SEVEN ‘FROM The HEART of JESUS’ LOVE-LETTERS to the SEVEN CHURCHES of REVELATION - To The Church of Ephesus

So now that we have had an introduction and preliminary observations from Chapter One, we will get into each of these seven churches in Chapters 2 and 3 and learn of the LORD's counsels, corrections, and commendations:

Church #1 EPHESUS:

REV 2:1-7

1 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; 

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

In the time of the Romans, Ephesus bore the title of "the first and greatest metropolis of Asia." It was distinguished for the Temple of Diana (q.v.), who there had her chief shrine; and for its theatre, which was the largest in the world, capable of containing 50,000 spectators. Dozens of gold covered colonnades shown brilliantly in the morning sunlight. Statues exulting in the goddess Diana were purchased by devotees far and wide and then placed in the Temple. It was known as one of the seven Ancient Wonders of the World.

ARE YOU ON F.I.R.E. for JESUS?

 I was born again at this point in time (AUG of '80) for about two months. Up until then, I had been to a few different kinds of Bible studies; they were all good to one degree or another - some were based on a lot of history; others invited the perspectives of the Christians gathered together as they expressed what they thought on any given verse.

Other studies were centered around the Bible directly, and the verses changed every week, but it was always the Gospel message, given to those who had already received it.

Then I arrived at this point in time, two months into my salvation, I entered into this house in my neighborhood where I heard they had really awesome Bible study - I descended the stairs into the basement and found a few people gathered there. I saw this blond haired lady with glasses and a guitar resting on her lap. Across from her was a tall, dark haired man - her husband.

When I introduced myself, she repeated my name, "Jim Fire? Are you on fire for the LORD?"
I beamed, nodded and gave a resounding "Amen!"
I then sat down and listened to my first message by pastor Chuck Smith, on the Beatitudes - and that began my life long journey in the Word of God. And I must say, those first few years were foundational and grounded me on the Rock. I went home after every visit to that house, having received anywhere from 3 to 5 cassette tapes at a time and devoured them, writing notes down, underlining passages in my Bible, and returning the tapes with a number of questions directed at my spiritual parents in the faith.

That flame of the Word has kept me through the years and is a testament to its ability to keep a saint on FIRE for the LORD!
In this article, I want to talk about what it takes to be on F.I.R.E. for Jesus:

First let's look at two scriptures that tell us WHY it's absolutely necessary to be ON FIRE for JESUS!

MATTHEW 24
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

REVELATION 3:15-16
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

F.ERVENCY I.NDWELLING R.IGHTEOUS E.VERLASTING

7 ‘FROM The HEART of JESUS’ Love-Letters to the 7 Churches of Revelation: An Introduction

INTRO: I owe much of the following teaching to insights by Chuck Missler, who was one of my favorite Bible teachers, but in these latter days, his leanings towards Jewish mysticism has led me to remove his ministry link from my TTUF site.

Still, his expositional studies through the Word of God are still in my library and they are a blessing.

The study of these seven letters FROM The MIND of FIRE will be included in a full, in-depth study of the book of REVELATION, in it's entirety on the main site of The TRUTH Under FIRE (www.thetruthunderfire.com).

The BIBLE’S BOOK ENDS: GENESIS and REVELATION:

I reviewed a chart online that makes comparisons between the first and last books of the Bible, GENESIS and REVELATION; the themes found in both books begin in GENESIS and end in REVELATION. Some of these are as follows:

GENESIS – reveals the creation of a temporary world; REVELATION reveals an eternal world.

Division of light and darkness (Gen. 1:4).	No night there (Rev. 21:25).
Division of land and sea (Gen. 1:10).	No more sea (Rev. 21:1).
Rule of sun and moon (Gen. 1:16).	No need of sun or moon (Rev. 21:23).
First heavens and earth are finished (Gen. 2:1-3).	New heaven and earth are forever (Rev. 21:2).
Man is in a prepared garden (Gen. 2:8-9).	Man is in a prepared city (Rev. 21:2).
There is a river flowing out of Eden (Gen. 2:10).	There is a river flowing from God’s throne (Rev. 22:1).
Tree of life is in the midst of the garden (Gen. 2:9).	Tree of life is throughout the city (Rev. 22:2).
God walking in the garden (Gen. 3:8).	God dwelling with His people (Rev. 21:3).
Bride formed for her husband (Gen. 2:21-23).	Bride adorned for her husband (Rev. 21:2).
Garden accessible to the Liar (Gen. 3:1-5).	City closed to all liars (Rev. 21:27).
Man in God’s image (Gen. Gen. 1:27).	Man in God’s presence (Rev. 21:3).
Man is the steward (Gen. Gen. 2:17).	Man is the heir (Rev. 21:7).