The Angels of the Churches⤒🔗

Those who understand “the angel of the church” to be a human messenger, take the imagery too literally, failing to bear in mind the apocalyptic genre in which The Revelation is communicated. In apocalyptic literature, angels are often used representatively. In the case of the seven churches, we would suggest that each “angel” is representative of the church to which the letter is addressed.

In the letters to the Seven Churches, the Apostle John is not instructed to impart a divine message to “the angel of the church,” who will in turn communicate the message to the particular church. On the contrary, John is instructed to write to “the angel,” (2:1); then, in the written communication, we find that Christ is addressing the church (2:2). This would seem to indicate that “the angel” and the church are synonymous.

Thus, “the angel of the church” is not a person distinct from the church; rather, “the angel” represents the church in a distinct aspect of its identity. Whereas “the lampstand” represents the church in the earthly aspect of its identity, (Christ with it and in it), “the angel” represents the church in the heavenly aspect of its identity, (with Christ and in Christ; note Eph. 2:6 and Col. 3:3-4).

By addressing “the angel of the church,” Christ is addressing each particular church in the deepest and most mysterious aspect of its identity. In so doing, Christ is speaking to the church with great intimacy: He is speaking to her heart. At the same time, Christ is speaking to the church with great urgency: the church must take to heart what Christ is saying.

What is stressed by means of symbolism (“the angel of the church”) at the beginning of Christ’s word to the church, is repeated in a direct grammatical way at the conclusion of the message: He that has an ear [i.e. he that is spiritually alive and in union with Christ], let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches [i.e. let him take to heart what Christ is saying]. Indeed, each church is to consider with the utmost seriousness, not only the message addressed to it personally, but what Christ has to say to each of the congregations to whom His epistles are being addressed: let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches [pl.]

Read Revelation 2:1-7.

Introduction←⤒🔗

A young wife writes,

I walk through the crowded corridors of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. I pass by faces I’ve never seen before. I push through the crowds towards the Swiss Air gate. I do not dwell on the faces around me. Only one face matters, that of the one who is waiting at my destination, a continent, an ocean, and twenty hours away.

She boards the plane and prepares for take-off, and the flight that will take her to her beloved:

I feel the thrust of giant engines as they pull us into the atmosphere. As our flight proceeds, I watch the large video screen where a red arrow charts our progress on a projected map. The arrow moves ever so slowly. Crossing the Atlantic will take forever, I think, as I try to settle in for the night with blanket and pillow. I close my eyes and try to remember his face, his voice, his movements.

The next morning the plane lands in Switzerland.

Sunrise has meaning when it is the day of reunion. All other moments are simply to be endured. At last, we land and I head directly to the ticket counter to buy my train pass to Romanshorn. There is but one agenda today. I watch the Swiss landscape. I look at my watch and count the moments. Ten minutes more and I will be with Jon. My heart beats so loudly I’m sure the passenger across from me can hear it. What will Jon be wearing? What will he say? Again and again I picture the moment of reunion, even as the train rushes toward it.

The train pulls into the Romanshorn station.

Jon is running towards me, arms outstretched, a welcoming bouquet in his hand. There is no longer time or space or distance. The two of us are together.¹

Such is the love of a young wife and the desire to be with the love of her life. Might her story also be our story as Christians? Might it describe something of our love for Christ? And our desire to be near to the One who is the supreme love of our life? Or has our love for Christ grown cold? Has the flame died down? When we sing, “My Jesus, I love Thee,” do we still sing it from the heart? Or do we find ourselves merely mouthing the words?

Revelation 2:1-7 speaks to us about the church that left her first love. It tells us that we may continue to maintain a commitment to Christian truth, even though we may have left our first love. Because of the danger of degenerating into a lifeless orthodoxy, we must each ask ourselves the question, “Have I left my first love?”

Have I Left My First Love; Even Though I am Zealous for Sound Doctrine?←⤒🔗

The Lord Jesus solemnly and authoritatively declares to the Ephesian church, “I know your deeds” (vs. 2). He is referring to the works that their faith was producing, as was also true of the church in Thessalonica, of whom the Apostle Paul writes, “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:3). But in the case of the Ephesian church, her works had become devoid of a deep and personal love for Christ, however commendable those works were.

The Lord more precisely defines these works as “your labor and perseverance.” These Christian people exerted a great deal of hard work on behalf of the kingdom of God. The Lord has seen their labors, He appreciates those labors, and He does not take them for granted. Furthermore, there was evident in this congregation a genuine Christian perseverance: steadfastness in the face of opposition and even persecution.

