English · KJV

Revelation 2:7

“The Letter to the Church in Ephesus”Revelation 2:1–7

King James Version
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.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
He that hath G2192 an ear G3775, let him hear G191 what G5101 the Spirit G4151 saith G3004 unto the churches G1577; To him G846 that overcometh G3528 will I give G1325 to eat G5315 of G1537 the tree G3586 of life G2222, which G3739 is G2076 in G1722 the midst G3319 of the paradise G3857 of God G2316.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
Let him that hath an eare, heare, what the Spirite saith vnto the Churches, To him that ouercommeth, will I giue to eate of the tree of life which is in the middes of the Paradise of God.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
He who is having an ear--let him hear what the Spirit saith to the assemblies: To him who is overcoming--I will give to him to eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
28 Greek words
  1. ὁhoThe [one]G3588T-NSMDefinite article Nominative Singular Masculine
  2. ἔχωνechōnhavingG2192V-PAP-NSMVerb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
  3. οὖςousan earG3775N-ASNNoun Accusative Singular Neuter
  4. ἀκουσάτωakousatōhe should hearG191V-AAM-3SVerb Aorist Active Imperative 3rd Singular
  5. τίtiwhatG5101I-ASNInterrogative pronoun Accusative Singular Neuter
  6. τὸtotheG3588T-NSNDefinite article Nominative Singular Neuter
  7. πνεῦμαpneumaSpiritG4151N-NSNNoun Nominative Singular Neuter
  8. λέγειlegeisaysG3004V-PAI-3SVerb Present Active Indicative 3rd Singular
  9. ταῖςtaisto theG3588T-DPFDefinite article Dative Plural Feminine
  10. ἐκκλησίαις·ekklēsiaischurchesG1577N-DPFNoun Dative Plural Feminine
  11. τῷtōTo the [one]G3588T-DSMDefinite article Dative Singular Masculine
  12. νικῶντιnikōntiovercomingG3528V-PAP-DSMVerb Present Active Participle Dative Singular Masculine
  13. δώσωdōsōI will giveG1325V-FAI-1SVerb Future Active Indicative 1st Singular
  14. αὐτῷautōto himG846P-DSMPersonal pronoun Dative Singular Masculine
  15. φαγεῖνphageinto eatG5315V-AANVerb Aorist Active Infinitive
  16. ἐκekofG1537PREPPreposition
  17. τοῦtoutheG3588T-GSNDefinite article Genitive Singular Neuter
  18. ξύλουxuloutreeG3586N-GSNNoun Genitive Singular Neuter
  19. τῆςtēs[the]G3588T-GSFDefinite article Genitive Singular Feminine
  20. ζωῆςzōēsof lifeG2222N-GSFNoun Genitive Singular Feminine
  21. ὅhowhichG3739R-NSNRelative pronoun Nominative Singular Neuter
  22. ἐστινestinisG1510V-PAI-3SVerb Present Active Indicative 3rd Singular
  23. ἐνeninG1722PREPPreposition
  24. μέσῶmesōmidstG3319A-DSNAdjective Dative Singular Neuter
  25. τῷtōtheG3588T-DSMDefinite article Dative Singular Masculine
  26. παραδείσῳparadeisōparadiseG3857N-DSMNoun Dative Singular Masculine
  27. τοῦtou[the]G3588T-GSMDefinite article Genitive Singular Masculine
  28. θεοῦtheouof GodG2316N-GSM-TNoun Genitive Singular Masculine Title
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

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Study this verse

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This verse

Everyone with an ear is to hear what the Spirit says to the churches, and Christ promises the one who overcomes that he will eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear”

A call to listen with understanding and obedience.

“what the Spirit saith unto the churches;”

The Holy Spirit speaks Christ’s words, and the message is for every church.

“To him that overcometh”

The promise belongs to the believer who perseveres in faith and conquers by it.

“will I give to eat of the tree of life,”

Christ himself gives the eternal life that was lost in Eden.

“which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

The tree stands at the centre of God’s garden, and the overcomer has full access to it in God’s presence.

Passage studyRevelation 2:1–7

The Church That Left Its First Love

1Unto 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; 2I 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: 3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5Remember 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. 6But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He 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.

Summary

The first of the seven letters in Revelation goes to the church at Ephesus, from the risen Christ who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden candlesticks. He knows this church well. It works hard and endures, it refuses to bear evil men, it has tested false apostles and found them liars, and it hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans, as he does. Yet he has one thing against it: it has left its first love. He calls it to remember how far it has fallen, to repent and to do the first works, and he warns that otherwise he will come and remove its candlestick. The letter closes with a word for every church and a promise that the one who overcomes will eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God.

