Sincerely, Jesus
Edward Goble
Copyright 2007 by Edward Goble
Smashwords Edition
978-1-4661-3414-0
Introduction - You’ve Got Mail
My wife just returned from her daily walk down the gravel drive to retrieve today’s mail. MaryAnn would never admit it but she loves to be the one who gets the mail. I do, too, actually. Not to be dramatic, but it’s a little like Christmas morning with that moment of anticipation when you get to the creaky grey box, unsure of the treasure it may hold. That little hinged door is like the ribbon on a Christmas package. I guess that’s a stretch, but you know what I mean. You just don’t know what might be inside, it could be something wonderful!
I’m not sure why the old mailbox still carries the mystique it once did; it seems like all we receive anymore are bills we don’t want and advertisements for things we can’t afford or don’t need. That wasn’t always the case. Some of us remember the days when we used to receive real letters in the mail. Actual hand-scribed treasures from a loved one who set aside time to sit down and write. So, we ruffle through all the ads and bills and notices hoping, subconsciously, to find something real. Maybe it’s that memory, or something like it, that drives us to want to be the one who gets the mail.
In many ways, today’s communication technology is far superior to the old first-class letter. It’s instant, for one thing. Nowadays, to reach a loved one, you don’t have to drop your letter in an impersonal blue box and wonder when and if it will arrive. You simply email, IM, or call their cell phone - instant communication. Technology has brought people closer together than ever and rendered nearly obsolete the time-honored, saliva-sealed, postage-paid traditional letter. This is sad because email, Instant Messaging, video conferencing and cell phones are great for business, terrific for touching base, but, when it comes to deep, thoughtful communication, there is nothing quite like the hand-written page or face-to-face talk. We have exchanged real and deep for quick and nimble. Morphed from talking, writing and listening to texting, emailing and chatting, usually while simultaneously downloading, surfing and gaming.
Life has become so fast, instant and multi-task oriented, that, if we’re not doing a dozen things and running late for a few appointments, we begin to feel like we’re slacking. There is almost nothing left that grabs us, captures our imagination and attention and forces us to stop and take notice. Personal letters still do that. They do for me at least.
Imagine getter personal letter from Jesus. Now that would get your attention.
What if tomorrow, mixed in among the bills, notices and bargain flyers in your mailbox, was a letter from Jesus. First, you might think it was kind of spooky since Jesus hasn’t been on earth for a couple thousand years (probably justifiable spookiness at most levels). But it would certainly get your attention. Think of how a letter from Jesus would have captured the attention of seven churches in Asia Minor. Like you, they might have been puzzled to receive such a letter, because, by this time, Jesus had been in heaven for some forty or fifty years since His resurrection and ascension. And, since we know that Jesus is in heaven, sitting at the right hand of His Father, whether it’s three weeks, four decades or two thousand years, a personal letter from Him is just something you don’t expect to see.
Jesus had some things to say to His church, even from heaven, so He found an old friend, the apostle John, who was presently in exile on the Island of Patmos, and dictated the letters with the understanding that John would deliver them, or have them delivered, to the churches.
If you think it would be strange to find a letter from Jesus in your mailbox, you might have an idea what those young leaders were feeling as they opened the note addressed to them.
What would you be thinking? “Yikes! Why me?” They say that your life flashes before your eyes when you are in the midst of some tragic or life-threatening experience. A letter from heaven would probably trigger a similar phenomena, all the behavior I had tried to forget, all the things I had done in secret, all my mistakes come rushing back as I imagine what He might be writing about.
A letter from Jesus would be a letter that I would read over and over again, put under my pillow to read before going to sleep and upon waking in the morning. I would want to know every detail of what Jesus was thinking, every nuance of what He was asking of me, and I would want to respond, to go or change or whatever He wanted. I would want to make Him proud, to make it right, to honor His request.
When Jesus says “church”
In Revelation chapters two and three, we find seven letters addressed to seven churches spread across Asia Minor. The common understanding would be that Jesus was writing to those specific churches and that the word He gives is exclusively for them. But, that isn’t necessarily the case, beginning with our understanding of the word “church.” Resist the typical definition of a building with a cross or a steeple and a big parking lot and education wing. When we say church, we suggest the facility. We “go to Church.” We meet each other “at the church.” And to remove any doubt as to the definition, we put big signs in front of our meeting places that identify them as being the “church.” But, if that is the picture you get when you hear Jesus use the word “church,” you’ll be inclined to miss much of what He says. Because, when Jesus says “church,” He isn’t talking about a building - He’s talking about people.
