Is it just a place to go for entertainment?
Get your ears tickled and hear motivational speaking?
Do you go because your family goes, or because it's just what you do on Sunday's?
-Or-
Are you aware of what it truly is?
The following topic is on the Warnings to the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation!
Does this warning apply to you and your church?
We will discuss 1 Church per/posting. Comments and Questions are more than welcome...just keep it respectful and clean!
As we begin to talk about churches, we must remember what it is we are talking about. The Church is not the building per say, but the "body of believers" that make it up. The purpose of church is not to be a place to bring un-saved to get them saved. It is okay to bring them, and you would be encouraged to do so however, it is believer's jobs to share the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit's job to do the saving.
Kind of like fishing: When we go fishing, the first thing we do is prepare (ie: Pray, Study the Bible, be involved with Church, hear the Word preached, etc). We learn about fishing. We learn where the good water holes are. We learn what kind of baits or lures to use for certain fish. We learn about the different tools out there such as fishing poles, bait/lures, string/line, bobbers, even what type of boat to use to go out in. We then after learning, get together our tools and GO to the fish (ie: out into the lost and dying world). We do not expect the fish to come to us (un-saved to come to us-although it could happen). Once more, when we go out in the water with our boat, we could wait all day for the fish to come to us and hop right in the boat, but we wouldn't catch very many fish that way.
What then do we do? We go to them, and cast in our lines. Similar to what the Bible says about sharing the "Good News". In fact, Jesus likened sharing the Gospel to being "fishers of men".
The key to remember is...
#1 Pray, Study/Read the Bible, and attend Church. (don't forsake the assembling together)
#2 Go into the lost and dying world and share the Good News. (Do not wait!)
#3 Trust God and continue to pray.
#4 Do not fear/worry. Who cares what someone thinks of you seriously. This is eternal life and death we are talking about. Just trust God, and share the Good News. After all is it not more important to be pleasing to God than man?
Back to church here...
So then, the purpose of the church is to Worship God, have fellowship with believers, and to Preach, Teach, and learn the Word of God (the Bible) for the purpose of "going out" into this lost and dying world, so that we can then share the "good news" of the Gospel to those who are perishing.
WAIT!!! Some of you here are saying, thats fine and dandy, but I do not know enough. I need to learn a lot more before I can share any "good news".
This is a flat out Lie. Do Not Believe this lie. IF you are saved, then you can talk about Jesus. You do not have to be a theologian to share good news! You will improve the more you do it...like anything in life. The point is to do it before Satan keeps you complacent in your walk with the Lord.
Okay, back to the church again...
The church is not for entertainment, to have our ears tickled, or to learn how to have our best life now. Life is NOT about you. We are born selfish, and usually stay that way. Life is about the Creator, not the creation. We must repent, turn from our sin, seek God with all our hearts, turn to Him, pray, and study His Word to learn His will for our life...not our own selfish will.
Now, with all that said, having a basic idea of how and what our church is for, lets learn what God's Word says about certain Churches in the book of Revelation...
We will start this series with the first church mentioned in Revelation...the Church in Ephesus.
When reading the below, think very carefully about yourself and your church. Do you, or could you fit into any of these warnings? If so, Repent and obey God's Word...
To the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of e him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, f who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2 g “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but h have tested those i who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up j for my name's sake, and you k have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned l the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do m the works you did at first. If not, n I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of o the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 p He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. q To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of r the tree of life, which is in s the paradise of God.’
Okay,
Rev. 2:1–7 To Ephesus. The church in Ephesus was commended for doctrinal vigilance and endurance but was rebuked for its loss of love.
Rev. 2:4–5 the love you had at first. One interpretation is that Ephesus had lost its early love for Christ. Another interpretation is that Ephesian believers had lost love for one another and needed to revive the compassionate works you did at first. Many interpreters think both are in view, since love for Christ and love for one another are related (cf. Mark 12:29–31; 1 John 4:20). Remove your lampstand means that both in the near future and when Christ returns, they would lose their status as a church and Christ would treat them like apostate Israel.
(v.6) Another interesting point is that it is okay to hate sinful behaviors!
Question to ponder...have you or your church lost the love you had at first? If so...
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do m the works you did at first. If not, n I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
The Ancient City of Ephesus
An important port city on the west coast of Asia, Ephesus boasted the temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world). Just a few decades before Paul, Strabo called Ephesus the greatest emporium in the province of Asia Minor (Geography 12.8.15; cf. 14.1.20–26). However, the silting up of the harbor and the ravages of earthquakes caused the abandonment of the harbor city several centuries later. Today, among the vast archaeological remains, some key structures date from the actual time of the NT.
The grandiose theater, where citizens chanted “great is Artemis of the Ephesians” (Acts 19:29–40), had been enlarged under Claudius near the time when Paul was in the city. It held an estimated 20,000 or more spectators. The theater looked west toward the port. From the theater a processional way led north toward the temple of Artemis. In the fourth century b.c. the Ephesians proudly rebuilt this huge temple with their own funds after a fire, even refusing aid from Alexander the Great. The temple surroundings were deemed an official “refuge” for those fearing vengeance, and it played a central part in the economic prosperity of the city, even acting at times like a bank. A eunuch priest served the goddess Artemis, assisted by virgin women. Today very little remains of that once great temple beyond its foundations and a sizable altar, although the nearby museum displays two large statues of Artemis discovered elsewhere in Ephesus.
