First Love and Revelation 2: A Call to Return to Yeshua

"To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life.."(Rev. 2:7)

Revelation 2:1-7 is addressed to the congregation of Ephesus and reveals Yeshua’s call to return to first love, presents the life of the congregation within a framework of living covenant relationships between the congregation and the Lord. Yeshua is described as the one who walks among the seven congregations. The congregation of Ephesus lives with the awareness that the Lord is present in its midst, knows its ways, and directs its steps, and from this awareness the life of the congregation is shaped.

The congregation of Ephesus is built from people, each of whom has a personal relationship with the Lord, a relationship of faith, faithfulness, and daily walk. Each individual stands before the Lord taking personal responsibility for their relationship with Him. When these individuals gather together, one congregation is formed that stands before Him as a unified body. From this oneness in Yeshua, a life of commitment, partnership, and shared calling is built.

The Lord testifies that He knows the deeds of the congregation, its labor, its perseverance, and its steadfastness along the way. Within this covenantal relationship, Yeshua presents a clear claim that touches the heart of the relationship between Him and the congregation; He states that they have left their first love. This claim directs the congregation to renewed reflection on the focus of the relationship and on the foundation of love that characterized the beginning of its journey.

From this claim comes a call for correction and renewal. The Lord calls the congregation to remember from where it has fallen, and by this He connects it to the beginning of the relationship and to the path on which the walk with Him began. Remembrance leads to repentance, a conscious return to the Lord and to the way of the covenant, and from repentance comes the call to do the first works as a renewed expression of love and faithfulness.

Following this, the Lord presents a warning concerning the identity and mission of the congregation, and He links the bearing of the light to the guarding of the covenant relationship. The mention of the removal of the lampstand emphasizes the responsibility of the congregation to bear the Lord’s light in the world, a living and continual relationship with Him. The lampstand symbolizes the calling of the congregation and its place within God’s plan.

When the Spirit of the Lord is active among us as a congregation, the path is opened before us to stand in faithfulness, to discern the ways of the teaching of the Nicolaitans operating in the world around us (Rev. 2:6), and to live lives of faith that are evident in action and in daily walking with the Lord. In this way, the congregation's choice of a faithful path is strengthened, a path in which faith is evident in daily conduct before the Lord.

The one who overcomes is described as the one who perseveres in walking with the Lord over time. This perseverance flows from a personal relationship with the Messiah and receives expression within the life of the congregation through continued standing in the path that was given. The promise of the tree of life sets before the congregation a destination of covenant life full of life, flowing from continual closeness to God.

Thus the passage paints a picture of the congregation of Ephesus as a congregation living before the Lord within relationships of covenant, responsibility, and perseverance, built of individuals who hold to a personal relationship with the Messiah, called to the renewal of first love, responding to the call to remember and return, and bearing the light of the lampstand in faithfulness.

"To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life.."(Rev. 2:7)