The only sense in which the church is understood as a building is through the use of a word picture where people with different gifts and abilities serve in various roles and functions. For example, the apostles’ teaching is the foundation, and Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone of the structure. Other word pictures are employed by New Testament writers, as well, such as a body where Christ is the head; a flock over whom Jesus is the Good Shepherd; and a priesthood where Jesus is Chief Priest - all images of this innumerable group of people, spanning centuries and continents, called the church. When Jesus addresses a letter to the church in Ephesus, He is writing to the Christian people in that community, not the facilities in which they met.
So, first of all, these seven letters were meant for the people gathered in Christ’s name in the city to which the letter is addressed: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Seven cities scattered around Asia Minor who had known a Christian presence for a couple of decades, a result of the dispersion of the church out of Jerusalem and the ministry of Paul in Ephesus. But then Jesus does a peculiar thing. He ends each letter by expanding its contents to all of us, saying,
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Loosely paraphrased, this could be, “Some or all of this may apply to you as well, so listen closely to what the Holy Spirit may be saying to you.” Notice He writes, “He who has an ear, let him hear...” now that’s not speaking exclusively of men (he), but of people. Individual Christians are supposed to be “listening” to what the Spirit is saying.
He has a message for seven groups of actual, local, historical people, and in addition, He instructs christian people, individually and corporately, through the ages of the church, to learn from each letter as well.
Scripture is amazing like that. The letters, visions and prophetic messages of the Bible are all written in a certain historical context, but with the touch of God’s Spirit, obscure verses from little read books can prick our heart in ways that are intensely personal. The apostle Paul pointed this out when he wrote:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture.” So, even though these seven letters were dictated by the Risen Lord to His dear friend John over 1900 years ago, written to seven churches around Asia Minor, they applied in ways the Holy Spirit would define to the other churches around Asia at that time as well. Not only that, they hold application for churches of the renaissance, Christians meeting together in the Old West, and Christians scattered throughout the world in the twenty-first century. These seven letters are from Jesus to the whole church. To me and to you.
He has more for you
As you read these letters from Jesus with an open and expectant heart, ready to listen and respond to the word of Christ, the Holy Spirit will make each letter alive, powerful and personal. He will speak to areas of your life that you didn’t think He saw, or didn’t know He cared about. It will be a time of introspection and a time of change, because He loves you so much that He doesn’t want to leave you the way you are. He has more for you, more depth, more wholeness, more of Himself to share.
Though the letters are not signed in the traditional sense (the Author identifies Himself at the beginning of each), I can vividly imagine the Author, having considered every word and every reader, knowing the depth of truth and the promise of life that each letter contains, would want each person through the ages to know that it was written especially for you.
Written truly, genuinely, sincerely Jesus.
To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
Chapter One ~ First Love
As a little kid, my first loves were Mexican food and baseball. My idea of heaven on earth was when we had a game on Tuesday because the post-game meal was always ten tacos for a dollar at Taco Tia, where my dad would buy a few bags full and bring it home to re-hash the game. Yum!
Then, from the third through the sixth grade, my love interest took human form in the person of a brown haired girl named Jenny. Of course, she never knew it. I was too shy and she was too perfect. Even though I had five sisters by this time, I was still paralyzed around Jenny. Finally, I believed by fate, our sixth grade teacher arranged the seating chart in a way that put me in the seat directly behind Jenny. Jackpot. A match made in heaven. I heard the Hallelujah Chorus and chapel bells. I visualized the moment that I would kneel between the desks and pledge my heart. Of course, as an introverted kid I didn’t follow through on any of my plans, never even spoke to her, that I recall, and she probably never even knew I was back there. The next year we moved to a different state. But I never forgot my first love.
I caught a glimpse of true love a few years later when Mary Ann walked into my life. The first time I saw her I was smitten. The world stopped turning when she walked by. Her flowing auburn hair seemed to collect all the available sunlight and then release it back into the atmosphere with a warm, soft glow. She defined perfection. But it was her smile that captured my heart. For when her lips parted and her nose crinkled and she lit up the world with a big grin, a mouth full of glistening, silvery braces would shine forth in all their polished splendor. I tingle just thinking about it. I loved girls with braces! About six years later we were married, sometime along the way the braces came off, but by then I was in for life. First love.
Jesus has something to say to us about our first love. But He wants us to know a few things before we get to that, things that will give us hope and assurance that what He writes is for our good, things that remind us how well He really does know each of us.
He holds you and walks in your midst
To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.
