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2 I know thy works, and thy | labor, and thy patience, and He travelled and labored much in miniature representations of the idol, Asia Minor. Read, in the 13th of Acts, the account of his first labors in Antioch of Pisidia. He preached also in Iconium, Lystra, Derbe; and travelled through the regions of Pisidia and Pamphylia; he carried with him into Asia Minor the decrees from the brethren at Jerusalem; and under his labors, we are told, "that the churches were established in the faith, and increased in number daily;" Acts xvi. 5. See him again passing through Galatia and Phrygia, and coming to Ephesus. Here he remained three months, in constant visitations to the synagogue, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God;" Acts xix. 1-8. Leaving his accustomed place at the synagogue in consequence of the hardness of some, he entered into the school of one Tyrannus, where he had a wider field of influence, and where he continued for two years. To this school many came from all parts of Asia Minor; and we are told, that by Paul's labors in this station, "all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks;" Acts xix. 10. These remarks will show that the gospel was spread very widely in Asia Minor soon after the conversion of Paul.

EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS.

1. Ephesus.-This was a very celebrated city of Asia Minor, in the western part thereof, and on the borders of the Egean Sea. It was about 40 miles south of Smyrna. It was the capital of the province, and was much celebrated for a magnificent heathen temple, consecrated to the goddess Diana, which was built at the expense of all the provinces of Asia, and occupied 220 years in Duilding. There were certain men in this city who accumulated much wealth by making silver shrines for the goddess, which were, perhaps,

or of some symbols or forms of wor ship. Paul's labors in Ephesus bid fair to spoil their business, and they incited the people to a great uproar. "For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth moreover, ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying, that they be no Gods which are made with hands. So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia, and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And the whole city was filled with confusion ;" Acts xix. 24 -pt. of 29. Every reader of the New Testament will remember vividly Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders, while he was on the way to make his last visit to Jerusalem. He called them to him, and referred to his past labors and perils among them; that he had faithfully preached the gospel, and urged the people to repentance and faith; that he was on his way to Jerusalem, where he knew not what would befall him, except that everywhere trials and dangers awaited him. "But none of these things_move me (said he ;) neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my

how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and thou hast

face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God;" Acts xx. 2427. From these facts it will be seen that Ephesus was a conspicuous place in the early history of the church, both for the labors of some of the most eminent Christians, and for the hatred and violence of the enemies of Christianity. A Christian church was formed there very soon after the conversion of Paul, before which event the gospel had been scarcely preached to the Gentiles at all. The apostle John is also said to have resided, at some period of his life, in this city. Angel of the church. - The word angel is quite often misunderstood. In the minds of Christians it stands almost exclusively for a class of beings higher in nature than men. That it sometimes signifies superhuman intelligences is true; but not always. "Angel is a name not of nature, but of office," says Austin, in Leigh's Crit. Sacra. It ofttimes signifies a human messenger, legate, or agent. - (Parkhurst.) See Matt. xi. 10, where the Greek word is translated messenger. See also Mark i. 2. In Luke vii. 24, we read of the "messengers of John," i. e. angels of John, for the Greek is the same. A similar instance is found, Luke ix. 52. The word angel is used for any messenger whatsoever. The apostles were angels. Inanimate objects are sometimes called angels in the style of the Scriptures. The winds, the flames, scourges, wicked men, armies, when regarded as being sent of God for any purpose, are spoken of by the sacred writers as angels or messengers. It was, therefore, strictly accordant with the style of the rest of the Scriptures, to speak of the bishop, or head of a church, as its angel. Paul tells the Galatians that they received him as an angel of God;" Gal. iv. 14. These remarks are sufficient for our purpose

in this place. But we shall have somewhat to say on the angelology of the Apocalypse, when we come to the fourth chapter. John introduces angels of all grades, and for all purposes, into his sublime descriptions. This, however, is not the place to classify them. It is sufficient to note here, that by the angel of the church at Ephesus was meant the bishop, or head of that church; and an epistle to that church was well addressed to the principal officer. ¶ These things saith he.-John gives his authority. He does not speak by permission, but utters the instructions of another, by command. He who held the seven stars was Jesus. "He had in his right hand seven stars;" i. 16. the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man ;" 13. It was Jesus who bade John write to the angel, or principal spiritual head of the church at Ephesus.