Christ who holds the stars and walks among the candlesticks

This is the first of seven letters that the risen Christ sends through John to churches in the Roman province of Asia (Revelation 2–3). John has just seen him in glory (Revelation 1), standing among seven golden candlesticks with seven stars in his right hand (Revelation 1:12–20). Christ explained the vision himself. The stars are the angels of the seven churches, “and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20). Each letter follows a similar pattern. It is addressed to the angel of a church, Christ describes himself in words drawn from that first vision, he praises what he can and rebukes what he must, he calls the church to act, and he makes a promise to the one who overcomes.

“These things saith” is the formula of a prophet bringing a message from God, and it marks everything that follows as the word of Christ himself. He calls himself the one who “holdeth the seven stars in his right hand.” The verb kratéō means to use strength to take hold of something or to keep it. The right hand is the hand of power, so the leaders of the churches are held by Christ, under his authority and in his keeping, and they belong to him.

He also “walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.” The verb peripatéō means to walk or walk about, and figuratively to live or conduct oneself. Christ moves among his churches, present with them and watching over them, so he knows exactly how each one is doing. That is why his next words to Ephesus are “I know.” His presence is a comfort, because every church and every leader is under his eye and in his hand. It is also a summons to account, because all that a church does lies open before him.

Paul calls him “the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18), and says that God gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body (Ephesians 1:22–23). He is the one who said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18), and who promised his disciples, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). Here we see him keeping that promise, walking among his churches. He is the great shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20–21), he makes intercession for his people (Romans 8:34), and he loved the church and gave himself for it, to present it to himself holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25–27).

Who is the angel of the church?

The angel is the church’s messenger, most likely the human leader or representative who would receive Christ’s letter and convey it to the whole congregation. The word ángelos comes from a verb meaning to bring tidings. It is the usual word for an angel, and it is also used of human messengers, and since these letters deal with the life of real congregations, a human messenger fits them well. Christ speaks to the church through its leader, and he holds that leader in his right hand, so the leader answers to him and is kept by him.

Ephesus and its church

Ephesus was among the greatest cities of the Roman province of Asia, in what is now Turkey. It was a major port and a centre of trade, and it was home to the huge temple of Artemis, the goddess the KJV calls Diana, whose worshippers cried out, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Magic and the worship of the emperor were part of the city’s life as well.

The church there had a rich history. Paul preached in Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila and Apollos served there, and Paul later stayed for a long ministry in which the gospel won ground against the city’s idols and magic (Acts 18–19). Timothy later served there, guarding the church’s teaching (1 Timothy 1:3), and tradition holds that John himself lived in Ephesus in his later years. Revelation was most likely written in the late first century, under the emperor Domitian, when believers in the city faced growing pressure to take part in Roman religion. A city so full of ideas and religions also brought false teachers to the church’s door, and Christ commends the church for seeing through them.

What Christ praises in Ephesus

Christ begins with praise, and a good deal of it, before he says a word of rebuke. “I know thy works” uses the verb eídō, properly “to see”, and so to know. He has seen everything this church does, and he names it. Their works (érgon) are their deeds, the faith they put into practice, and James teaches that living faith is known by such works (James 2:17). Their labour (kópos) is toil that wears a person out. Their patience (hypomonḗ) is steadfast, hopeful endurance, the strength to stay under a load and keep going.

They also “canst not bear them which are evil.” The verb bastázō means to lift or carry, and so to bear or put up with. This church refused to tolerate wicked men in its fellowship and stood against the evil they practised, out of a commitment to holiness. The same verb comes back in verse 3, “and hast borne”, so the church that refused to bear evil men has borne a great deal for Christ.

Testing those who say they are apostles

Some men had come to Ephesus calling themselves apostles, and the church “tried” them. The verb peirázō means to test or try. The church examined these men, their teaching, their character and the fruit of their lives, and found them to be liars (pseudḗs). The early church had many such visitors, claiming authority from God while spreading false doctrine or using believers for gain, and testing them protected the church from error and from leaders who would have manipulated it.

Scripture warned of them repeatedly. Jesus spoke of false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing and are known by their fruits (Matthew 7:15–20), and Paul warned the elders of this very church that after he left, men would come in among them and arise from among them to draw disciples away (Acts 20:29–30). Paul wrote of false apostles who transform themselves into apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13–15), Peter of false teachers who would arise among believers (2 Peter 2:1–3), and John told believers to try the spirits whether they are of God (1 John 4:1). Paul prayed that love would abound in knowledge and judgment, so that believers could approve things that are excellent (Philippians 1:9–10). The Ephesians did exactly that, and Christ praises them for it.

Christ himself is the measure of every claim to speak for God. He knew all men and what was in them (John 2:24–25), he exposed the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23), and Hebrews calls him “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession” (Hebrews 3:1). The discernment of this church was his own power at work in his people.