In each letter, Jesus opens with a description of Himself that establishes a context for what He is about to say. In this case, the picture is of Christ holding seven stars and walking in the midst of seven lampstands. The apostle John, to whom Jesus is entrusting the letter, had previously received a vision of Christ which He describes in chapter one. In Revelation 1:20, Jesus explained the image of stars and lampstands that He uses again here. He said that the seven stars are the angels, or ministers, of the churches, and the lampstands are the churches themselves. Commentator Matthew Henry writes: “(Ministers of Christ) are instruments in his hand, and all the good they do is done by his hand with them.”
What a beautiful picture of the present reality of Christ and His church. He holds His servants as stars in His hand and walks in their midst. Christ’s living presence is an active reality.
Always a remnant
Ephesus was a major city in the region and, like most prominent cities, it attracted nuts and kooks of every stripe. It was the headquarters for a particular non-christian religious sect which wielded great economic and cultural influence (Acts 19:21-41), yet the community had one of the strongest Christian movements in the region. Isn’t that an interesting dichotomy? Headquarters for an international cult which had its tentacles in everything from government to commerce, yet home to a thriving Christian presence.
The city of Ephesus is an example of one of the amazing truths of the Christian faith, which is how God consistently infiltrates evil strongholds with a remnant of believers who are able to stand firm in the face of opposition. Armed only with the love of God and the word of His grace they faithfully spread the message of hope in the midst of oppressive despair. We see it happening in our generation in Asia, Africa and the Middle East in dramatic fashion among evil, militant regimes. Everywhere the enemy gains some level of momentum, the resilient church will be right along to shine the light of hope in the midst of despair and gloom. This was the case in Ephesus and is probably true of your town, where God has planted you and other followers of Christ, armed with that same love, equipped with the same message - that God loves people and He wants to make them whole and well through faith in Jesus Christ. In the same way He planted Paul in Ephesus, He has planted you and your church in a community where He holds you in His hand, and He walks in your midst, a remnant advancing the kingdom of heaven.
Walking in the midst of His church as a shepherd watchfully tending his flock, Christ is aware and acquainted with every word and every deed. Nothing slips by Him, nothing happens that He doesn’t see. In the Ephesian church, He notes several things they were doing mostly right.
I know your works, your labor, your patience...
The Ephesian Christians were committed workers. They weren’t just sitting on their hands, waiting for something spiritual to happen. They were about the Master’s business, doers of the word and not hearers only. Being a hard worker is a good thing, and Jesus blesses them for their labor.
...and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
Their faith was well defined and well defended. They didn’t run after every fad and fancy that came down the road. By this time in the first century, the church was several decades old, and there were plenty of people running around with new doctrines and teachings meant to improve and refine the message of Jesus, making it more contemporary and relevant to the changing world, with the convenient side effect of gathering followers for themselves. Paul had warned the Ephesian church leaders that this would happen and prepared them well. He said:
For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. Acts 20:29-31
Paul warned this very church of people rising up, from within their midst, looking to draw away the disciples after themselves. The apostle took this inward threat very seriously. It broke his heart to think that fellow believers would divide God’s church - but he also knew people, and he knew they would come.
Unfortunately, the problem of people following the latest theological twist has not lost its allure in the contemporary church. There is always someone rising up and stepping out to do it better or different or, in their minds at least, correctly - drawing people to themselves as they attempt to craft a truly successful (which usually means well attended) church. Many times, these selfish attempts at leading the church result in the commandments of Christ and the cost of discipleship being thrown out with the baptismal water and replaced with Five Steps to Marital Something, How to Be A Successful Whatever, or Seven Habits of This or That.
Paul warned the Ephesians to watch out, and watch out they did. They knew what they believed and why. Paul poured his heart out among them every day for around three years.
Could the same be said of you and your church? Are you mining the depths of God’s word with an open heart and mind, or are you listening to three points and a conclusion from a great public speaker who rarely opens his Bible? It’s important stuff. For this commendation to apply to us, it’s got to be true in practice, not just theory. We have got to be discerning, clear thinking, spirit-filled, students of the word who can smell a wolf from across the street.
...and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
The Ephesian believers weren’t quitters! They were tenacious, stalwart believers. One of the dynamics at work at this point in the first century, because of the fact that the Romans were tired of Christianity’s influence and weary of their refusal to honor the emperor as God, was that persecution against Christians had begun in earnest. Emperors with a thirst for power and addiction to acclaim began terrorizing the Christians to the point of death.
Set against the physical persecution were the promises of Christ’s return
“I will go and prepare a place for you, and if I go I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (See John 14:1-3).
In the world they were being persecuted, and in their meetings they would remind each other of the imminence of Christ’s return. How they must have longed to hear the trumpet call of God as they awaited His second coming. The Ephesians were learning patience, expectantly looking forward to His return even though the pressure of life in the empire was difficult and persecution was intense. Jesus commends them for their ability to persevere under difficult circumstances.