The Lord Jesus further commends these Christians for their refusal to tolerate “evil men,” men who “claim to be apostles, but are not” (vs. 2b). This church was spiritually astute in detecting false teaching; they knew the doctrines of the faith, there was a depth to their understanding of biblical truth. What’s more, they were active in expelling false teachers from the church; they were zealous to safeguard and maintain the purity of Christian truth and Christian life.

Verse six indicates that these “evil men” were of the sect known as “the Nicolaitans.” Revelation 2:14­-15 indicates that this sect discounted the importance of leading a holy Christian life. Christ will write to the church at Pergamum:

...you have some people there who adhere to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the children of Israel [to sin] by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. ¹⁵Similar to that, you have some people who adhere to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

The Ephesian Christians, in their hatred of the teaching that advocated a lawless, immoral life that goes contrary to the whole purpose of salvation, were in harmony with the mind and heart of Christ: “You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (vs. 6).

In verse three, the Lord Jesus again acknowledges and compliments the church for its perseverance: “you have perseverance and have endured [hardship] for my name’s sake; furthermore, you have not grown weary.” They have encountered hardship for the sake of Christ’s name, and they have endured, they have not forsaken the faith. While they cannot tolerate, or, endure, evil men (vs. 2), they have faithfully endured hardship for Jesus’ sake (vs. 3). They have not grown weary: they have not given up, they have not succumbed to the temptation to deny the faith.

But, continues the Lord Jesus, “I have this against you: You have left your first love” (vs. 4). There is much for which the Lord commends this church: their deeds inspired by faith; their zeal for the purity of doctrine and life; and their steadfast endurance. But, nevertheless, the Lord Jesus declares, “I have this against you: You have left your first love.”

Let us ask ourselves the question, "Have I left my first love, my love for Christ, even though I am zealous for sound doctrine and even faithful Christian living?"

Have I Left My First Love; How Can I Tell?←⤒🔗

Must the Lord Jesus make the same charge against us: “You have left your first love”? He is referring to the love that is dearest to the heart; the love that should occupy the pre-eminent place in our heart above all other loves; the love that consists in the desire for and devotion to Christ Himself.

The love of which the Lord Jesus speaks is the love and desire of the bride for her spiritual husband. It is the love the LORD reminds Israel they expressed for Him when they willingly followed Him out of Egypt and into the wilderness, as a bride follows her beloved bridegroom: “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness” (Jer. 2:2). Here is a love that follows the Lord and is faithful to Him, out of obedience, but more than that, out of devotion. The love for which the LORD commends Israel is a love for Him that inspired commitment, “you loved me and followed me,” even into the wilderness.

This is the love exemplified by Peter at the time of Jesus’ washing His disciples’ feet. Although Peter could not understand what his Lord was doing, and even though it was repugnant to him to see his Lord assuming the role of the most menial servant, he submitted to Him because he could not bear even the thought of being separated from Christ his Lord:

[Jesus] came to Simon Peter, [but Peter] said to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? ⁷Jesus replied, You do not now understand what I am doing; but later you will understand. ⁸Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with me. ⁹Simon Peter responded, Lord, not only my feet, but [wash] my hands and my head also. Jn. 13:6-9

It is the love exemplified by Thomas when he said, “Let us go with him, that we may die with him” (Jn. 11:16). These words were spoken as Jesus was preparing to go to Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, knowing full well that the Jewish authorities were determined to kill Him. Thomas is ready to die with the Lord Jesus because his relationship with Christ is of the same depth as that of the Psalmist, who testifies, “your loving kindness is better than life” (Psl. 63:3). The love he has experienced from Christ and the reciprocal love he has for Christ is “better than life.”

It is the love that causes David to cry out, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you...⁸My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (Psl. 63:1,8). David expresses the mutual bonding that he has with his Lord: his very soul clings to Christ, and Christ, by His right hand of blessing, upholds David.

It is the love that caused the Apostle Paul to testify: “for me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). It is the love that inspired Mary to pour out her heart and her precious perfume upon the Lord Jesus from head to toe, as recorded in John 12:3, “Now Mary took a pint of perfume, pure nard, very expensive, and anointed Jesus’ feet, then she wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

This is the love of which Christ our Lord is worthy, in light of the love He has for us, as John testifies: “To him who loves us and who released us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and caused us to become a kingdom and priests for his God and Father, to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever!” (Rev. 1:5b-6). The Apostle John tells us, “having loved his own who were in the world, [Jesus now] loved them to the uttermost [to the fullest extent possible]” (Jn. 13:1b). On that night of which John speaks, Jesus showed the full extent of His love by proceeding to wash His disciples’ feet, which in turn was a symbolic demonstration of the giving of Himself upon the cross of Calvary as the atoning sacrifice for our sins: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25).

