The First Letter from Heaven

An interpretation of the last book of the Bible. Part 14. Revelation 2:1-7.

In the second and third chapters of Revelation, we find a very important part of the Holy Scriptures: the missives. The God-fearing Dr. Bengel used to particularly recommend these letters for preachers to study first and foremost. Like the parables, these letters consist exclusively of Christ’s own words. They are the last ones we have directly from Him. They are perhaps the only one of His addresses that we are given in full. With their solemn introductions (“These things saith he…”) and very direct salutations (“I know…”), they convey an impression of extraordinary grandeur. This impression is created not least due to the command repeated seven times: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

There is no compelling reason why the seven letters should be addressed only to the seven local churches; rather, these local churches represent the whole church of Jesus. The number seven represents the fullness and divine perfection of the Church Age. This means that the exalted Christ’s message to the seven churches in Asia Minor, applies to the whole church today—just as it was valid to the already-glorified church of past generations.

However, the seven letters aren’t prophetic in the sense that each letter represents a certain epoch in church history. This type of interpretation has led to many arbitrary exegeses, speculations, and hypotheses. But just as with Nebuchadnezzar’s image of the nations—where the declining external quality of generations of world powers was shown through various metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, clay)—there’s no denying that the spiritual power of the church of Jesus has also steadily declined over the generations, through compromises and secularization. In this way, the end-time church of today is largely identical to that of Laodicea. But aren’t the bright and dark side of all the churches, shown by the judging and exalted Lord, present in the church as a whole? So, we want to hear what the Spirit is saying today through the seven missives!

The first letter from heaven: “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus, write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 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 thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Rev 2:1-7).

Ephesus was the ancient capital of Asia Minor, with about a half million inhabitants. It was a proud city, excellent for trading as well as the main site of Diana worship, as we can see from Acts 19. It had a large, established Jewish community, which Paul met on his second journey (Acts 18:19-21). Apollos also preached there (Acts 18:24-28). Paul later lived in Ephesus for three years (Acts 20:31). Through his work, the Lord founded His church from Jews and Gentiles. It was the elders of this church from whom Paul received such a moving farewell upon departing for his third missionary trip (Acts 20:17-38). Paul wrote his mighty letter to this church, in which we are given the deepest knowledge of the mystery of the church, the body of Jesus Christ. Tradition says that Ephesus was also the Apostle John’s residence, and that he worked and died there. From that city, he supervised all of the churches in Asia Minor after Paul’s death.

Between 630 and 640 AD, Ephesus fell into the hands of the Turks. The city itself was destroyed by Tamerlane in 1402 AD. The remaining rubble was called Ayasoluk, now called Selcuk. The name arose from Agios Theologos, meaning “holy theologian,” which was given in memory of the Apostle John, who is said to be buried there.

“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write” (Rev 2:1). A local church is receiving a personal letter from the Lord! “The angel of the church”—is it really an angelic being? Hardly. The word “angel” is often translated as “messenger.” The most obvious explanation in this context, is that it’s the church leaders being mentioned here. The seven churches of Asia Minor were located around the island of Patmos in the Mediterranean, where the Apostle John was exiled.

The seven angels, or elders, maintained the connection between John and the churches (Rev 1:19-20). A local church is receiving a personal letter from the Lord! “The angel of the church”—is it really an angelic being? Hardly. The word “angel” is often translated as “messenger.” The most obvious explanation in this context, is that it’s the church leaders being mentioned here. The seven churches of Asia Minor were located around the island of Patmos in the Mediterranean, where the Apostle John was exiled.

The seven angels, or elders, maintained the connection between John and the churches (Rev 1:19-20). They had a big responsibility. You can already notice this when reading the first verse: “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write.” What the Lord caused to be written to the elders of the church in Ephesus was for the whole church. We also have this responsibility, if we are servants of the Lord Jesus: to pass on what the Lord tells us. He’s entrusted a great deal to us!

But there is also tremendous blessing in passing on what we’ve received. Incidentally, this was one of our Lord Jesus’ greatest sources of strength. In His High-Priestly prayer, He testifies: “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me” (John 17:8a). How poor and miserable are the churches that no longer have messengers who are putting their ears to the Bible, the heart of God!

And now the exalted Lord, the Author, speaks of Himself in Revelation 2:1. “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches” (Rev 1:20). So, it’s clear what the Lord means by the phrase, “he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand.” What consolation: He’s holding his servants in His hand! Are you God’s servant, God’s handmaid? Then this also applies to you! “They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28b). These are the very words of the exalted Lord, who walks among the seven golden candlesticks, the seven churches. How great is the abundance of light in a church! Israel had only one lamp in the Old Testament, the menorah, which shone in the tabernacle and later in the temple. The seven churches represent the church as a whole, which has a sevenfold abundance of light. “Ye are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14a), said the Lord Jesus.

When the Lord introduces Himself—preventing any ambiguity about who wrote the letter—He also legitimizes His servants: “he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand.” This is reminiscent of Isaiah 42:1a: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold.” The Lord also mentions that He walks among the seven candlesticks, so He isn’t just standing there. He is active in their midst!

Consider the Lord Jesus on His triumphal journey from earth to heaven: three days after His death on the cross, He arose victoriously. Forty days later, He ascended into heaven in triumph and sat at the right hand of the majesty of God. But today, through the Holy Spirit, He is walking among the seven churches (that is, among the whole church). He is present, although we see Him sitting at the right hand of majesty nine times in the New Testament (four of which are in Hebrews). He is, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Eph 1:21).

His exaltation is nothing less than the result of His resurrection. And here’s the wonderful thing: when Jesus went to heaven, it was like Abraham, who is said to have met Melchizedek and brought him bread and wine. When this happened, Levi was already in Abraham’s loins (that is, all of Israel, the priesthood: Heb 7:5). But it wasn’t yet apparent. And when Jesus Christ went to heaven, the entire church was already in Him. We weren’t yet visible, but we were there; we were, so to speak, in His loins, because He is the head and we are the limbs. We are the body of Jesus Christ, and thus His triumph. His ascension and sitting at the right hand of the majesty of God—is also our triumph! (cf. Eph 2:6).

Midnight Call - 09/2020