Labour for his name without fainting

Verse 3 gathers up the praise. They have borne hardship, they have patience, the same hypomonḗ as in verse 2, and they have laboured. The verb kopiáō means to grow tired, and so to work hard, to the point of weariness. The phrase ou kámnō, “hast not fainted”, says they have kept on without giving up. They worked until they were weary, and still they held on.

They did it “for my name’s sake” (diá to ónoma mou), out of devotion and loyalty to Jesus himself, for his honour and for the spread of his message. Jesus told his disciples they would be hated of all men for his name’s sake (Matthew 10:22). In a city given to Artemis and the emperor, following him brought social and economic pressure as well as the steady struggle against idolatry and false teaching.

Scripture speaks to such weary workers again and again. Paul promises that those who keep on in well doing will reap in due season (Galatians 6:9), and he calls believers to be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). Hebrews says that we have need of patience, so that after doing the will of God we might receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36), and James says that the trying of our faith works patience (James 1:3–4). Hebrews also calls us to run with patience the race set before us, looking to Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross (Hebrews 12:1–2).

Christ is the great example of what this church did. He bore the weight of the world’s sin on the cross, he was obedient unto death (Philippians 2:8), he set his face toward Jerusalem, and he finished the work the Father gave him, saying, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The endurance he praises in Ephesus is a share in his own, and his Spirit is its source.

Thou hast left thy first love

Then comes the turn. “Nevertheless” translates allá, the ordinary word for “but”, here setting what follows sharply against all the praise before it. The Greek of “I have somewhat against thee” is echō kata sou, “I have against thee”, and the KJV supplies “somewhat” to make the English read. It is a charge, spoken by the one who walks among the churches and sees what lies beneath their works.

The charge is that “thou hast left thy first love.” The verb aphíēmi means to send away, let go, leave or forsake. The word for love is agápē, the love that seeks the good of the one loved, the love God shows us and calls us to show. The word for first is prōtos, the same word as in “the first works” of verse 5, and it means first in time or order and also foremost in rank. Both senses fit here. This was the love they had at the beginning, and it was the love that belongs first, ahead of everything else they did.

Their works, their labour, their patience and their testing of false teachers were all still going on. What had gone was the love that should have driven them. Faithful work and sound teaching matter to Christ, as verses 2 and 3 show, and he still holds the loss of love against a church that has them. Paul says that what avails in Christ is “faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6), and the works of Ephesus had lost the love they were meant to work by.

What is the first love?

The first love is the devotion to Christ that marked this church when it first believed, a love full of gratitude and joy and a deep desire to please him, together with the love for one another that grew from it. It is a love of the heart, the mind and the will, set on Christ above all else. Jesus put love for God at the head of all the commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38).

That love was always a response to his. We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8), and the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5). Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), and he laid down his. His love for his people stays constant, and it is what calls Ephesus back.

How can a busy, faithful church lose its first love?

A church loses its first love when its work goes on while the love behind the work cools. The letter names the loss and leaves its cause unspoken, but the church’s own strengths point to the ways it can happen. Busyness in ministry can become an end in itself and crowd out time with God. Defending the truth, which Ephesus did so well, can harden into a critical spirit in which love for truth displaces love for the one who is the truth, and the long fight against false apostles and pagan pressure may have hardened hearts here. Prayer and service can settle into routine and duty. Comfort, success and security can quietly take the place in our affections that belongs to Christ. Through all of it the outward form remains, and Christ, who sees beneath it, names what is missing.

Remember, repent and do the first works

Christ gives a way back in three steps. “Remember” translates mnēmoneúō, to call to mind. The church is to look back and see “from whence thou art fallen”, and the verb there, ekpíptō, means to drop away or fall off. They had come down from a higher place, and they needed to see it. Paul once asked another church, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 5:7).

“Repent” is metanoéō, to think differently afterwards, to reconsider. It is a change of mind that turns the whole person away from whatever has crowded Christ out and back to him, and it shows in changed priorities and conduct. Peter preached, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Repentance answers mercy. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), so the way back is opened by his grace.

“Do the first works” puts repentance into practice. The works are érgon, the same word as the works Christ praised in verse 2. Ephesus still had works, and Christ asks for the first ones, the eager and loving deeds of its early days: devoted prayer and worship, service done out of love for Christ, and selfless love for others. Regaining the first love is an active turning back to Christ, made in the strength of his Spirit, and these works are where it shows.

Then comes the warning. “Or else” is ei dè mḗ(ge), “but if not”. “I will come unto thee quickly” joins érchomai, to come, with tachý, quickly. The words speak of a swift coming in judgment on this one church, which need not be his final return. He would “remove thy candlestick out of his place”. The verb kinéō means to move or remove, ek means out of, and tópos means place, so the candlestick would be taken right out of where it stands. Then he repeats the condition, “except thou repent.” The judgment can be averted, because what Christ wants is a church restored.

What would it mean to lose the candlestick?