"In

The Son

2. I know thy works. of man, in the first place, speaks of those acts of the church which he could approve. I know thy works; I know what thou hast done, and all that thou hast done. Thou hast been measurably faithful; thy spiritual taste and sense have been somewhat preserved; thou canst not bear them which are evil; thou canst not endure false apostles; thou hast proved this, for there have been deceivers with thee, endeavoring to lead thee away, claiming to be apostles, and thou hast tried them and found them liars. That the churches of Asia, and other places in the vicinity, were troubled by false apostles in Paul's day, is evident from some of his epistles. These false apostles gloried and boasted about themselves. He mentioned those boasters, and said, “Such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be

tried them which say they are apostles, and are not; and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.

transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works;" 2 Cor. xi. 13-15. The same author had occasion, also, to mention these false apostles in his epistle to the Galatians; i. 6-9; iii. 1; vi. 12, 13.

3. And hast borne. That is, "Thou hast endured well the trials through which thou hast been called to pass; all that thine enemies have been able to do has not driven thee from the profession of my name. Thou hast borne thy trials with patience, without murmuring against God, without complaining of thy hard lot; and, for my name's sake, for thy regard to me and my cause, thou hast labored and hast not fainted." This is certainly in a strain of commendation. We are to reflect that this church was placed in the very focus of idolatry, and had peculiar difficulties to endure on this account. Although, therefore, some fault is subsequently found, yet, upon the whole, the character which is attributed to it is honorable.

4. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee.. But notwithstanding these things I have said in thy favor, all is not right with thee. I

am obliged to mention one great fault, viz., "thou hast left thy first love." It is not necessary to infer from what is here said, that this church had formerly had a stronger love than other churches. Neither are we to think that their love to Christ was entirely gone. For if the latter were true, how shall we account for their faith, and patience, and endurance of persecution for Christ's name? All we can suppose

4 Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee

this to mean is, that the ardor of their love had lessened, not that their regard for Christ and his cause was entirely gone. Christianity was as good as ever, and as worthy as ever to be loved. It was a great fault in them to permit their attachment to Christ to cool in any degree. They are not accused of not having any love, but merely of having left "their first love." The love they bore to Christianity was not the love they had when they were first brought to the knowledge of the truth. Our Lord himself prophesied that the love of some would wax cold, when aflictions and trials came upon them. "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold;' Matt. xxiv. 9-12. The evident meaning is, that they would lose their first love. Jesus required of men supreme love. He was not in such haste to gain converts that he would take them on any conditions. He required men to love him and his cause with all their heart, might, mind, and strength; Matt. xxii. 37-40. He said, on a certain occasion when he saw great multitudes following him, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple;" Luke xiv. 25, 26. The meaning here we understand to

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quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, ex-thou hatest the deeds of the

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Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

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be, they were to love Christ and his again; to repent of their fall, and to cause above all things, - above the do their first works, the works which dearest relatives, yea, above life it- marked their early course. This was self. They must be willing to lay very important. ¶ Will remove thy down their lives for the cause of candlestick. This figure is borrowed Christ, if need be. The same doc- from the preceding chapter. The trine is expressed in different phrase- revelator had seen one like unto the ology in Matthew. "He that loveth Son of man in the midst of the seven father or mother more than me, is golden candlesticks; i. 13; and we are not worthy of me: and he that lov- told that these seven candlesticks were eth son or daughter more than me, is the emblems of the seven churches; not worthy of me;" x. 37. It will 20. The removal of the candlebe seen, then, that in the primitive stick, therefore, seems to be put for age of the church, disciples were re- the final death and extinguishment quired to love Christ with a perfect of the church. Its light should exlove. If they had such a love, they pire. It should no longer hold its would have no fear. "There is no place among its sister churches. We fear in love; but perfect love casteth are told that this rebuke of the Lord out fear because fear hath torment. Jesus had the desired effect. We He that feareth, is not made perfect in should judge this from Paul's epistle love;" 1 John iv. 18. The church at to them. The testimony of Ignatius Ephesus in the first place had perfect is to the same effect, given immelove, but the fervency of it abated. diately before his martyrdom, and They were not steadfast in their affec-some years after the Apocalypse was tion, and they left their first love. written. He states that when other How many churches are there, even | Asiatic churches were becoming corin this day, and in our own happy rupt, that of Ephesus was flourishing land, who do not even retain so high in a pure faith and practice. — (Epis. a standing as is here ascribed to the ad Ep. sec. 9; Euseb. Hist. Eccl. church at Ephesus! How many have lib. iii. 26; iv. 7.) This church conleft their first love! How many are tinued for some ages in high account obliged to say, among the churches of Christendom; but in time gradually sank into that corruption of doctrine, which has darkened all the churches of that region. Since the desolation of the coast of Asia Minor by Turkish tyranny in the 14th century, Ephesus has become little better than a heap of ruins.