Hard working, wise, and strong - all positive attributes that we would like to be said of ourselves. But really, aren’t these things that could be said about any person under the right circumstances? There is nothing particularly christian or godly about these virtues. We all know people who are not yet christian who work harder than their co-workers. We know others who are wise and tactful, but, for some reason, are not yet christian. And the same goes for tenacity - soldiers, athletes, firefighters, to name a few, are people known for strength and perseverance. So while these attributes are positive, they seem to fall short of God’s best. It is like Jesus is saying, “I’m glad this is true of you, but anyone can do this. I’ve got bigger things in mind for you. We’ve done larger and more significant things together in the past, and I’m writing this to help you remember that, to help you find the missing piece and get back to the real work of your calling.”
While there may be positive, commendable things going on in my life, am I willing to consider that there may be a critical piece (or pieces) missing that would re-animate all that is stale and stagnant?
The missing piece
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
The Ephesian Christians were hard workers, discerning, sound and persevering - all good things. But something was missing, something that negated the power and blessing from an otherwise strong church. They had left their first love.
I was still in my teens when I first read this letter, still trying to figure out the meaning of life, and still very new to the faith. At first I thought God was speaking to me about my third through sixth grade crush, Jenny, and I thought, “Oh no, I blew it and Jesus is holding it against me! I left my first love, I’m doomed!” I took this very seriously, as we all should. Then I realized - “Wait a minute, Mary Ann was my first true love, the first one where we were both actually involved, and I never left her, so maybe I could get by on a technicality.”
I slowly began to understand that Jesus wasn’t speaking about my physical love life as much as my life’s love. Not my first relationship, but the relationship that was first.
The love that should be in foremost in all churches, and all Christians, is Jesus Christ. The love that the Ephesians had left or replaced with something else was their love for Christ Jesus himself. The New Testament describes love as the key to the relationship between God and mankind.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. John 14:21
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” John 14:23
Love is the core essence of relationship with God and the supreme evidence of a changed and redeemed life. The love of God at the heart of our lives and spiritual communities is the single most important attribute of kingdom life. Everything else, even our most commendable qualities and accomplishments, are nothing. Paul put it this way:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Without love “I am nothing,” and “I profit nothing.” Pretty clear. Love is mandatory, love for Jesus is paramount. It’s number one.
Love is also hard to quantify. How can I determine if I love God more than I love my dog, or more than my spouse or my Harley? We can easily say we love the Lord and that His love is paramount, but how do we know, how do we judge ourselves?
Do a self-check
When my car is making a funny noise, there are some basic things I can check myself before taking it to a mechanic. I can check the oil. A car with no oil will make a funny noise, at least for a while, until it stops running completely (voice of experience). I can check the radiator for water, check the tire inflation, check the belts and hoses. If we take some time to check the basics maybe we’ll save ourselves the expense of a complete overhaul. It’s kind of the same way with our love for God. There are some basic things we can check and take steps to correct. Here are a few:
Check the joy in my Christian walk.
Have the things of God become commonplace? You’ve heard it all before, blah, blah, blah. Bible reading and prayer have lost their centrality in your life and you rarely open the bible, you rarely pray save the times you’re called on. Christianity is your heritage, but not really a part of your day to day life. You find yourself responding more to the pastor’s emotional illustrations than you do the meaning of the text. Still going through all the right motions, but not sure why any more, and you aren’t even sure it’s all necessary or worth it.
Check your love for others.
As we walk with Jesus, learning to know Him, understanding His ways, experiencing His love, our love for Him should do more than plateau. It should increase more and more. The way loving God manifests itself in our lives is by loving people. We love Him, and it is expressed by our love for people. One of the key ways to check our love for God is to check our love for people. Because people can be pretty unlovable.
As we get older, it is common to gravitate to a few people with whom we are comfortable and avoid the rest. I’ve said myself, during weaker moments, “I love people, I just don’t like them very much,” which is a veiled way of saying I don’t love people very much, a symptom of leaving my first love - because loving God shows up in our lives through loving people.
Check your selfishness.
This one is tough because our culture drills happiness and fulfillment into each of us from such a young age. Being self-focused, striving to achieve and attain is drilled into each of us. It’s equated with happiness and joy. Our teachers tell us that if we work hard now we will enjoy life later. It’s all self-based. The confusing part is that following Christ accomplishes much the same thing in that we become truly happy and fulfilled in life.
