…I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.” 1
Jesus addresses the Church via the pastor. Paul says: “This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.”2 “Follow my example,” he even dares to say, “just as I follow the example of Christ.”3 Can we likewise also say that to other people? Are we bearers of the image of Christ,4 stars in His hand?5
The seven letters to the seven churches have a clear pastoral-prophetic character. Christ admonishes, threatens and warns in love. These seven letters can be seen in a three-fold manner: (1) as a message to that local church, there, in Asia, at that time; (2) as typical of periods in church history; (3) as a complete message to the Church of all ages and places.
Christ is not only standing among the lampstands, but walking among them as well. He is actively occupying Himself with them, one by one. First, His attention is directed to the church at Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia. We are acquainted with this church from Acts 19 and 20, and from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, even though ‘in Ephesus’ in Ephesians 1:1 is missing in some of the best manuscripts.
Ephesus was built by General Lysimachus, one of the four successors to Alexander the Great, and it was full of oriental mysteries. The temple of Artemis—the ‘Diana of the Ephesians’6—was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was also a stronghold of Greek culture, and was considered to be one of the three holiest cities in antiquity, together with Jerusalem and Athens. A temple was built in honour of the emperor of Rome, and games were held there. Ephesus was struck by an earthquake during the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14–37 A.D.) and its importance declined later due to the silting up of its harbour. It was a hub of commerce and transportation, of culture and religion. It was also a centre of immorality. Artemis (Diana) was the patron of prostitutes. Images of Artemis were adorned with multiple female breasts, and also fertility symbols. Black magic and occultism ruled there, but books of magic were burnt when people came to Christ.7
Christ lets the people know that He knows their works, their labour and perseverance (patience). He proclaims that their faith was expressing itself through love.8 The fruit of that faith9 was visible in their lives, as well as their love for the truth,10 which appears from the fact that they had not tolerated evil-doers and had put what all kinds of people preached to them to the test.11 False teachers came as wolves in sheep’s clothing,12 posing as pillars of the church, as apostles, as preachers, priests, pastors and as angels of light,13 but the church had checked their doctrine and life against the Word. John, who as an Apostle had, according to tradition, been the leader of the church in Ephesus, knows about false apostles. The Lord Jesus warns of false prophets and false christs no less than three times in His discourse about the last days.14 That will only increase15 in the last days, with people having a form of godliness, but denying its power. And the first weapon these false teachers16 wield is denial of the truth and the authority of the Word of God, the Bible, being the Word of God. Such teachers are liars, they said in the church of Ephesus – and Jesus gives them praise for that.
• ‘Higher Bible criticism’ has been practised at universities now for centuries. Holy Scripture is subjected to the rationalistic ideas of ‘objective scientific research’, with scholars concluding that it is a pious book, but historically unreliable. Time and again however, these scientific ‘proofs’ are shown to be unsound. This kind of ‘higher Bible criticism’ should not be confused with critical textual research that occupies itself with establishing the original text of the Bible. They do so by examining and comparing many ancient Bible manuscripts: ‘Textual Criticism’.
• Textual Criticism is the science of studying ancient manuscripts to determine the authentic text of the Bible. It is sometimes called Lower Criticism. It is necessary because we no longer possess the original manuscripts of Moses, Paul and others. Textual Criticism deals with Hebrew and Greek, not English translations. This has produced wonderful results, and a very reliable Bible text of the Old and the New Testament. ‘That Word above all earthly powers abideth,’ truly says Luther’s hymn.
• The classic seven wonders were: Great Pyramid of Giza, El Giza, Egypt the only one that still exists. Colossus of Rhodes, in Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name. Hanging Gardens of Babylon, in Babylon, near present-day Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq. Lighthouse of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, in Halicarnassus, Achaemenid Empire, modern day Turkey. Statue of Zeus at Olympia, in Olympia, Greece. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, in Ephesus (near the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey).
Bible References:
1. NIV 2. 1 Corinthians 4:1 NIV; see also 2 Corinthians 5:20 3. 1 Corinthians 11:1 4.Romans 8:29 5.Philippians 2:15, also Matthew 5:14 and Ephesians 5:8 6.Acts 19:28, 34 7.Acts 19:19 8.Galatians 5:6 9.Galatians 5:22 10. 1 Corinthians 13:6, in contrast with 2 Thessalonians 2:10 11.1 John 4:1 12.Acts 20:29; Matthew 24:11 13.2 Corinthians 11:14 14. Matthew 24:5, 11 and 24 15. James 5:3; 2 Timothy 3:1 16.2 Peter 3:3
