I. The churches of Ephesus and Smyrna faced different pressures that revealed the condition of their faith. II. Ephesus prioritized doctrinal purity but lost their love for one another, while Smyrna faced poverty and persecution yet remained faithful. III. Christ's message calls all Christians to remember their first love for Him and each other, and to face trials with courage through their faith, rather than compromise principles or relationships.

1. I. The church in Ephesus. (Rev 2:1-7)
a.The Words of “Him who Hold the Seven Stars” (v.1)
The statement about Jesus walking among the candlesticks recalls an Old
Testament promise: "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be
my people" (Leviticus 26:12). This promise to ancient Israel is now made to
the church, the new Israel (Galatians 6:16). “And as many as shall walk by this
rule, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”
Revelation 1:19-20
19"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and
what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars
that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden
lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[c] of the
seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven
churches.

2. I.“I Know Your Works” (vv. 2-3)
Each letter is introduced with Christ’s assertion, "I know..." (2:2,
9, 13, 19; 3:1, 8, 15). The church is to understand that Christ is
perfectly aware of the distresses and persecution the church
members may be suffering. He also knows what they have
achieved and where they have failed in their faithfulness to him.
II.Remember Your First Love (vv.4-6)
Spiritual problems (2:4-6)
Ironically, the Ephesian church and its leadership may have gone
too far in rooting out heresy. There was a spiritual problem in the
church described as a forsaking of "first love" (2:4). This is generally
taken to mean the church members’ love for one another.
Theological orthodoxy and tests of loyalty may have been
substituted for mercy and compassion. This could have lead to an
undue preoccupation with being "correct," resulting in the proverbial
"straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel."

3. This is an important lesson to all Christians. While
doctrinal purity is important to the Christian faith, it can
unintentionally lead to witch hunting and an inquisitorial
spirit. We can defend the faith only if we first remember
to defend love for one another (John 13:34 “A new
commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another;
even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
As it says on page 78 in your book, we don’t want to be
the elder brother in the story when the prodicgals come
home. Lk 15:11-32
Paul, who said, "The Lord is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians
3:17

4. a.The Promise of Access to the Tree of Life (v.7) The
overcomers at Ephesus are promised the gift of eternal
life. The symbolism of salvation for the Ephesians is "the
right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise
of God" (2:7).
The apostle Paul remained in Ephesus for more
than two years on his third major journey, and his
preaching led to a major conflict between the
Gospel and the worship of Diana. This preaching
turned many away from idol worship, upsetting
silversmiths who specialized in the manufacture of
idols (Acts 19:26).

5. I. The Church at Smyrna (Rev 2:8-11)
a.The Words of “The First and the Last” (v.8)
The church at Smyrna was a suffering church (2:8).
b.“I know Your Affliction” (v.9)
c.“Do Not Fear” (vv. 10-11)
It was warned about an impending persecution and that some of
its members would experience martyrdom (2:10). The church in
Smyrna would soon be persecuted and martyred by Jews and
heathens. This would happen for "ten days" (2:10). Most
commentators take that figure to mean a short but definitely
limited period of time. We moderns have similar expressions to
denote short periods of time during which traumatic events
occur, such as the phrase, "A day of infamy…"

6. The church at Smyrna(50 KM north of Ephesus) apparently
suffered at the hands of a group "who say they are Jews and are
not, but are a synagogue of Satan" (2:9). These Jews thought
they were the people of God but were actually the
representatives of his adversary (John 8:31-47). In all
likelihood, the people referred to were local Jewish citizens of
Smyrna who opposed the church. They may have been pressing
the local government to take action against the Christians.
Why are these people said not to be Jews? They were Jews by
race and religion. But they were not spiritual Jews, in the sense
that the New Testament defines a Jew. Paul made the point in his
writings: "A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision
is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit" (Romans 2:29). The
church saw itself as the Israel of God, the "true circumcision"
who worshiped God in Spirit and put its faith in Jesus Christ
(Philippians 3:3).