The difference is that happiness and fulfillment for the culture is self-based and happiness and fulfillment in Christ are based on selflessness, giving freely as freely we have received. As Christians, we can be lured in, or back in, to the mentality that God wants the same things for us that we want, power, wealth, prestige, and we become selfish Christians. Much different from the selflessness Christ modeled:
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45
Selflessness, preferring others over ourselves, should be a hallmark of the believer. When selfishness replaces selflessness and our personal comfort and satisfaction become our primary goals, what we think is love for Christ may actually be love of our self, which the Bible tells us will be a huge problem in the last days.
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 2 Tim. 3:1-5
Lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Selfishness.
Abandoning our first love is such a significant, spiritual life or death issue, that Jesus sends the letter, preserves it over the centuries and sets it before each generation when the things of the world begin crowding out the purity and simplicity of our love for Jesus.
Remember, Repent and Repeat
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Remember. Repent. Repeat. Simple to say, hard to live. Can you remember how life changed when you first came to Christ? Can you remember your priorities, what you thought about, the way you spent your time and how you used your money and talents? For those of us who came to Jesus a little later in life, we remember that our world turned upside down. We had a hunger and thirst for the things of God; we found His Spirit changing our attitudes and actions; we began accepting and loving people for whom we had no time before. It was a revolution of heart, soul, mind and strength - and the best thing that ever happened to us, the single best decision we ever made. And we found ourselves loving Him more as the days went by.
For others, you were brought up knowing God’s love - from Bible stories at bedtime to mother’s heartfelt prayers, from dressing up for church to attending daily Vacation Bible School. You may have asked Jesus into your heart at four or five or eight years of age, and you honestly can’t remember a time when you didn’t know His love. “How can I leave something I’ve always known?” you might ask yourself, and it’s a good question. But think about it this way. Back in those childhood days of faith, how would you describe your love for God? How about consummate, unqualified, without limit and unconditional? Your love for God was childlike and pure; it was as real as anything in life; it helped you go to sleep at night and face monsters under the bed. He was with you and, like the little boy named David, you were invincible at His side. Would that still be a fitting description today? Maybe. But the world tries its best to force childlike faith to be squeezed and tempered and left behind. And that is unfortunate.
So Jesus says to repent. That means to change direction, change your mind, change your course, turn around. Repentance isn’t casual, it is an acknowledgment of my own shortcomings and Christ’s sufficiency, the adequacy of His finished work on the cross to cover me and cloth me in His righteousness. It is reckoning myself dead, crucified with Christ, and enlivened by His power. I turn from my sin and cry out for a clean heart.
Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin... Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:1-2, 10
Remember, repent and repeat. Repeat those things you did in the early days of faith. Live simply, love deeply, get your faith off the shelf and out of your head and get it back into your hands and feet. Live with that confidence and assurance in Christ that once marked your prayers and your actions.
Serious consequences
It is a critical admonition. Jesus is not making a suggestion here; He is giving a directive that will have consequences if ignored. He says that, if we do not repent, “(He) will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place...” Now, since the lampstand represents the church, it’s easy to picture Jesus reaching out and taking hold of our grand building with its steeple and columns and pews and picking it up and removing it from its place, kind of like King Kong ripping his way through town, uprooting buildings and tossing them out of his path. But remember, Jesus doesn’t think of a building when He talks about His church. When Jesus thinks of His church, He thinks of people, the precious children for whom He died. So what “place” do God’s people hold, from which they could be removed by Christ if they do not repent?
His church does hold a place in society. It is a place that only His church can hold. It’s the ministry of redemption, the role of sharing the good news of the gospel with the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. I think Jesus says He will remove the lampstand He is speaking of the power of the Holy Spirit working through His body. It might be that what was once a vital movement, led by the Spirit, flowing in power, bringing the good news of the gospel to the nations, slowly leaves their first love, most likely without even realizing it. Maybe they begin to let immorality have a secret place in the ministry and they begin subconsciously hide from the living God. Or their nemesis could be their very success as they create a brilliant business plan and begin to achieve results outside of the power of the Spirit and the hard work of intercession and dirty work of loving people, and they stop consciously depending on Christ.
So Jesus comes to visit one day and He looks around, like He did in the temple on the day of His triumphal entry, and He doesn’t say anything, He just observes, watches to see if anybody notices the King. He watches the money-changers and the activity and the show. And He sees that they have left Him for another love. He leaves and He takes the lampstand with Him.
There is sure to be a spiritual community, a people who are willing to put Him on the throne, to surrender to Him and keep Him in first place in their hearts and actions. He’ll do the work of redemption through them instead. Their lampstand will be the people among whom the fire of God shines and burns. And those, who were once at the heart of God’s work in the world, are removed from use. Their lampstand is removed from its place.