This is the love that our Lord rightfully expects and demands: the Bridegroom who has given Himself unto death out of love, out of total self-giving love, for His bride, has the right to expect such reciprocal love from His bride. The Lord expects us as His bride to accept His love, to appreciate His love, to experience His love, and in so doing, we cannot help but love Him in return with a deep devotion and affection.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5). You shall do so because He is the LORD your God: the God to whom you owe your existence and for whom you were created; the God who freely makes you the object of His love, receiving you into His very life (Col. 3:3-4) and sharing with you His very throne (Rev. 3:21):

...your life is hid with Christ in God...Christ is our life Col. 3:3-4

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. Rev. 3:21

This is why the Lord Jesus confronts the Ephesian church with the charge: “I have this against you: You have left your first love.” This is why He immediately goes on to warn: “I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place, if you do not repent” (Rev. 2:5).

Let us be careful not to be classified with those whom the Lord Jesus describes in Matthew 24:12, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of many will grow cold.” Note, also, 2 Timothy 3:2, 4-5,

Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy...⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than loversof God, ⁵having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Turn away from such people. 2 Tim. 3:2,4-5

Let us ask ourselves the question, “Have I left my first love?”

How can you tell if such is the case? We can tell by asking such further questions as these:

• Is the Lord Jesus the first love of my heart, above every other love? Can I make the same testimony as the Psalmist, when he writes, “Whom have I in heaven [but you]? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside you;” (Psl. 73:25)? When the Psalmist testifies that there is none he desires beside the LORD, he means that there is no one whom he puts on a par with the LORD or above the LORD, the LORD holds first place in his heart and has his first allegiance; the LORD is the love of his life.
   
• Is it unbearable to me to even think of being separated from the Lord Jesus Christ, as was the case with Peter as recorded in John 13:6-9 (referred to above)?
   
• Rather than being content to just do something for Jesus, do I desire to be with Him: to spend time in the communion and presence of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do I have the same desire for Jesus as was demonstrated by Mary, when it is reported of her: “Mary...sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” (Lk. 10:39)

Do the words of the praise song, As the Deer, (written by Martin Nystrom) express the sentiment of my heart?

As the deer panteth for the water,
So my soul length after Thee.
You alone are my heart’s desire,
And I long to worship Thee.

You’re my Friend and You are my Brother,
Even though You are the King.
I love You more than any other,
So much more than anything.

Have I Left My First Love; If so, What Must I Do?←⤒🔗

The Lord’s initial instruction to those who have left their first love is, “remember from where you have fallen” (vs. 5). That is to say, remember what Christ meant to you the hour you first believed. Do these words of the hymn writer, John Mason, resonate with meaning to your soul:

I’ve found the pearl of greatest price!
My heart does sing for joy.
And sing I must for Christ is mine!
Christ shall my song employ.

The Lord’s further instruction is, “repent” (vs. 5b). Not only look back to the hour you first met Christ and believed in Him, but come back to the Lord in whom you have believed: once more give Him first place in your heart and make Him the pre-eminent object of your love. Where necessary, let Him remove the idolatrous and adulterous objects that you have put in the place reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The prayer of the Psalmist may well be our prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. ²⁴See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psl. 139:23-24).

Then our Lord counsels, “Do the works [you did] at the beginning” (vs. 5c). Let us beware of the subtle process of spiritual decline: Works offered to Jesus out of love can almost imperceptibly degenerate into works done for Jesus out of duty, this is where the Ephesian church found themselves in their spiritual life. Such works can once again degenerate into works performed apart from Jesus out of habit or in an effort to gain personal merit before God, this was the spiritual condition of the Pharisees whom the Lord Jesus condemned. The Ephesian church is called upon to once again do the works they did at the beginning: works offered to Jesus out of love.

Note, again, that our Lord’s exhortation is accompanied by a solemn word of warning: “else I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place, if you do not repent” (vs. 5d). The place of the lamp stand in the Old Testament temple was in the immediate presence of God; it was situated in the Holy Place, separated from the Holy of Holies only by the veil (Ex. 40:21-22,24). To remove the lamp stand means nothing less than removal from communion with Christ and with God. If this seems harsh, bear in mind that, if it is not checked and reversed, the process of spiritual decline will continue to regress to the level of Phariseeism and dead orthodoxy, the kind of spiritual deadness about which the Apostle Paul warns: ”Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:2,4­ 5).