Losing the candlestick would mean the church at Ephesus ceasing to stand before Christ as his light in that city. The candlestick, lychnía, is a lampstand, and Christ has said that the candlesticks are the churches. To remove it from its place would take away the church’s privilege of bearing his light there. That could mean the loss of its spiritual authority, of its influence and witness, or even of its life as a gathered church. Christ himself is the light of the world (John 8:12), and a lampstand holds a light that comes from elsewhere. A church that lets its love for him go has less and less of his light to show, so the warning concerns his glory and his mission as much as the church’s own life. A church’s place as a light bearer depends on its faithfulness to him.

Who were the Nicolaitans?

The Nicolaitans were a group within or close to the early church whose practices Christ hated. Scripture names them twice, here and in the letter to Pergamos, so their exact identity and teaching remain uncertain. Their name, Nikolaḯtēs, may come from the Greek words for “conquer” and “people”, giving “conqueror of the people”. Their deeds most likely involved compromise with pagan life: joining in idol feasts, eating food sacrificed to idols, sexual immorality, and the claim that believers are free from God’s moral law. In the letter to Pergamos they stand beside those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who led God’s people into idolatry and fornication (Revelation 2:14–15).

In a city like Ephesus, where festivals, trade guilds and social life were bound up with idol worship, such teaching blurred the line between faith in Christ and the city’s religion, and it could pass itself off as Christian liberty. Jesus warned that many would come to deceive (Matthew 24:4–5). Ephesus saw through this deception as it had seen through the false apostles.

Hating what Christ hates

The verb miséō means to hate or detest. What Christ hates, and the Ephesians with him, is the deeds of the Nicolaitans, their érgon, the same word as the works he praised in verse 2 and the first works he asked for in verse 5. Their hatred is aimed at what the Nicolaitans did, the sin and its fruit.

Christ’s words “which I also hate” show that there is a righteous hatred, one that matches God’s own holiness. Those who love the LORD hate evil (Psalm 97:10). Amos calls God’s people to hate the evil and love the good (Amos 5:15), and Paul tells believers to abhor what is evil and cleave to what is good (Romans 12:9). The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and at the cross God made the sinless Christ to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). There God’s hatred of sin and his love for sinners meet.

This praise comes right after the rebuke, and the two belong together. The church that hated what Christ hates had let go of the love it had at first, and the letter calls it to hold both, hating evil and loving him.

The tree of life in the paradise of God

He that hath an ear

This call is repeated in every one of the seven letters. To have an ear is to be able to hear, and Christ asks for listening that understands and obeys. The message comes from “the Spirit”, the Holy Spirit, who carries Christ’s words to his people and guides them into all truth (John 16:13). It goes “unto the churches”, in the plural, so what Christ says to Ephesus he says to every church, ours included.

To him that overcometh

The promise is to “him that overcometh”. The verb nikáō means to conquer, prevail or get the victory. It describes a struggle won against sin, the world, false teaching and persecution, and the victory comes through faith in Christ. John writes that whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and that our faith is the victory (1 John 5:4–5). The saints in Revelation overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (Revelation 12:11), and Christ promises the overcomer a place with him on his throne (Revelation 3:21).

Our victory is a share in his. He told his disciples that he had overcome the world (John 16:33), and on the cross he spoiled principalities and powers and triumphed over them (Colossians 2:15). For Ephesus, overcoming meant enduring as it already did, and also coming back to its first love.

What the overcomer is given

“Will I give” uses dídōmi, to give, and Christ himself is the giver. The overcomer eats “of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” The tree of life stood in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). After the fall God sent man out of the garden and set cherubims and a flaming sword to keep the way to the tree (Genesis 3:22–24). Now Christ promises to give back what was lost there. Eating of the tree pictures eternal life, God’s own provision for his people, and unbroken fellowship with him. The tree appears again at the end of the Bible, beside the river of the water of life in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1–5).

Paradise, parádeisos, is a word of Eastern origin for a park or garden, and here it means an Eden-like place of delight. “The paradise of God” is his own garden, where his people live in his presence in peace and joy, and “in the midst” places the tree at its heart, open to the overcomer. What is promised restores Eden and surpasses it, with a perfected fellowship with God that Christ has made possible.

Christ is the source of this life as well as its giver. He said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). By his blood we have boldness to enter the holiest by a new and living way (Hebrews 10:19–20), so the way to the tree that was shut in Eden is open again through him.

The Lord who walks among his churches

This letter shows us who Christ is to his church. He holds its leaders in his right hand and walks among its congregations, and he knows each one by its works. He sees the faithfulness of weary people who have laboured for his name, and he praises it before he says anything else. He also sees what lies beneath the work, and he cares enough to say so plainly. Speaking as the faithful and true witness (Revelation 3:14), he tells a hardworking, sound church that it has left its first love.

