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1. The Ephesan Candlestick: The Apostolic Church Age (Peter)
The Ephesan Church age started on the day of Pentecost around 33 AD. Ephesus in the Greek is of uncertain determination but may mean “discoverer,” in which this is the first church age to “discover” the meanings of Christianity. It was Peter who first received the Holy Ghost and delivered the first sermon. Thus, according to Christ Jesus, Peter became the first rock in which he would build his church (Matthew 16:18), on which the gospel then spread.
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my names sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 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.” –Revelation 2:1-5
The churches are ideally seven church ages because Christ walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, which are the seven churches. The stars exist in seven constellations, Gods messengers in the palm of his right hand. These constellations are made up of each individual Christian who has his candlestick burning. In the biblical metaphor of the lamp; the lamp represents our body, the oil represents that which keeps the flame burning, and the flame represents spiritual light, which is faith, hope, and charity. The oil in our lamps is replenished with good fellowship, worship, revivals, church services, good works, the word of God, etc. As Christians we ought not only strive to keep our lamps trim and burning, but also be vibrant enough that we make a difference in the lives of others as well. Because this church age lost its first love (oil), the Lord also threatened to extinguish their candlestick (the flame). These problems were made evident in scripture as the Apostle Paul said that “all they which are in Asia be turned away from me” –2 Timothy 1:15. The angel is the “messenger” and is symbolic of he who is delivering the Gospel, which could be pastors, evangelists, teachers, etc. Note the words “tried them which say they are apostles,” this is the only reference to “apostles” in all the messages to the churches indicating that this is the first church age. This passage opens up with all the virtues that the apostolic church had going for them including the virtue of not being able to bear them which are evil. The Apostle John was the last messenger to the Ephesian Church Age, who “could not bear,” “Nicolaitanes,” such as Diotrephes (3Jn 1:9).
“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. 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.” –Revelation 2:6-7
In Acts 6:5 we find one of the original seven deacons by the name of Nicholas, who started a sect called the Nicolaitanes, who set up a religious hierarchy to control the spiritual development of the common people, giving them absolute control over the laity. Their philosophy on man’s spiritual and physical natures implied that they were free to commit sexual immorality and over indulge themselves in every way. The Nicolaitanes deliberately made lewdness and immoral behavior a distinguishing characteristic of their lifestyle. The Lord in scripture considers it a virtue to abstain from this kind of doctrine. It should also be noted today that any Christian denomination where people behave like the Nicolaitanes should at all cost avoided, especially the sects that prey on the virtue of women and children, otherwise known as cults. The Lord will emphasize the phrase “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” over and over again in these passages. Thus indicating that we are suppose to have a spiritual sense to what the Lord is saying in our time, unlike the Nicolaitanes, who desired the people to have their ears tuned into the priests. This gives much responsibility to the believer not to believe everything a fellow Christian says, but to search the scriptures, and to cleave to what the spirit and the word speaks to the heart. The tree of the Garden of Eden symbolizes Gods desire for this life to be all about choices and decisions, in which the hope of this outline is to spur its readers to kindle a good spiritual flame in this generation.
The Ephesan Church age started on the day of Pentecost around 33 AD. Ephesus in the Greek is of uncertain determination but may mean “discoverer,” in which this is the first church age to “discover” the meanings of Christianity. It was Peter who first received the Holy Ghost and delivered the first sermon. Thus, according to Christ Jesus, Peter became the first rock in which he would build his church (Matthew 16:18), on which the gospel then spread.
“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my names sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 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.” –Revelation 2:1-5
The churches are ideally seven church ages because Christ walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, which are the seven churches. The stars exist in seven constellations, Gods messengers in the palm of his right hand. These constellations are made up of each individual Christian who has his candlestick burning. In the biblical metaphor of the lamp; the lamp represents our body, the oil represents that which keeps the flame burning, and the flame represents spiritual light, which is faith, hope, and charity. The oil in our lamps is replenished with good fellowship, worship, revivals, church services, good works, the word of God, etc. As Christians we ought not only strive to keep our lamps trim and burning, but also be vibrant enough that we make a difference in the lives of others as well. Because this church age lost its first love (oil), the Lord also threatened to extinguish their candlestick (the flame). These problems were made evident in scripture as the Apostle Paul said that “all they which are in Asia be turned away from me” –2 Timothy 1:15. The angel is the “messenger” and is symbolic of he who is delivering the Gospel, which could be pastors, evangelists, teachers, etc. Note the words “tried them which say they are apostles,” this is the only reference to “apostles” in all the messages to the churches indicating that this is the first church age. This passage opens up with all the virtues that the apostolic church had going for them including the virtue of not being able to bear them which are evil. The Apostle John was the last messenger to the Ephesian Church Age, who “could not bear,” “Nicolaitanes,” such as Diotrephes (3Jn 1:9).
“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. 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.” –Revelation 2:6-7
In Acts 6:5 we find one of the original seven deacons by the name of Nicholas, who started a sect called the Nicolaitanes, who set up a religious hierarchy to control the spiritual development of the common people, giving them absolute control over the laity. Their philosophy on man’s spiritual and physical natures implied that they were free to commit sexual immorality and over indulge themselves in every way. The Nicolaitanes deliberately made lewdness and immoral behavior a distinguishing characteristic of their lifestyle. The Lord in scripture considers it a virtue to abstain from this kind of doctrine. It should also be noted today that any Christian denomination where people behave like the Nicolaitanes should at all cost avoided, especially the sects that prey on the virtue of women and children, otherwise known as cults. The Lord will emphasize the phrase “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” over and over again in these passages. Thus indicating that we are suppose to have a spiritual sense to what the Lord is saying in our time, unlike the Nicolaitanes, who desired the people to have their ears tuned into the priests. This gives much responsibility to the believer not to believe everything a fellow Christian says, but to search the scriptures, and to cleave to what the spirit and the word speaks to the heart. The tree of the Garden of Eden symbolizes Gods desire for this life to be all about choices and decisions, in which the hope of this outline is to spur its readers to kindle a good spiritual flame in this generation.