Our Lord’s admonition closes with one further call to repentance (vs. 5e). It is not enough to merely muse about the way things used to be in our spiritual life, or the way they ought to be, the necessary spiritual changes in heart and life need to be made: there must be the whole-hearted return to Christ, our first love.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

Let us recognize that it is possible to find ourselves in such a condition that, although we continue to maintain a commitment to Christian truth, we may have left our first love. Let us recognize the danger of degenerating into a lifeless orthodoxy. Let us each examine his own life and heart, and before the Lord Himself, ask the question, “Have I left my first love?” If the answer is, “No,” praise God and continue all the more to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you find the answer to be a convicting “Yes,” then, by all means heed the Lord’s counsel: “Remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the works [you did] at the beginning” (Rev. 2:5).

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. When the Revelation refers to the church in the earthly aspect of her identity, what imagery does it use, and what is Christ’s relationship to her, both as a whole and as individual congregations and believers? See Rev. 1:10-13. What is significant about the church being described as a “lamp stand,” what does this tell us about our Christian identity and calling? See Phil. 2:15b-16. What is significant about Christ’s position in the midst of the lampstands? Note Matt. 28:20b. What blessing is it to know that our Lord is present with us, identifying Himself with us in our humanity, but now doing so as the sovereign Lord to whom the Father has entrusted all authority and power?

On the Lord’s Day, I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹that said, Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. ¹²I turned around to see the voice that spoke to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands, ¹³and in the midst of the lamp stands was someone like the Son of man, dressed in a robe that reached down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. Rev. 1:10-13

^15b...become blameless and pure, children of God without blemish, in the midst of a perverse and depraved generation, among whom you shine like stars in the universe, ^16aholding forth the word of life...Phil. 2:15b-16a

Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matt. 28:20b

2. When the Revelation refers to the church in the heavenly aspect of her identity, she is called “the angel” of the particular congregation to whom Christ addresses His epistle. What is the heavenly aspect of the church’s identity collectively, and your identity as an individual Christian? See Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:3-4. As a Christian, do you appreciate this incredible aspect of your identity that you have in Christ and with Christ, which is the very essence of your new life in Christ? What difference should this knowledge make in the way you view yourself and your earthly life?

...God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in transgressions made us alive with Christ, (by grace you have been saved), ⁶and he raised us with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms, in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:4-6

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Col. 3:3-4

3. For what does Christ commend the church in Ephesus? What does He emphasize several times in these verses? See Rev. 2:2-3. As a Christian, can our Lord commend you for your perseverance in fulfilling whatever ministry He has given you, in enduring whatever trial He has ordained for you to bear, in living the day to day life of commitment to Christ your Lord and Savior?

I know your deeds: your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men. You tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and found them to be false. ³And you have perseverance and have endured [hardship] for my name’s sake; furthermore, you have not grown weary. Rev. 2:2-3

4. For what else does Christ commend this congregation? See Rev. 2:2b. As a Christian, do you have a concern for sound biblical doctrine, especially the fundamentals of the faith, concerning the person (cf. Phil. 2:6-7) and the work (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3-4) of Christ?

I know your deeds: your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men. You tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and found them to be false. Rev. 2:2

...existing in the form of God, [Christ Jesus] did not regard his being on an equality with God as a thing to be exploited; ⁷on the contrary, he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. Phil. 2:6-7

I delivered to you as of first importance that which I also received, [namely,] that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; ⁴and that he was buried; and that he has been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures... 1 Cor. 15:3-4

5. But what does Christ have against this church? See Rev. 2:4. Who, or what, must be our “first love”? See Deut. 6:5. What anomaly do you see between verses 2-3 on the one hand and verse four on the other? How could this occur? What would happen if this condition were not corrected? Can you identify with the Ephesian congregation? What does the Apostle Paul insist must be the relationship between sound doctrine and Christ Himself? See 2 Tim.1:13 and Eph. 2:20,

But I have this against you: You have left your first love. Rev. 2:4

...you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Deut. 6:5

I know your deeds: your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men. You tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and found them to be false. ³And you have perseverance and have endured [hardship] for my name’s sake; furthermore, you have not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you: You have left your first love. Rev. 2:2-4

Hold fast the pattern of sound words, which you have heard from me, in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. 2 Tim. 1:13

[You are] built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. Eph. 2:20