His rebuke comes with a way home. “Remember”, “repent” and “do the first works” are the words of a Lord who wants his people back, and “except thou repent” leaves the door open. Our love for him began with his love for us, so the way back rests on his grace. The letter ends with a promise for every believer who has an ear to hear: the tree of life in the paradise of God, given by Christ himself to the one who overcomes.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Revelation 2:1–7. He set out his notes in a three-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 7 verses
Passage under commentRevelation 2:1–7
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details

We have here,

I.The inscription, where observe,

1.To whom the first of these epistles is directed: To the church of Ephesus, a famous church planted by the apostle Paul (Acts 19), and afterwards watered and governed by John, who had his residence very much there. We can hardly think that Timothy was the angel, or sole pastor and bishop, of this church at this time, - that he who was of a very excellent spirit, and naturally cared for the good state of the souls of the people, should become so remiss as to deserve the rebukes given to the ministry of this church. Observe,

2.From whom this epistle to Ephesus was sent; and here we have one of those titles that were given to Christ in his appearance to John in the chapter foregoing: He that holds the seven stars in his right hand, and walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, Revelation 1:13, Revelation 1:16. This title consists of two parts: - (1.) He that holds the stars in his right hand. The ministers of Christ are under his special care and protection. It is the honour of God that he knows the number of the stars, calls them by their names, binds the sweet influences of Pleiades and looses the bands of Orion; and it is the honour of the Lord Jesus Christ that the ministers of the gospel, who are greater blessings to the church than the stars are to the world, are in his hand. He directs all their motions; he disposes of them into their several orbs; he fills them with light and influence; he supports them, or else they would soon be falling stars; they are instruments in his hand, and all the good they do is done by his hand with them. (2.) He walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks. This intimates his relation to his churches, as the other his relation to his ministers. Christ is in an intimate manner present and conversant with his churches; he knows and observes their state; he takes pleasure in them, as a man does to walk in his garden. Though Christ is in heaven, he walks in the midst of his churches on earth, observing what is amiss in them and what it is that they want. This is a great encouragement to those who have the care of the churches, that the Lord Jesus has graven them upon the palms of his hands.

II.The contents of the epistle, in which, as in most of those that follow, we have,

1.The commendation Christ gave this church, ministers and members, which he always brings in by declaring that he knows their works, and therefore both his commendation and reprehension are to be strictly regarded; for he does not in either speak at a venture: he knows what he says. Now the church of Ephesus is commended,

(1.)For their diligence in duty: I know thy works, and thy labour, Revelation 2:2. This may more immediately relate to the ministry of this church, which had been laborious and diligent. Dignity calls for duty. Those that are stars in Christ's hand had need to be always in motion, dispensing light to all about them. For my name's sake thou hast laboured, and hast not fainted, Revelation 2:3. Christ keeps an account of every day's work, and every hour's work, his servants do for him, and their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.

(2.)For their patience in suffering: Thy labour and thy patience, Revelation 2:2. It is not enough that we be diligent, but we must be patient, and endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ. Ministers must have and exercise great patience, and no Christian can be without it. There must be bearing patience, to endure the injuries of men and the rebukes of Providence; and there must be waiting patience, that, when they have done the will of God, they may receive the promise: Thou hast borne, and hast patience, Revelation 2:3. We shall meet with such difficulties in our way and work as require patience to go on and finish well.

(3.)For their zeal against what was evil: Thou canst not bear those that are evil, Revelation 2:2. It consists very well with Christian patience not to dispense with sin, much less allow it; though we must show all meekness to men, yet we must show a just zeal against their sins. This their zeal was the more to be commended because it was according to knowledge, a discreet zeal upon a previous trial made of the pretences, practices, and tenets of evil men: Thou hast tried those that say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars. True zeal proceeds with discretion; none should be cast off till they be tried. Some had risen up in this church that pretended to be not ordinary ministers, but apostles; and their pretensions had been examined but found to be vain and false. Those that impartially search after truth may come to the knowledge of it.

2.The rebuke given to this church: Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, Revelation 2:4. Those that have much good in them may have something much amiss in them, and our Lord Jesus, as an impartial Master and Judge, takes notice of both; though he first observes what is good, and is most ready to mention this, yet he also observes what is amiss, and will faithfully reprove them for it. The sin that Christ charged this church with was their decay and declension in holy love and zeal: Thou hast left thy first love; not left and forsaken the object of it, but lost the fervent degree of it that at first appeared. Observe,

(1.)The first affections of men towards Christ, and holiness, and heaven, are usually lively and warm. God remembered the love of Israel's espousals, when she would follow him withersoever he went.

(2.)These lively affections will abate and cool if great care be not taken, and diligence used, to preserve them in constant exercise.

(3.)Christ is grieved and displeased with his people when he sees them grow remiss and cold towards him, and he will one way or other make them sensible that he does not take it well from them.