They remain open for business, but Jesus is long gone.
I think this is the sad story of the church from about the fourth century on. It seems like whenever a movement was ignited by the flame of God’s fire and began to turn the world upside down with God’s love and power, they would go on for awhile, a decade or two, maybe even a hundred years. But eventually, in an attempt to retain their strong position, they set up rigid distinctive’s that became more important, in practice, than a living relationship with Christ, and they leave their first love, and they die - Jesus leaves. They are no longer the heart of His work because He is no longer at the heart of theirs.
Jesus, then everybody else
But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
The word Nicolaitan comes from two Greek words that suggest authority, (nicao) and people (laos), which has given some commentators the idea that the deeds of the Nicolaitans included the establishment of a hierarchy in the church separating clergy from laity. It’s hard to be certain exactly what Jesus was referring to here, but certainly the idea of separating clergy and laity was something that He warned against:
But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Matthew 23:8
The hierarchy, or management structure, of the church of Christ is pretty simple. There is Jesus, the Teacher and Christ, the “head” of the body, and then there is the body under the head, that’s all the rest of us, the church. No one is higher or closer or better, we are all simply followers, workers, believers, Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ. Isn’t that a relief? Whether you stand behind a pulpit and preach or sit in a porch swing and pray. You are both the same, different gifts, talents and ministries, but the same Spirit working in us and through us. That is the simple structure of the Body of Christ - Jesus is the head, and the rest of us make up the body.
Just one head, and it’s not you.
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, I Timothy 2:5
Any structure or authority system which places people, even really good people, in between Christ and His church, is a bad idea, and Jesus hates it.
How about the modern church, do we hate what Jesus hated, or do we embrace it? We certainly preach the “priesthood of all believers” and equality in the body where
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28.)
But in practice, we do seem to separate people on the basis of their gifts. We have professional clergy, whole stables of specialized professional ministers with streamlined organizational structures and flowcharts. And no matter the denomination or tradition, we all do basically the same thing in our weekend services, whether trendy and contemporary or quiet and traditional. We sit listening mainly to the pros. And maybe, without intending to, we are suggesting to each other and to the world that there is a separation of rank in the church. Jesus is on top, no question in our minds about that. But under Jesus we’ve created a professional class, the leaders, those who tell the rest of us what to do, how to live, grow and serve. Last but not least there are the followers, the flock, the congregation.
Some might argue that their church tradition doesn’t separate clergy from laity. “Oh, we don’t have clergy, we have pastors that lead like shepherds.” “We have a minister that dutifully serves,” “Ours is a life coach, not some archaic priest.” Maybe so, but I still wonder if Jesus sees any leftover Nicolaitanism lurking in the church today. If He does, and you can trust me on this, He still doesn’t like it.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
If you have ears, listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying through this letter. But, even if you don’t have ears or are as deaf as a stone, you are not off the hook, because the listening He is speaking of isn’t with our physical ears, but with our spiritual senses, our recognition and understanding of His voice.
When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 1 Corinthians 2:13-14 NLT
So, you need to be spiritual to understand what the Spirit is saying. You need to be a christian, a spirit-filled follower of Christ to really understand the message Jesus is communicating. Those outside of Christ may be engaged or enraged by reading His word, but, until it kindles faith in their heart to know Him, it will just be ink on a page.
But to those with ears, those who are serious, although sometimes misguided, followers of Christ, He adds with hope, confidence and faith, “to him who overcomes,” that is, if you have left your first love, or have slipped into any of the other ruts that Jesus mentions, He has every hope and expectation that you will respond and overcome, and He offers the wonderful promise of fruit from the tree of life.
In Revelation 22, we read that people in heaven will enjoy the fruit of the tree of life, a different fruit in every season. What a wonderful promise and treat that is awaiting the overcomers. There is a Tree of Life available to overcomers in this life, as well, through a relationship with Jesus Christ. When we repent and place Jesus in the central place of honor and love in our heart, He will be our strength and energy for life. Like food for the body, nourishing us abundantly with His love, joy and peace, covering us with grace, acceptance and forgiveness, different fruit for every season and circumstance of life.
To the angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.
Chapter Two - You Can Make It
Have you ever noticed how a name can describe something about the person or place? Take my name for instance, Ed. Why is it that the goofy, dimwitted sidekick is always named Ed in the movies? Or “Earl,”same thing. It seems like the loser cousin or the redneck, crooked toothed friend with the 1979 Pinto, is always either Ed or Earl. Never the hero, never the star. Ed-Earl is always going to get hit by a bus or have his pants set on fire at some point in the show. That stereotype drives me crazy because my name happens to be Edward Earl.
