was not compromised by heretical teachings. Christ commends them for testing doctrines promoted and discarding those that were found to be false. They hated the works of the Nicolaitans which Christ also hated. Although Nicolaitans are not discussed specifically in the NT as to their doctrinal practices, we can conclude that the name refers to those who corrupted the relational doctrine of Christ and his church through extra-biblical commands or hierarchical structure. (Nikos means conquer; laos means people.) Thus, the Nicolaitans violated the relational emphasis of this letter to Ephesus.

Although fervent in pursuing pure doctrine, the Ephesians failed in another important aspect of their Christian endeavor. Christ says that they abandoned their first love. This first love cannot be love for Christ as some have suggested. Christ’s commendation of their pursuit of doctrine shows that they did not pursue it for selfish or ungodly purposes. The NT marks activity pursued apart from Christ as equivalent to “filthy rags.” But Christ commends their attention to doctrine revealing that their pursuit was, in fact, a pursuit of love for Christ.

More probably the Ephesians allowed their doctrinal study to create an atmosphere in the church that evolved into distrust of each other. As debate over doctrine grew, suspicion of motive and judgmental attitudes divided the Christian community, harming the love for each other that we learn in 1 Corinthians 13 should be the hallmark of the church. In Matthew 25 Christ makes a distinction between those who did and did not feed him, give him drink, clothe him, and visit him. When asked when they did or did not do this for him, Christ answers, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it (or did not do it) to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” This echoes the great commandments to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). The Ephesian Christians pursued love for Christ in their doctrinal purity, but seemingly failed in loving each other as they should.

This love is not only an emotional feeling toward each other, but involves an attitude of self-sacrificial support. We may recognize this lack in ourselves today. A major part of the command to gather together is to promote that loving relationship in which our weaknesses and needs are provided for by the strengths and supply of others in imitation of what Christ has done for us. And the involvement of our lives with others in satisfying those needs creates intimacy in our relationships, exactly the emphasis of this first letter to Ephesus.

The point of Christ’s rebuke was not to get the Ephesians to study doctrine less (for their action in that respect is commended by Christ). Christ urges them to add to their good conduct in doctrine the pursuit of love relationship within the church. He exhorts them to remember how it was at the beginning, to repent of their lack, and to act as they did at first. If they do not, he warns that he will remove their lampstand. The picture of the lampstand as the church indicates a place from which the light (fire) of the Spirit of God is displayed. Revelation 4 shows the 7 lampstands with the 7 Spirits of God on each. Removing the lampstand has the result of removing that effectiveness from the church.

For conquering, the Ephesian Christians are promised the reward of eating of the tree of life. Interestingly, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (for which Ephesus was renowned) was built on the site of an ancient tree shrine. Because of this, the date-palm (the tree of the shrine) was associated with the worship of Artemis. Archeology has uncovered trinkets imaging the date-palm used in connection with the pagan worship. Playing on this image, Christ offers, instead of the date-palm for Artemis, the fruit of the tree of life to his followers. Even in this reward we see the emphasis of the letter in love relationship.

The next letter is to the church in Smyrna. Smyrna is also a port city located about 55 miles north of Ephesus. For this letter Christ is described as the first and the last, who died and came to life. That description is intended to display Christ’s control and the fact that he cannot be defeated. He knows and controls the whole course of history from start to end. And he gives assurance of ultimate triumph for not even death can stop him.

Christ knows the situation of the Smyrnan Christians. They have suffered tribulation. They are poor with regard to material possessions. Yet, Christ calls them rich. Their riches relate specifically to the spiritual value of faithfulness in Christ. James 2:5 tells us that God has “chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him.”

Yet tribulation marks their lives. Christ had told us that tribulation would be the experience of his followers. In John 15:18-19 he says, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Included with the persecution the Smyrnan Christians experienced was the slander by the synagogue of Satan. This is the title that Christ applies to those unsaved of Israel. Christ insists that true Jews are not those descended physically from Abraham, but rather true Jews are those who are circumcised in the heart—the followers of Christ (Romans 2:28-29).

An interesting comment made by Christ is that these Christians will have tribulation for 10 days. In this expression, 10 is used symbolically to speak of a specified completion for this tribulation period. It will not last forever; they will not be overcome by it. It is a period of testing. As John wrote this, he probably had in mind the passage from Daniel 1 in which Daniel tells the steward, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see” (Daniel 1:12-13). This tribulation will end, but Christ exhorts them to be faithful unto death. They should not fear this suffering. We recall in Matthew 10:28 that Christ told us not to fear those who may kill the body.

There is no rebuke for the church in Smyrna. That should inform us of the legitimacy of such popular teachings as the “Prosperity Gospel.” This church in Smyrna was not rebuked, yet they were poor and suffered from tribulation. Tribulation should not make us assume we are doing something wrong. And the lack of tribulation should not make us confident that we are doing right. Our call is to persevere and endure, faithfully looking to our Lord.

Temples in the city built for Zeus and Cybele made the skyline look like a crown. In fact, the city was called “the Crown of Smyrna.” Christ calls this to their minds by saying that their faithfulness through tribulation will gain them the crown of life. He promises that they will not be hurt by the second death, which is the ultimate death of eternal separation from God. Thus, the emphasis for this church is to endure trials from without.