3.The advice and counsel given them from Christ: Remember therefore whence thou hast fallen, and repent, etc.

(1.)Those that have lost their first love must remember whence they have fallen; they must compare their present with their former state, and consider how much better it was with them then than now, how much peace, strength, purity, and pleasure they have lost, by leaving their first love, - how much more comfortably they could lie down and sleep at night, - how much more cheerfully they could awake in the morning, - how much better they could bear afflictions, and how much more becomingly they could enjoy the favours of Providence, - how much easier the thoughts of death were to them, and how much stronger their desires and hopes of heaven.

(2.)They must repent. They must be inwardly grieved and ashamed for their sinful declension; they must blame themselves, and shame themselves, for it, and humbly confess it in the sight of God, and judge and condemn themselves for it.

(3.)They must return and do their first works. They must as it were begin again, go back step by step, till they come to the place where they took the first false step; they must endeavour to revive and recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and must pray as earnestly, and watch as diligently, as they did when they first set out in the ways of God.

4.This good advice is enforced and urged,

(1.)By a severe threatening, if it should be neglected: I will come unto thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of its place. If the presence of Christ's grace and Spirit be slighted, we may expect the presence of his displeasure. He will come in a way of judgment, and that suddenly and surprisingly, upon impenitent churches and sinners; he will unchurch them, take away his gospel, his ministers, and his ordinances from them, and what will the churches or the angels of the churches do when the gospel is removed?

(2.)By an encouraging mention that is made of what was yet good among them: This thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate, Revelation 2:6. "Though thou hast declined in thy love to what is good, yet thou retainest thy hatred to what is evil, especially to what is grossly so." The Nicolaitans were a loose sect who sheltered themselves under the name of Christianity. They held hateful doctrines, and they were guilty of hateful deeds, hateful to Christ and to all true Christians; and it is mentioned to the praise of the church of Ephesus that they had a just zeal and abhorrence of those wicked doctrines and practices. An indifference of spirit between truth and error, good and evil, may be called charity and meekness, but it is not pleasing to Christ. Our Saviour subjoins this kind commendation to his severe threatening, to make the advice more effectual.

III.We have the conclusion of this epistle, in which, as in those that follow, we have,

1.A call to attention: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Observe,

(1.)What is written in the scriptures is spoken by the Spirit of God.

(2.)What is said to one church concerns all the churches, in every place and age.

(3.)We can never employ our faculty of hearing better than in hearkening to the word of God: and we deserve to lose it if we do not employ it to this purpose. Those who will not hear the call of God now will wish at length they had never had a capacity of hearing any thing at all.

2.A promise of great mercy to those who overcome. The Christian life is a warfare against sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh. It is not enough that we engage in this warfare, but we must pursue it to the end, we must never yield to our spiritual enemies, but fight the good fight, till we gain the victory, as all persevering Christians shall do; and the warfare and victory shall have a glorious triumph and reward. That which is here promised to the victors is that they shall eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. They shall have that perfection of holiness, and that confirmation therein, which Adam would have had if he had gone well through the course of his trial: he would then have eaten of the tree of life which was in the midst of paradise, and this would have been the sacrament of confirmation to him in his holy and happy state; so all who persevere in their Christian trial and warfare shall derive from Christ, as the tree of life, perfection and confirmation in holiness and happiness in the paradise of God; not in the earthly paradise, but the heavenly, Revelation 22:1, Revelation 22:2.

Historical interpretation

Six Centuries of Reception

12 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

12 quotes · AD 220–804
Ante-NicenePost-NiceneEarly Medieval
200300400500600700800

