Bible Study Book Availability Update 12/2/2024

 It is highly unlikely that I will ever post anything about eschatology here, because I know enough to know that I know nothing when it comes to end times prophecy. What I can write about is the words John wrote in the Revelation about the churches. Churches today have the same “personalities”, situations and struggles. I personally, and I assume you also, have the same areas of disobedience, sin, as well as faithfulness and obedience. As individual members of the church, the body of Christ, we are responsible, accountable, to have a total commitment to Jesus as Lord. 

(The picture is where I currently attend church. It is for attention only. There is no implication that we represent the church at Ephesus. I believe that all churches everywhere have some of the characteristics of the seven churches, both the good and the bad. )

Jesus spoke through John to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:2-7. In verses 2-3 He points out the things that are pleasing to Him. 

Revelation 2:2-3 Amplified Bible

2 ‘I know [b]your deeds and your toil, and your patient endurance, and that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and have tested and critically appraised those who call themselves apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives, of Christ), and [in fact] are not, and have found them to be liars and impostors; 3 and [I know that] you [who believe] are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and that you have not grown weary [of being faithful to the truth].

Their outward actions were a reflection of their inward commitment and belief. They were being faithful to the Truth. They recognized and rejected false teaching. False teaching is everywhere. We see it on social media, reflected in movies and television, and discussed with family and friends. I’m part of the library committee at church. We are reorganizing and cataloging the inventory. We have discussed that some of the books are written by people we believe to be false teachers, and some are written by people whose theology was solid but they have fallen into sin. As a church library committee, we want to provide information that is theologically correct and does not lead anyone astray from God’s Word. We have kicked that can down the road to discuss after we have everything cataloged and organized. You can pray for us that we will have wisdom if you are so inclined. All that to say that we have the same responsibility as the church at Ephesus to be faithful to God’s Truth. Modern society is just as full of false teachers and bad theology as was the world during the days of the early church.

Revelation 2:4 Amplified Bible

4 But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me]. 

Think about that for a minute. I want to love God with all my heart. I really do. I pray for that to be my heart daily. We should grow daily in our love for Jesus. We even talk about that in the context of marriage. We love our spouse more as the years go by than we did when we were young and “in love.” A growing healthy relationship means we grow in our love. An unhealthy relationship allows love to grow cold. Look at the lyrics to a song I remember from my childhood.

Refrain:

Ev'ryday with Jesus,

Sweeter than the day before;

Ev'ryday with Jesus

I love Him more and more;

Jesus saves and keeps me,

He's the one that I adore;

Ev'ryday is sweeter,

Sweeter than the day before.

Sweeter than the day before.

1 Ev'ry day He grows a little dearer,

Sweeter than the day before;

Ev'ry day He gets a little nearer,

Sweeter than the day before. [Refrain]

2 Ev'ry day this old load gets lighter,

Sweeter than the day before;

Ev'ry day my pathway gets brighter,

Sweeter than the day before. [Refrain]

3 Ev'ry day He hears my fervent pleas,

Sweeter than the day before;

Ev'ry day He gives my poor heart ease,

Sweeter than the day before. [Refrain]

4 Ev'ry day He guides me all along,

Sweeter than the day before;

Ev'ry day He shields me from all harm,

Sweeter than the day before. [Refrain]

(Lyrics copied from Sweeter Than The Day Before | Hymnary.org)

Revelation 2:5 Amplified Bible

 5 So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will] and do the works you did at first [when you first knew Me]; otherwise, I will visit you and remove your lampstand (the church, its impact) from its place—unless you repent.

According to God’s character of lovingkindness and mercy, He implores the people in the church at Ephesus to repent and return to the love they had for Him and the actions that reflected that love. Again we see that our relationship with Jesus is seen in the things we say and do. My husband used to say that there are no “secret agent” Christians. A friend of his said that the greatest insult a person who knows Jesus as Savior and Lord can have is for someone to have to ask them if they are a Christian. Makes you think, doesn’t it. Also in accordance with God’s nature, He tells the believers at Ephesus that if they do not repent, he will discipline them. (A friend from church and I have discussed the difference between discipline and punishment, but we won’t have that discussion here.) Whichever word we use, we suffer the consequence of unrepentant sin. Understand that repentance does not mean that we feel sorry for what we did, or that we were caught doing something wrong and want to avoid discipline. Repentance means a change in our hearts in yielding completely to God and the work of His Spirit in us as He conforms us to His likeness. 

Revelation 2:6 Amplified Bible

6 Yet you have this [to your credit], that you hate the works and corrupt teachings of the [c]Nicolaitans [that mislead and delude the people], which I also hate. 

Who are the Nicolaitans? This is what the footnote in the Amplified Bible says. “There is scant information about the cult of the Nicolaitans, but it appears they adopted a syncretistic worship, combining Christianity and idolatry. They may have held heretical views similar to those mentioned in vv 14 and 20.”

 Idolatry. Wow. How do Christians today combine Christianity with idolatry? Pleasure, political ideologies, comfort, success, wealth, appearance, and the list goes on. And, I don’t want to stretch the point here, but there is a prominent religion now that includes statues of dead people in their worship. We lived in Southeast Texas when New Orleans experienced massive flooding when the levee broke after Hurricane Katrina. People flooded (no pun intended) west on I10. Our local Baptist association was able to provide 200 rooms in a nursing home they had recently purchased for housing people who came to visit their loved ones in the federal prisons. Those 200 rooms were nowhere near enough for all the people coming to our area. Members of the churches were asked to provide what we had available. At the time we had a “guest house” that we were using for a school room. A family from the 9th ward came to stay with us. When they were allowed to go back to retrieve things that were salvageable from their flooded homes, they brought back to our home a statue and placed it in our yard. My husband talked to them and explained that we could not have an idol in our yard. They would need to put it somewhere else. We did not hate these people. We loved them enough to share Jesus and His gift of salvation with them, but we could not approve of idolatry at our home.

Revelation 2:7 Amplified Bible

7 He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who [d]overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant [the privilege] to eat [the fruit] from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’ 

When we read scripture, when we read the Words that God has preserved for millennia so that we can know Him, we must listen and heed what His Spirit teaches us. We don’t just read scripture to check off something from our “churchy” to do list. We read, study and apply as we yield to God, to Jesus the Son of God, as Lord. We acknowledge and respond to the sacrifice He made for us by allowing His Spirit to grow us closer to Him daily.