In the Bible, names often relate to some eventual personality trait or characteristic of the person. Take twin brothers Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebekah, and grandsons of Abraham. You almost always hear Jacob named first, but he was actually born second. Big brother Esau was named “Hairy” because he was a furry little guy. His brother was born moments later, hanging on to Harry’s foot, so they named him Jacob, or heel-grabber. More specifically, Jacob means supplanter, which is taking the place of another through force, scheming or strategy.
He was grabbing at the hairy little foot in front of him as if trying to squeeze past him and take his brother’s place in the birth order. Ultimately, Jacob became a supplanter in life when he dressed up like his brother and deceived his father into giving him the blessing of the firstborn son, effectively taking the place of his brother, not by force like he tried at birth, but by scheming. Names matter.
One of the things that makes the letter to Smyrna particularly interesting is how the circumstances of the church relate so specifically to the name of the community. The name Smyrna contains the root word “myrrh” which was a substance used in biblical times for its fragrance. Myrrh was the sap from particular trees that hardened and could be packaged and sold. To use the myrrh, you would break it, crush it, or burn it, thus causing the fragrant oils to emit the bittersweet aroma. It had various applications, but the key idea is that the fragrance was activated as the resin was crushed.
As myrrh suffers, fragrance is released.
The Christian people in Smyrna understood suffering. They knew what it felt like to be persecuted and crushed. But, in keeping with their name, their affliction released a sweet, spiritual aroma, the fragrance of Christ, filling the church and the city with a sense of His love and forgiveness.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. 2 Corinthians 2:14-16
The believers in Smyrna filled the city with the fragrance of His knowledge through brokenness and suffering. The same will be true of you in a season of persecution or affliction - you will diffuse the fragrance of Christ in the place you live and among the people you serve. Suffering activates the fragrance of Christ.
Unwitting human agents of evil
Satan uses two basic methods of assault against the christian witness in the world, persecution and infiltration. Either head-on persecution, seeking to make Christians give up or shut down, or by infiltrating the ranks, like weeds growing among the wheat, introducing sin into the camp of the godly. He’ll use one method or the other, both if necessary. And the primary way He carries out the campaign is through people. Even as God uses people to accomplish His righteous purpose in the world by the power of the Holy Spirit, Satan uses unwitting humans as agents in his evil campaign against the church and against humanity.
By example, back in the first century, around the time Jesus was dictating this letter to John, there lived a certain man from a severely dysfunctional home. At age three, his father, a murdering cheat, died. His mother married again but eventually poisoned the boy’s stepfather by feeding him a dish of tainted mushrooms. The young man committed his first murder soon afterward by slaying a teenager who opposed him. He killed his first two wives and, in order to marry a third time, he murdered the husband of the woman he sought. In time, he also arranged for the murder of his mother. Through all this, the scoundrel was able to rise to popular acclaim; but, by age thirty-one, his evil deeds had caught up with him, and he was sentenced to death. Before he could be executed, he slit his own throat. The name of this bottom-dwelling thug was Nero. Caesar Nero was the emperor of Rome for about fourteen years in the middle of the first century. This is the same Nero who lit the evil fire of persecution upon the church that led to a kind of genocide wherein countless numbers of Christians were martyred during Roman dominance.
Nero was a willing accomplice of the evil one. Satan looks for people like this, people with a lust for power and a thirst for blood. There has always been this element of evil, physical persecution, active against the church of Jesus Christ in some region of the world.
Things were bad in Roman times - the cruelty unbelievable. But, in the 20th century more believers were killed for their faith than in all the other centuries combined. Even today, many brothers and sisters are being separated from families, imprisoned, tortured and executed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Under radical regimes around the world Christians have become the scapegoats of choice as they are singled out for campaigns of hate and terror. It is to the people of suffering in the world that Jesus writes.
Jesus conquered death
These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:
Jesus begins by pointing us back to His resurrection. The Christians of Smyrna were only a generation removed from the resurrection of Christ, the cornerstone of the faith, well aware of the revolution that it caused in the world. The resurrection forever changed the playing field of life and death, because, when Christ rose from the dead, death was defeated. It lost its power over the world, lost the finality of its sting. Jesus said:
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. John 11:25 KJV
A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. John 14:19
Now if you are young and strong and living in a peaceable society, that may not seem like such dramatic news. But if you know the frailty of life, the pain of suffering for your faith or the heartbreak of losing someone you love, it is the best news of all time! Jesus Christ conquered death. He led the way. Death no longer marks the bitter end. Christ’s resurrection changed the last chapter of our book, death is not the end. Jesus, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, has gone before humanity and removed deaths finality. Eternal life is awaiting each believer because of Christ.