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 220TertullianAnte-NiceneSourceON FLIGHT IN TIME OF PERSECUTION 1.5
In still another sense, a persecution can be considered as a contest. Who sets the terms of any contest if not the one who provides the crown and the prizes? You will find the terms of this contest decreed in the Apocalypse, where he proclaims the rewards of victory, especially for those who really come through persecution victorious, and in their victorious struggle have fought not merely against flesh and blood but against the spirits of wickedness. Obviously, then, the superintendent of the games and the one who sets the prize is the one who decides who is the winner of the contest. The essence, then, of a persecution is the glory of God, whether he approves or condemns, raises up or casts down.
d. AD 220TertullianAnte-NiceneSourceOn Repentance
Why should I add more touching these two planks (as it were) of human salvation, caring more for the business of the pen than the duty of my conscience? For, sinner as I am of every dye, and born for nothing save repentance, I cannot easily be silent about that concerning which also the very head and fount of the human race, and of human offence, Adam, restored by exomologesis to his own paradise, is not silent.
d. AD 258CyprianAnte-NiceneSourceTreatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews
Of the benefits of martyrdom. In the Proverbs of Solomon: "The faithful martyr delivers his soul from evils." Also in the same place: "Then shall the righteous stand in great boldness against them who have afflicted them, and who took away their labours. When they see them, they shall be disturbed with a horrible fear; and they shall wonder at the suddenness of their unhoped-for salvation, saying among themselves, repenting and groaning with distress of spirit, These are they whom some time we had in derision, and in the likeness of a proverb; we fools counted their life madness, and their end without honour. How are they reckoned among the children of God, and their lot among the saints! Therefore we have wandered from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness has not shined upon us, and the sun has not risen upon us. We have been wearied in the way of iniquity and of perdition, and we have walked through difficult solitudes; but we have not known the way of the Lord. What hath pride profited us? or what hath the boasting of riches brought to us? All these things have passed away as a shadow." Of this same thing in the cxvth Psalm: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Also in the cxxvth Psalm: "They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Walking they walked, and wept as they cast their seeds; but coming they shall come in joy, raising up their laps." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to John: "He who loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall find it to life eternal." Also in the same place: "But when they shall deliver you up, take no thought what ye shall speak; for it is not ye who speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." Also in the same place: "The hour shall come, that every one that killeth you shall think he doeth service to God l but they shall do this also because they have not known the Father nor me." Of this same matter, according to Matthew: "Blessed are they which shall suffer persecution for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Also in the same place: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to kill the soul and body in Gehenna." Also in the same place: "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him also will I confess before my Father which is in heaven; but he who shall deny me before men, him also will I deny before my Father which is in heaven. And he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved." Of this same thing, according to Luke: "Blessed shall ye be when men shall hate you, and shall separate you (from their company), and shall drive you out, and shall speak evil of your name, as wicked, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and exult; for, lo, your reward is great in heaven." Also in the same place: "Verily I say unto you, There is no man that leaveth house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, and does not receive seven times as much in this present time, but in the world to come life everlasting." Of this same thing in the Apocalypse: "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar of God the souls of them that were slain on account of the word of God and His testimony. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And unto every one of them were given white robes; and it was said to them, that they should rest still for a short time, until the number of their fellow-servants, and of their brethren, should be fulfilled, and they who shall afterwards be slain, after their example." Also in the same place: "After these things I saw a great crowd, which no one among them could number, from every nation, and from every tribe, and from every people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb; and they were clothed with white robes, and palms were in their hands. And they said with a loud voice, Salvation to our God, that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And one of the elders answered and said to me, What are these which are clothed with white robes? who are they, and whence have they come? And I said unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sitteth upon the throne shall dwell among them. They shall neither hunger nor thirst ever; and neither shall the sun fall upon them, nor shall they suffer any heat: for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall protect them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life; and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes." Also in the same place: "He who shall overcome I will give him to eat of the tree of life, which as in the paradise of my God." Also in the same place: "Be thou faithful even unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Also in the same place: "Blessed shall they be who shall watch, and shall keep their garments, lest they walk naked, and they see their shame." Of this same thing, Paul in the second Epistle to Timothy: "I am now offered up, and the time of my assumption is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. There now remains for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me in that day; and not only to me, but to all also who love His appearing." Of this same thing to the Romans: "We are the sons of God: but if sons and heirs of God, we are also joint-heirs with Christ; if we suffer together, that we may also be magnified together." Of this same thing in the cxviiith Psalm: "Blessed are they who are undefiled in the way, and walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who search into His testimonies."
d. AD 311Methodius of OlympusAnte-NiceneSourceBANQUET OF THE TEN VIRGINS 9.3
The tree of life which paradise once bore, now again the church has produced for all, even the ripe and comely fruit of faith. It is necessary that we bring such fruit when we come to the judgment seat of Christ, on the first day of the feast. For if we are without it we shall not be able to feast with God nor to have part, according to John, in the first resurrection. For the tree of life is wisdom first begotten of all. “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her,” says the prophet, “and happy is every one that retains her.” “A tree planted by the waterside, that will bring forth its fruit in due season.” That is, learning and charity and discretion are imparted in due time to those who come to the waters of redemption. One who has not believed in Christ nor understood that he is the first principle and the tree of life, since he cannot show to God his tabernacle adorned with the best of fruits, how shall [this person] celebrate the feast? How shall he rejoice? Do you desire to know good fruit of the tree? Consider the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, how pleasant they are beyond mere human words. Good fruit came by Moses, that is the law, but not as good as the gospel. For the law is a kind of figure and shadow of things to come, but the gospel is truth and the grace of life. The fruit of the prophets was pleasant, but not so pleasant as the fruit of immortality which is plucked from the gospel.
d. AD 311Methodius of OlympusAnte-Nicene
Who, after the creation of the earth and the firmament, was formed out of clay? And how shall he be admitted to be "the tree of life "who was cast out for his transgression,
d. AD 390TiconiusPost-NiceneSourceCOMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:7
“Who conquers, I will grant to eat from the tree of life,” that is, from the fruit of the cross, “which is in the paradise of my God.” The church is to be regarded as paradise, for “all things were done in figure,” and Adam was “the shadow of the one to come,” as the apostle teaches. Indeed, the tree of life is the wisdom of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who hung on the cross. In the church and in the spiritual paradise, he gives to the faithful food of life and the sacrament of the celestial bread, of which you read, “Wisdom is the tree of life to those who embrace her.”
d. AD 550OecumeniusPost-NiceneSourceCommentary on Revelation
He who has an ear, that is, one who is obedient, and who obeys divine laws, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The Spirit says, either that the things of the Revelation were being accomplished in the Spirit, or that the Spirit refers to Christ, as He is and is understood to be God, just as a servant and the Son of Man speaks as he is and is understood to be a man. For the Godhead has been said to be spirit in general, as the Lord Himself says to the Samaritan woman He was speaking with: "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (Jn. 4:24) What then does the Spirit say?

