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The congregation of Ephesus
« To the angel of the congregation in Ephesus write: These are the things that he says who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: ‘I know your deeds, and your labor and endurance, and that you cannot tolerate bad men, and that you put to the test those who say they are apostles, but they are not, and you found them to be liars. You are also showing endurance, and you have persevered for the sake of my name and have not grown weary. Nevertheless, I hold this against you, that you have left the love you had at first.
“‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first. If you do not, I will come to you, and I will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Still, you do have this in your favor: that you hate the deeds of the sect of Nicolaus, which I also hate. Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations: To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ » (Apocalypse 2:1-7).
The seven congregations were in the west part of the current Anatolia (in Turkey). They were relatively close to each other. The island of Patmos, where the apostle Jean was, the writer of the Apocalypse, was not very far of the city of Ephesus (southwest).
The angel mentioned for each congregation, is obviously a human, in the function of the messenger of God and his Son Jesus Christ. These are the administrators of the Christian congregations:
« This statement is trustworthy: If a man is reaching out to be an overseer, he is desirous of a fine work. 2 The overseer should therefore be irreprehensible, a husband of one wife, moderate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, hospitable, qualified to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent, but reasonable, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, 4 a man presiding over his own household in a fine manner, having his children in subjection with all seriousness 5 (for if any man does not know how to preside over his own household, how will he care for the congregation of God?), 6 not a newly converted man, for fear that he might get puffed up with pride and fall into the judgment passed on the Devil. 7 Moreover, he should also have a fine testimony from outsiders so that he does not fall into reproach and a snare of the Devil » (1 Timothy 3:1-7).
The seven stars can both represent the overseers (the human angels (messengers)) of the congregations, as they can correspond to the seven lampstands, which symbolize the congregations. The overseers, like the whole of the Christian congregation, are the light in the current spiritual darkness of the world: « You are the light of the world. A city cannot be hid when located on a mountain. 15 People light a lamp and set it, not under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house. 16 Likewise, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heavens » (Matthew 5:14-16).
The lampstands were part of the utensils of the Temple Sanctuary, in the Holy part. Thus, the Christian congregation is part of the spiritual Temple Sanctuary of Apocalypse 11:1.
Jesus Christ first commends this congregation for its quality of endurance and vigilance regarding the infiltration, within the Christian congregation, of malicious spiritual individuals. However, he criticizes them for deviating from what makes the foundation of Christian actions, that is to say love: « If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the sacred secrets and all knowledge, and if I have all the faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I do not benefit at all » (1 Corinthians 13:1-8).
This reproach is not trivial, because Jesus Christ says that if this congregation does not change its attitude, it will remove its lampstand or will remove the mention of this congregation. Consequently, the characteristic of love is an important point, for Jesus Christ, which identifies the Christian congregation: « I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are my disciples—if you have love among yourselves » (John 13:34,35).
However, despite this very severe warning, Jesus Christ commends the congregation a second time for being able to resist the influence of the sect of Nicolaus (unlike the congregation of Pergamum). On the biblical camp, a sect is a spirituality which goes beyond the teaching of the good news, while presenting itself, in a fraudulent way, as a biblical teaching (Galatians 1:8,9).
The tree of life is the right that God will grant to humans to live forever, in heaven, for the 144,000 (Apocalypse 14:1-5), or on the earthly paradise (Apocalypse 21: 3.4). The paradise of God means the garden of God, where was originally the Garden of Eden, and the tree of life of which Adam and Eve were not allowed to consume. Consequently, the tree of life and the paradise of God, seem to be a double allusion to the purpose of God, of granting to each obeying human, the right of everlasting life in the heavenly paradise, or either in earthly paradise (Genesis 2:8; 3:22,23).
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