Revelation is a book of the bible that often courts controversy – from end of the world claims to spectacular ‘understandings’ of who or what Babylon is. It is all too easy to get diverted into the bizarre. Resist the temptation.
Join us for 6 weeks as we focus on one circular letter written to each of 7 different churches in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey. Written by a man called John whilst imprisoned on the Greek island of Patmos over 1900 years ago the letter contains challenges and encouragements.
What might it have to say to us today?
Bible reading –
To Ephesus
Write this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights’ circle, speaks:
“I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out.
But you walked away from your first love—why? What’s going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen? A Lucifer fall!
“Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I’m well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.
“You do have this to your credit: You hate the Nicolaitan business. I hate it, too.
“Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’m about to call each conqueror to dinner. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.”Revelation 2: 1-7 (The Message)
When I first went to College at the tender age of 18 I used to write letters home to my Mum. We exchanged hundreds of letters especially during that first year when I missed home and the people there. I looked forward to receiving those letters.
It is still the same today. I always look forward to the post arriving, to see who might have written to me. There are a lot less letters today and a lot more bills, but still,….the post arriving is special.
For the letters showed that people cared, it took time, people talk nowadays about the lost art of letter writing. Writing slows you down, it takes you time to choose the words, to select the subject,. it takes thought as you write to think about the receiver.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying I wish for those days back, but….
I find it interesting but I do not look forward to opening my inbox anywhere near as much as I do hearing the post lady crunch up the drive.
We now live in a very different world to the one I once lived. It is not more right or wrong just different.
The world to which John wrote his letters in the book of Revelation was very different to the one in which we live in now.
There are a few things to point out before we go too much further. There are things to say about the letter;
- A letter is always written to specific context, a particular situation. This one if no different. It was written to a church in a place called Ephesus, in Asia Minor about 80-100AD by a person called John.
- Ephesus was the most important city in the region. It was the Roman capital with a population of 250 000.
- The world was v different. There were no internet, i-pads, antibiotics, the earth is flat and the Sun goes around the Earth. They have a very different perspective. It is not inferior or stupid it is just a different perspective.
However there are some stunning similarities with today
- They had shops; leisure time activities-Gladiator fighting and the Olympics were the best things to do with your spare time. Sometimes when I look at the latest reality TV show, from X-Factor to Big Brother and Dancing on Ice there seem to be some stunning similarities. They all involve large crowds of people cheering on for their favourite celebrity who run the risk of being given the thumbs up or thumbs down every week. Blood is spilt.
- There was an overwhelming way of looking at the world that was practiced by nearly everyone. Rome was the number One world power and ruled through an Emperor many thought of as a god. In fact Emperor worship was the latest fad and increasingly people were having to bow down to him. I will leave you to work out which god you are being forced to bow down to, it will be dependent upon your age, sex and social background. But I can guarantee everyday you are having to choose.
- The church at Ephesus was a young church. Around for about 40 or 50 years at least,
No one is quite sure what the Nicolaitian business is. There are lots of theories but no one knows. It will be one of the questions to ask John when we get to Heaven.
So why was it that John’s letter was included in the Bible and not one of my mums to me?
Well there is an obvious time difference but why was it included?
We spent some time, 40 days, before Christmas, listening and talking to God about the Bridge and the way we were traveling. People have fed back some of their thoughts over time of what they thought God might have been saying to them over that period of time. It is not easy listening to God, you never can be 100% sure that what you are hearing is from God, wishful thinking from yourself or the devil whispering in your ear.
There are a number of tests and I am not talking about exams, that you can do to try and sort it out and see who it might be that you are hearing from.
So what are these tests?
Does it break the Golden Rule, love God and your neighbour (or is it based around the 10 commandments) If you believe it is saying to you go and kill your neighbour chances are it is not God who is talking. God is consistent. This is the consistent test.
Does what you are hearing stand the test of time? Do you keep hearing it? Is God on repeat? This might be called the persistent test.
What do 2 or 3 trusted wise friends say to you about the situation? This is the community test. No man or woman is an island and walking with God is a community activity not an individual activity.
Finally will it bear fruit? Will it bring about the things that Jesus talked about in his Kingdom? Will there be love, joy peace, etc. will there be forgiveness and wholeness?
- The consistent test
- The persistent test
- The community test
- The Fruit or Holy Spirit test
Some wise people decided that John’s letter met all of those criteria plus one other – the useful to other Christians in the future test.
So what does it have to say.
It has some well dones;
- Well done for keeping going, for never wearing out, for keeping on keeping on.
- Well done for spotting those who don’t meet the consistent test
- Well done for spotting those who don’t pass the HS spirit test.
That’s the good news and it is good news. It is something to be celebrated.
But I guess like me you have spent far more time looking at the negative aspect of the letter, the bit which leaves you wondering.
“You have walked away from your first love.” The words of encouragement are to turn around, turn back, to repent and recover that early love.
What was that first love? At the very heart of the Gospel is love and the message of Jesus. That is what the Ephesians had forgotten, that was what they had first come to know.
It had become about doing the right things, about knowing the right things, but in fact ,.. The Christian faith cannot be about just those things.
It is about living out a relationship with Jesus Christ every day, every minute, every second. It is about loving others ‘til it hurts too much and you are at the end. It is about forgiving 490 times. It is about the man Jesus. There is a clip of YouTube at the moment which talks about the fact that people like Jesus but do not like religion or the church.
It was Jesus that changed my life, not the Bridge. It is Jesus who continues to transform me into who he wants me to be,…the Bridge is a part of that, but not the whole.
Don’t leave tonight if you have never known him at the centre, in control.
Don’t leave tonight if he is not at the centre and hasn’t been for sometime. Put it right with him, recover your first love.
And to those who have him at the centre, as number 1, then keep persevering, keep going, keep keeping on.