Other archaeologically extant religious structures include a post-NT temple of Serapis and several important imperial cult temples. Before Paul's day, Ephesus had proudly obtained the right to host the Temple of the Divine Julius [Caesar] and the goddess Roma. The city later housed memorials to the emperors Trajan (a.d. 98–117) and Hadrian (a.d. 117–138); and it possessed a huge temple of Domitian (a.d. 81–96), which may have been constructed during the time the apostle John was in western Asia. Luke testifies to Jewish presence in Ephesus (Acts 18:19, 24; 19:1–10, 13–17), and this is confirmed by inscriptions and by literary sources (e.g., Josephus, Against Apion 2.39; Jewish Antiquities 14.262–264).
Civic structures during the time of Paul included the state agora (marketplace) with its stoa, basilica, and town hall. This spilled out onto Curetes Street, which contained several monuments to important citizens such as Pollio and Memmius. Curetes Street led to the commercial agora neighboring the theater; this large market square could be entered through the Mazaeus and Mithradates Gate (erected in honor of their patrons Caesar Augustus and Marcus Agrippa). Shops lined this agora and part of Curetes Street. A building across the street from the agora has frequently been called a brothel, although some have questioned this. On the way to the Artemis temple from the theater, one would have passed the huge stadium renovated or built under Nero (a.d. 54–68).
The wealth of some residents of Ephesus is apparent in the lavish terrace houses just off Curetes Street. Later inscriptions mention a guild of silversmiths and even give the names of specific silversmiths (cf. Demetrius the silversmith, mentioned in Acts 19:24). However, as in most Roman cities, many people would have been slaves, and others would not have claimed much wealth. By the end of the second century (after the NT period) many other monumental structures were added, including some important gymnasia and the famous Library of Celsus. Remains of the giant Byzantine Church of Mary remind one that this former pagan town later hosted an important church council (the Council of Ephesus, a.d. 431).
Ephesus in the Time of Paul (c. a.d. 60)
The city plan shows those features of the city of Ephesus that archaeologists have so far identified as dating from the time of Paul. Many of the notable buildings uncovered in the excavation at Ephesus date from later periods.
Key Themes
| 1. All people are by nature spiritually dead, transgressors of God's law, and under the rule of Satan. | 1:7; 2:1–3, 5, 11–12 |
| 2. God predestined his elect to redemption and holiness in Christ according to the free counsel of his will. | 1:3–14; 2:4, 8–9 |
| 3. God's rich mercy in Christ has saved sinners; this free gift is by grace through faith alone. | 1:7–8; 2:4–14 |
| 4. Christ's earthly work of redemption was part of his cosmic reconciliation and exaltation in this age and the next. | 1:15–23; 3:1–13 |
| 5. Christ's reconciliation entails uniting all people, whether Jew or Gentile, into his one body, the church, as a new creation. | 1:23; 2:10–15; 3:1–21; 4:1–6 |
| 6. Christ's people are renewed to new lives of holiness in thought, word, and deed, and must reject their old, sinful lifestyles. | 4:1–3, 17–32; 5:1–20 |
| 7. Holiness of life entails submission to proper authorities, and loving and considerate care for those in submission. | 5:21–6:9 |
| 8. Christ has given powerful gifts to his church to bring about her unity, maturity, and defense against the onslaughts of the devil and his allies. | 4:7–16; 6:10–19 |
Literary Features
Ephesians exemplifies the genre of the NT epistle, with its salutation (including sender, recipients, and greeting), thanksgiving, exposition, exhortation, and closing (including final greetings and benediction). The main argument of the letter is punctuated by several prayers and an interior benediction (3:20–21) that marks the transition from doctrinal affirmations to practical exhortations. Chapter 2 takes the form of a spiritual biography, in which Paul recounts the saving work of Christ in the life of every Christian, and especially in the lives of Gentiles who are now included in the one new people of God. In chapter 3 the apostle takes an autobiographical turn as he testifies about his calling to the Gentiles and his prayers for the Ephesian church. The paraenesis (series of moral exhortations) consists mainly of instructions for household conduct, both for the church as the household of faith and for individual believers in their domestic relationships. The famous description of the complete armor in the last chapter is an extended metaphor. Paul also catalogs the blessings of salvation in a lofty and exhilarating lyrical style.
Ephesians finds its central unity in the work of Jesus Christ and in the community of people (both Jews and Gentiles) who are corporately united in him. The strong opening statement of praise and the absence of any theological polemics make Ephesians pervasively positive in tone. The clear division of the epistle into two halves of nearly equal length (namely, the doctrinal section in chs. 1–3 and the practical section in chs. 4–6) also provides a strong sense of structural unity.
The Setting of Ephesians
(c. a.d. 62)
Ephesus was a wealthy port city in the Roman province of Asia. It was a center of learning and was positioned near several key land routes in western Asia Minor. Paul probably wrote his letter to the Ephesians while under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28).
This is our conclusion of the Church of Ephesus. I will open this up for discussion to anyone who has input! Please put comments without filthy language. I will try to answer as many comments as possible, but feel free to have open dialogue with anyone in the comments area, I will only delete filthy comments. Be respectful.
Next we will talk about the 2nd Church listed in Revelation...
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