Many Christians in Smyrna, including their pastor, Polycarp, had been killed for their faith, by sword and by fire, and these words would be etched forever in the hearts of loved ones silently watching from the shadows, “though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
Jesus knows
I know your works, and tribulation, and poverty, But you are rich).
“I know.” Don’t skip over those first two words as you race to the “you are rich” part. All the circumstances and situations and troubling people that you’ve dealt with, which others can never fully comprehend, Jesus knows about. He says, “I know your works.” The word there for works suggests distress or pressure. Jesus is saying, “I know the pressure you are under, I hear your distress, I see your tribulation.” These people were in bad shape; they were going through a hellish existence because of their allegiance to Christ. How it must have grieved Jesus to watch them, feeling their pain as He recalled facing the same opposition, and worse, in His life. It must have been all He could do to keep from sending a legion of angels to destroy their oppressors. And it has been the same way throughout time, as He observes the injustice foisted upon believers due to their love for God and freedom in Christ.
But, He also knows something that is not physically evident. And that is the glorious inheritance we have in Him. Having been adopted by God, we have become joint heirs with Christ, and the glory of the kingdom of heaven is eternally ours. We are rich in ways that defy description and understanding. And, while it is hard to bask in that hope during seasons of tribulation, it remains true, regardless of the outward appearance or circumstances of our earthly life. We are rich in Christ.
And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Much of the trouble in the life of Christ and in the early church was instigated by the leaders of the Jewish synagogues. They claimed to follow God but, in truth, were not worshippers of God at all. They had rituals steeped in tradition and their coveted lineage, but in Jesus’ eyes, they were the synagogues of Satan, not synagogues of God. In John, chapter eight, Jesus and some of the Jewish leaders have this exchange:
They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham... You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do... John 8:39,44a
The blasphemy, or irreverent behavior, of these false Jews was their slander of the Messiah, claiming to follow God but ignoring His promised Deliverer, Jesus Christ. With lying and twisted words, these Jews sought to turn popular consensus against Jesus and anyone who would follow Him. They accused the Christians of being cannibals because they received communion and spoke of the body and blood of Christ; they proclaimed that the Christians were atheists because they did not attend synagogue or at least a pagan temple; the Christians spoke of being a body, and members one of another, so they were accused of sexual perversion.
Lies, slander, ridicule. Not so different from the position taken against Christians by some in our day. Believers, in the eyes of some vocal critics, are a bunch of right-winged, fundamentalist lunatics that seek only to take away all the rights of women, impose puritan morality and turn the clock back 100 years. And, if they say it loud enough and long enough, it becomes part of the public conscience even though it couldn’t be further from the truth. Jesus reminds us that Satan is behind it all, using unwitting human agents to accomplish his devilish scheme of silencing the message of Christ in the world.
There is a limit
Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Jesus knows what they have been through, He knows the pressure they are currently under and He says, basically, “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.” See it there, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer.” Wow! The Christians in Smyrna have been under the torturous hand of persecution for some time, and, instead of finding solace, they are told that it is going to get worse.
Have you ever been to the end of your rope? Taken all the sickness, rebellion, heartache and tribulation you can bear? How encouraging would it be to be told, “Friend, don’t be afraid, but it’s going to get worse.” To hear something like that would surely knock the wind out of you and you might rightly think, “I don’t know if I can take much more of this.”
But, before we drop our hands and give up, Jesus provides a curious detail that brings new perspective to the upcoming season of trial.
It’s going to last ten days.
Scholars don’t really know what Jesus meant by ten days of tribulation. Some have suggested that it refers to the ten periods of Roman persecution, while others say it refers to ten literal days of prolonged attack. But whatever “ten days” refers to, it means that Jesus is determining the limits, not Satan. The period of suffering cannot go beyond the limits Jesus has set. There is no power in hell or on earth that could extend this trial to eleven days. It won’t go eleven. It won’t go twelve. Christ Jesus sets a boundary beyond which Satan cannot go.
Whatever it is you are going through, whatever suffering and trial you are being afflicted with by the enemy of your soul, there is a limit, and Jesus has already determined it! Whether you are in day one or day eight, the good news is that Jesus has defined the limits to the distress and tribulation over your life. He knows you better than you know yourself and He knows that you can make it. If you couldn’t, He wouldn’t let it continue. Take a moment and say this out loud a few times, letting it sink into your heart and soul;
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