7. I. A Way to Begin
a.Pressure has a way of revealing what is really in our hearts. The
stresses of life can drive us closer to God or drive a wedge between us.
The churches of Ephesus and Smyrna give us two different examples of
how churches respond to pressure.
i. Ephesus was concerned about maintaining sound doctrine but
began to relate to each other out of legalism rather than love.
ii.Smyrna faced poverty and persecution, yet remained faithful to
Christ.
b.Attitude check
i. When you had a really bad day,
1.How did circumstances affect your attitude?
2.How did your attitude change your actions?

8. a. Being Squeezed
i. What are the pressures people face today?
1.Family stresses
2.Work stresses
3.World events
4.Economic situations
ii.Sponge
1.When you squeeze a sponge, what comes out was previously absorbed.
2.When we face pressure, what comes out reveals what we’ve been taking in (MT
12:35)
3.Character of churches is revealed in Ephesus and Smyrna as they faced adversity.
a.Ephesus has been infiltrated by false teachers
b.Smyrna faced the threat of persecution and physical danger.
c.Ephesus maintained their doctrinal purity but lost their love.
Smyrna was materially poor but rich in faithfulness.
Read Revelation 2:1-11
Discuss the pressures of churches today.

9. I. What does Revelation 2: 1-7 mean to me?
II. Revelation was written to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, which is now modern
Turkey (Rev. 1:4, 11). The principle purpose for the writing is to encourage and
chastise them for how they were running their churches (Rev. 2:1-3:22). John was
fully convinced that Christ would triumph over the forces of Satan and his work in the
world. He then exhorted them to be faithful and discerning between what is false and
what is truth, and warned them not to worship the Emperor or to comply with
evil, apathy, or compromise. He restated the importance of discipleship and Christian
formation so they (we) could be authentic Christians of excellence and
distinction, bringing no disrepute to Christ or His Church.

10. I. God’s purpose for John in Revelation is not that he be
condescending or judgmental. Rather, it is so he could offer hope
and encouragement to the Church. At the same time, it points out
the issues and problems so we can address them and move from
our ways to His Ways. If we just sit and point fingers at
problems, ignore them, rationalize they are OK, or worry we might
offend people and do nothing about fixing them, we do the
Church, God, and ourselves a disservice. We are called to know
what we are doing and His precepts so we can be better for His
glory. Let’s take a hard look at our church and see where we are
with what He has called us to, and have the courage and fortitude to
fix what we are not doing right so we can seek being our best for His
glory.

11. I. Jesus ends this letter with the importance of listening and heeding His precepts. We are to
allow the flow of the Spirit, and to be Sprit-led, not self-led, especially with how we lead the
Church. A church can only be successful as long as love is penetrating and being modeled
from its leadership and members. When love is lost, so is the church (1 Cor. 13)!
II. Questions to discuss
a. What sort of pressure did each church face?
b. How did each church respond to adversity? What did they do well? What mistakes if any,
did they make?
c. Christ called Ephesus to remember their first love. Christ also encouraged Smyrna to
face tribulation without fear. Is there a relationship between love and courage? 1 John
4:18
d. What kind of an attitude should we have in times of adversity? What can we do during
peaceful seasons to prepare ourselves for times of trial?

12. I. Considering Compromise
a. Discuss pressures churches face today. Consider internal stresses such as conflict among the
members as well as external pressures such as hostile or disparaging attitudes from unbelievers.
Discuss how Ephesus & Smyrna dealt with pressures.
b. Ephesus moved toward legalism while Smyrna seems to have remained faithful. What
might account for the difference in their responses?
c. Sometimes adversity drives people toward Christ; sometimes it drives them further away.
How can we prepare ourselves for adversity?
d. Read James 1:2-3 and 1 John 4:18. What do these verses have to say about the attitudes
we should have during trials?
e. Sometimes when we face pressure we may be tempted to compromise to avoid difficulty.
How can we stay faithful and avoid compromising our faith in hard times?