Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
The Lord urges them to remember “from whence thou are fallen.” This indicates that they have gone on a downward spiral in their spiritual life; they are not living in victory. The only way to get back on the right track is to repent--have a change of heart/mind/purpose. The evidence of their repentance is to “do the first works.” The word for “first” not only references time, but also importance. What are the first works?
Mark 12:30-31 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
I couldn’t help but think of the account of Martha and Mary in connection with God’s view of our priorities. Martha was so focused on serving that she was missing out on the benefits of fellowship with the Lord. I liked the wording from the Complete Jewish Bible in relating Jesus’ words to Martha.
Luke 10:41-42 However, the Lord answered her, “Marta, Marta, you are fretting and worrying about so many things! But there is only one thing that is essential. Miryam has chosen the right thing, and it won’t be taken away from her.”
The Lord is declaring that investing in our personal relationship with Him is more important than service. This is not the same as saying that service is not important. It is a statement that says to me that He desires service that results as an outflow of our love for Him in response to His love for us. Our love for Him will grow as we learn to know Him better, and we learn to know Him better as we sit at His feet and allow the Holy Spirit to minister the Word to our hearts and minds.
The church is warned that if they don’t repent, the Lord will remove their candlestick out of “his place.” This indicates that each body of believers has “a place” of service, a purpose in the plan of God. It’s up to that body to serve effectively by guarding their sensitivity to the leading/conviction of the Spirit.
Revelation 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
After these words of rebuke, there is a compliment given to the church. They hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans; God also hates their deeds. I’ve read that these were people who were placing themselves in a special position of honor over the laity—the body of believers (i.e., priests in the Catholic church). Another thought was that they tried to adjust Christianity to the level of the world rather than lifting the world to the level of Christianity. I am sure that the original recipients of these letters knew exactly what was meant.
In my studies I ran across a statement by Vernard Eller (with whom I can find little in agreement regarding this book) that was very interesting regarding the Nicolaitans: “Logically, a "Nicolaitan" would be a follower of "Nicolas"--whoever he might be. But the name "Nicolas" is itself built upon the Greek root found in the very next verse, nikontes, "him who is victorious," or "the victor." And this concept of "victor" is one that is central not only to these letters but also to Revelation as a whole. So whoever the Nicolaitans may have been, and whatever the line they were peddling, the Revealer classifies them with the thousands upon thousands of deceivers who, throughout the history of the church, have claimed to possess the key to personal success and victory. Nicolaitans (victory-promisers) are still very active among us; you can give specific name to those who would tempt you.”
Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
The churches are encouraged to pay attention to what the Spirit is saying in these letters. Even though there are specific words for each church, the letters are meant for all the churches. Jesus is the one dictating these letters and yet He identifies Himself as the Spirit--yet another proof of the oneness of the triune God.
Those who choose to walk in victory in Jesus will be allowed to eat from the tree of life in the place of happiness prepared by God.
This letter is really quite disconcerting. It seems that the people were doing many commendable things. The problem seems to be with the attitude of heart with which they are serving. They are even serving for the right reason (for my name’s sake), but it seems they are serving out of duty rather than love. (This puts me in mind of the Pharisees, etc.) God only wants us to give and serve out of a cheerful heart with love and devotion to Him. As I think on my own service to the Lord, I often fear that I sometimes fall into the trap of serving from duty and expectation rather than from love. It just emphasizes the importance of staying connected to the Lord through prayer and His word so that we are sensitive to the leading/conviction of the Spirit.
Since these letters are written to bodies of believers, I do not believe the Lord is saying that they will lose their salvation. We must also recognize that all “churches” are composed of true believers as well as those who profess faith for whatever reason, but haven’t really placed their faith in Jesus as Lord of their life. I think He is saying that as a body, they will no longer be useful to Him and will therefore lose their identity as a body. Ray Stedman states it this way, “They will lose their ability to shed light.” The church is made up of individuals. Encouragement is given to those who choose to listen to and heed the message being delivered. They are the ones whose fruit prove their position in Jesus. They are the ones who will be rewarded with everlasting life in the presence of the Father.
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