This is a figurative expression; for the tree of life refers to the blessed and everlasting life, which the saints will enjoy in the kingdom of God, which is now called Paradise. For indeed, those here are said to be worthy as victors over the enemy and as avengers in these trials. But indeed, for the Lord to say, of my God, let no one be caused to stumble; for it is necessary, according to the economy of the flesh, that all humble words be observed. For indeed He also said in the Gospel: "I am going to my Father, and your Father, and my God, and your God." (Jn. 20:17) These things were conveyed to the church of Ephesus.
d. AD 600Apringius of BejaPost-NiceneSourceTRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:7
He has spoken of the toil of the church. He has described the perversity of the heretics. Now to those still in their failures, he exhorts to repentance, and [he] promises rewards after this toil to those who are victorious, so that, entering into paradise, they might freely eat from the tree of life, for which Adam was expelled from paradise, lest he eat anything from it. And so he says, “which is in the paradise of my God,” where, namely, the wind breathes life, where the mysteries give virtue, and he furnishes the fruit of the tree of life, that is, an eternity which does not fade away.
d. AD 614Andreas of CaesareaEarly MedievalSourceCOMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:7
Every person has a physical ear, but only the spiritual person has a spiritual ear, such as was granted to Isaiah. And to such as conquer in the struggle against the demons, he promised to give “to eat from the tree of life,” that is, to grant them to share in the blessings of the future age, for eternal life is figuratively depicted through the tree. And Christ is said to be both, as is clear from what Solomon says and what our apostle writes in another passage. For, concerning wisdom, Solomon says, “She is the tree of life,” while John writes about Christ,“This is God and eternal life.” If, therefore, we are allowed to attain to these things, let us accomplish the victory over our sufferings. For, most certainly proper recompense will follow our trials, by the grace and beneficence of our Lord, Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
d. AD 735BedeEarly MedievalSourceCommentary on Revelation
To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God. The tree of life is Christ, in whose vision in the heavenly paradise, and in the present body of the Church, the holy souls are refreshed.
d. AD 735BedeEarly MedievalSourceCommentary on Revelation
He who has an ear, let him hear, etc. What he writes to each, he demonstrates he says to all churches. For it was not only the church of the Ephesians that was to be removed from its place if it did not repent, nor is the seat of Satan only in Pergamum and not everywhere. Thus, the other matters of each individual church are common to the whole Church.
d. AD 804Alcuin of YorkEarly MedievalSourceCOMMENTARY ON REVELATION
He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. By saying this, he clearly shows that in the one church of the Ephesians, he includes the totality of believers. He is not after the ears of the body, but after those of the heart, according to this: I say to you that hear. [Luke 6:27] Now, since the angel bore the person of the Son specifically, what does it mean that it is not said “what the Son of God” but what the Spirit saith to the churches, if not that, to instruct human manners, the words of the Son are the words of the Spirit? Or, alternatively, we should understand in the Spirit not the person of the Holy Spirit specifically, but the whole Trinity. To him, that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God. The tree of life is the wisdom of God the Father, according to this saying of Solomon's: Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, a tree of life, etc. [Prov. 3:13-18] It is fitting for it to be called a tree of life, because in the present it protects its elect from the heat of vices, and in the future blessedness it will provide those who desire wisdom with the food of eternal contemplation; whence this: I shall be filled when thy glory shall appear to me. [Variant of Ps. 16:15] So to him who overcomes, that is to him who, in Christ and through Christ, prevails over the temptations of the old enemy, Christ will, according to his humanity, give to eat of the tree of life, because, when he comes for the judgment, he will bring him to contemplate the majesty of his divinity. As for the paradise the tree of life is in, it is eternal life, which is in the tree of life. Note also that he says he has a God as he speaks according to his humanity which he assumed for us. Furthermore, the fact that he both partly praises and partly blames this angel, is in accordance with the latter's name: for “Ephesus” means both “great fall” and “my will.”
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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