"What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their mem'ry still!

But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill."

5. From whence thou art fallen. This shows that the "somewhat" which the Son of man had against this church was no trifling matter. Although it was not absolutely death, yet it would lead to that, if not counteracted. It was a fallen state; it was a state in which it would not do for them to remain. Their first love was the true love, and it should have been cherished. They were called on to remember whence they had fallen; to look back to their first condition as Christians; to sigh for that state

6. Hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. The faults and good deeds of this church were both freely named. Although they had permitted the fervor of their first love to abate, yet there was one thing they had cherished, viz., hatred of the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. There is some doubt what this name is derived from. The sect itself unquestionably existed in

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7 He that hath an ear, let

the days when the Apocalypse was written; but who they were named for is a harder matter to determine. Some writers suppose they were the followers of "Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch," mentioned in Acts vi. 5. It is thought, with how much reason we cannot determine, that he fell into certain evil practices and errors, which were embraced by those who bore his name. The sect unquestionably was impure. Irenæus alleged against them that they held to a community of women, and were guilty of eating things offered to idols. Too much credit, however, should not be given to the charges which some of the fathers bring against the heretics. If we go not at all beyond the divine record, we can say with certainty, that they were a sect which existed in the revelator's day, and that their deeds were, and ought to have been, detestable in the sight of good Christians. The words "which I also hate," prove that their deeds were probably even more heinous in the sight of the Son of man than in the sight of the partially apostatized church of Ephesus.

7. He that hath an ear.— The signification is, he that hath a disposition to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. There were some who did not desire to hear. To hear, in the language of the Scriptures, is to "give ear," to "incline the ear." Some would not hear, and their ears were said to be "uncircumcised;" Jer. vi. 10. Stephen referred to this in his address to the rebellious Jews, on the day of his martyrdom. He seems almost to quote from Jeremiah : "Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye;" Acts vii. 51. A deaf ear is an ear that cannot hear, or will not; but an open ear is one that is ready to hear; Isa. xlviii. 8. He that hath an ear to hear, that is, an open ear, or a disposition to

him hear what the Spirit saith

listen, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. This refers to the whole communication of the Spirit to the churches; not to that which precedes only, nor to that which succeeds only. All of it was worthy of attention. ¶ To him that overcometh. This phraseology is peculiarly like the apostle John. He used the word overcometh for Christian perseverance and triumph. He learned it of his Master; John xvi. 33. For John's use, see 1 Epis. ii. 13, 14; iv. 4; v. 4, 5; and Apoc. ii. 7, 11, 17, 26; iii. 5, 12, 21. No New Testament writer is distinguished for this phraseology like John. The use of such language shows that the duty of the Christian, especially in the days of the revelator, was considered a contest. He was engaged in a struggle with enemies. This was true of all the Christian churches in the beginning. Paul said to these Ephesians, "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places;" vi. 11, 12. He represents them as engaged in a contest, or struggle; and he tells them that with the shield of faith they shall be able to "quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;" 16. ¶ Tree of life. This was the reward. "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life." The metaphor doubtless is drawn from the account of Eden, in the book of Genesis, where we first read of "the tree of life." "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil;" Gen.

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