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The Temple Tax
24After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
25“Yes, he does,” he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
26“From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27“But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Here is Scripture with a command given by Jesus. Here He directs Peter to a specific task. Just as every Christian is not to go to the Sea of Galilee to get a fish with a coin in its mouth the instructions given to the church in Ephesus is specific to them. There is something to be gleaned from this instruction, yet we must be careful not to read any presuppositions into the text.
4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
This is the instruction given by Jesus to the Ephesians. Here Jesus says, "I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place."
In calling the Ephesian believers to repentance Christ was asking them to change their attitude as well as their affections. They were to continue their service not simply because it was right but because they loved Christ. He warned them that if they did not respond, the light of their witness in Ephesus would be extinguished: I will … remove your lampstand from its place. The church continued and was later the scene of a major church council, but after the 5th century both the church and the city declined. The immediate area has been uninhabited since the 14th century.
This is from the Bible Knowledge Commentary
I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place: this “coming” of Christ is not the final coming in glory, but his immediate coming to punish these unfaithful believers. In certain languages, if Christ is considered the focus of attention, come should be translated as “go”; for example, “I will go to you.” The threat remove your lampstand means the end of this community of believers as a church. The figurative language must not be abandoned in translation. The question as to where the lampstand will be moved to is not addressed by the text. See 1:12 on the translation of lampstand. Its place may also be expressed as “where it was standing.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
Never forget (Remember) how far you have fallen into sin! You must stop sinning and live your life as you did when you first believed in me. If you continue sinning, I will come (go) to you and punish you by taking away your lampstand from where it has been standing (situated).
This is from The Handbook on the Revelation of John
1. Ephesus—famed for the temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the world. For three years Paul labored there. He subsequently ordained Timothy superintending overseer or bishop there: probably his charge was but of a temporary nature. John, towards the close of his life, took it as the center from which he superintended the province.
remove thy candlestick out of his place—I will take away the Church from Ephesus and remove it elsewhere. “It is removal of the candlestick, not extinction of the candle, which is threatened here; judgment for some, but that very judgment the occasion of mercy for others. So it has been. The seat of the Church has been changed, but the Church itself survives. What the East has lost, the West has gained. One who lately visited Ephesus found only three Christians there, and these so ignorant as scarcely to have heard the names of St. Paul or St. John” [Trench].
This is from the Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
This is a partial response to evangelist-7
I have started with the Ephesian church in revelation because it is relevant to the other thread and have given interpretations that show Jesus was not removing salvation from individuals.
If you want to further the discussion, please present your case.
24After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
25“Yes, he does,” he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”
26“From others,” Peter answered.
“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27“But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Here is Scripture with a command given by Jesus. Here He directs Peter to a specific task. Just as every Christian is not to go to the Sea of Galilee to get a fish with a coin in its mouth the instructions given to the church in Ephesus is specific to them. There is something to be gleaned from this instruction, yet we must be careful not to read any presuppositions into the text.
4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
This is the instruction given by Jesus to the Ephesians. Here Jesus says, "I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place."
In calling the Ephesian believers to repentance Christ was asking them to change their attitude as well as their affections. They were to continue their service not simply because it was right but because they loved Christ. He warned them that if they did not respond, the light of their witness in Ephesus would be extinguished: I will … remove your lampstand from its place. The church continued and was later the scene of a major church council, but after the 5th century both the church and the city declined. The immediate area has been uninhabited since the 14th century.
This is from the Bible Knowledge Commentary
I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place: this “coming” of Christ is not the final coming in glory, but his immediate coming to punish these unfaithful believers. In certain languages, if Christ is considered the focus of attention, come should be translated as “go”; for example, “I will go to you.” The threat remove your lampstand means the end of this community of believers as a church. The figurative language must not be abandoned in translation. The question as to where the lampstand will be moved to is not addressed by the text. See 1:12 on the translation of lampstand. Its place may also be expressed as “where it was standing.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
Never forget (Remember) how far you have fallen into sin! You must stop sinning and live your life as you did when you first believed in me. If you continue sinning, I will come (go) to you and punish you by taking away your lampstand from where it has been standing (situated).
This is from The Handbook on the Revelation of John
1. Ephesus—famed for the temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the world. For three years Paul labored there. He subsequently ordained Timothy superintending overseer or bishop there: probably his charge was but of a temporary nature. John, towards the close of his life, took it as the center from which he superintended the province.
remove thy candlestick out of his place—I will take away the Church from Ephesus and remove it elsewhere. “It is removal of the candlestick, not extinction of the candle, which is threatened here; judgment for some, but that very judgment the occasion of mercy for others. So it has been. The seat of the Church has been changed, but the Church itself survives. What the East has lost, the West has gained. One who lately visited Ephesus found only three Christians there, and these so ignorant as scarcely to have heard the names of St. Paul or St. John” [Trench].
This is from the Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
This is a partial response to evangelist-7
I have started with the Ephesian church in revelation because it is relevant to the other thread and have given interpretations that show Jesus was not removing salvation from individuals.
If you want to further the discussion, please present your case.
