Letter to Ephesus: Faithfulness and the Call to Repent
Revelation 2:1-7
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalm
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
Jude
Revelation
Rev.2.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- αγγελω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- εν: PREP
- Εφεσω: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- εκκλησιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- γραψον·Ταδε: VERB,aor,act,imp,2,sg
- λεγει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- κρατων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl,neut
- αστερας: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- εν: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- δεξια: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- περιπατων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- μεσω: NOUN,dat,sg,n
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- επτα: NUM,acc,pl,neut
- λυχνιων: NOUN,gen,pl,f
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- χρυσων·: ADJ,gen,pl,f
Parallels
- Rev.1:12-13 (verbal): Same scene imagery: the seven golden lampstands and the Son of Man standing among them — sets up the symbolic setting repeated in the Ephesian letter.
- Rev.1:16,20 (verbal): Rev 1:16 explicitly describes the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand; Rev 1:20 interprets the seven stars and seven lampstands as the angels of the churches and the churches themselves, directly explaining the symbols used in 2:1.
- Zechariah 4:2-6 (thematic): Vision of a golden lampstand supplied by olive trees; uses lampstand imagery to represent God's sustaining presence and Spirit-led provision for God's work — background for Revelation's lampstands.
- Exodus 25:31-40 (verbal): Detailed description of the seven-branched golden lampstand (menorah) in the tabernacle; provides the cultic/temple antecedent for the seven golden lampstands as symbols of divine presence.
- Matt.18:20 (thematic): Jesus' promise to be 'among' those gathered in his name echoes the motif of Christ 'walking among' the churches (lampstands), emphasizing his real presence with the community.
Alternative generated candidates
- To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
- To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
Rev.2.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Οιδα: VERB,perf,act,ind,1,sg
- τα: ART,acc,pl,n
- εργα: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- και: CONJ
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- κοπον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- υπομονην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- και: CONJ
- οτι: CONJ
- ου: PART,neg
- δυνη: VERB,pres,mid,subj,3,sg
- βαστασαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- κακους: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- επειρασας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- λεγοντας: VERB,part,pres,act,nom,m,pl
- εαυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- αποστολους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- ουκ: PART,neg
- εισιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- και: CONJ
- ευρες: VERB,aor,act,ind,2,sg
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- ψευδεις·: ADJ,acc,pl,m
Parallels
- Matthew 7:15-20 (thematic): Jesus warns against false prophets and instructs to recognize them by their fruits—parallels Revelation's testing of those who claim to be apostles and judging them by their deeds.
- 1 John 4:1-3 (thematic): John exhorts believers to 'test the spirits' to discern true from false teachers, echoing the church's practice of testing self‑claimed apostles in Rev 2:2.
- 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (verbal): Paul explicitly calls certain deceivers 'false apostles' who masquerade as servants of righteousness, using language closely parallel to Revelation's charge.
- Galatians 1:8-9 (allusion): Paul's severe denunciation of those preaching a different gospel reflects the same refusal to accept false teachers that Rev 2:2 commends.
- Revelation 2:3 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same letter praising the church's perseverance and endurance ('you have perseverance and have endured'), reinforcing the commendation in Rev 2:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- I know your works, your labor and your endurance, and that you cannot endure the evil; you have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you found them false.
- I know your works, and your toil, and your patient endurance; and that you cannot bear evildoers, and you have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
Rev.2.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- υπομονην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εχεις: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,sg
- και: CONJ
- εβαστασας: VERB,aor,act,ind,2,sg
- δια: PREP
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- ονομα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- μου: PRON,gen,sg,1
- και: CONJ
- ου: PART,neg
- κεκοπιακες: VERB,perf,act,ind,2,sg
Parallels
- Rev.14:12 (verbal): Uses the phrase 'the patience/steadfastness of the saints' and links endurance with keeping faith in Jesus, echoing the call to patient endurance in Rev 2:3.
- Matt.24:13 (thematic): Promises salvation to 'the one who endures to the end,' thematically parallel to commendation for patient endurance in Rev 2:3.
- Luke 21:19 (thematic): States 'by your endurance you will gain your lives,' a similar teaching that endurance/patience secures the believer's final well‑being.
- Acts 5:41 (thematic): The apostles 'rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name,' paralleling Rev 2:3's commendation for bearing hardship 'for my name.'
- Gal.6:9 (verbal): Warns believers 'not to grow weary in doing good,' echoing Rev 2:3's affirmation that the church 'did not grow weary' (οὐ κεκοπίακες).
Alternative generated candidates
- You have endurance; you have borne for my name's sake and have not grown weary.
- You have endured and have borne for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
Rev.2.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- αλλα: CONJ
- εχω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- κατα: PREP
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- οτι: CONJ
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- αγαπην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- πρωτην: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- αφηκες: VERB,aor,act,ind,2,sg
Parallels
- Matthew 24:12 (thematic): Jesus predicts that in the end times 'the love of many will grow cold,' thematically parallel to the church in Ephesus having abandoned its first love.
- Jeremiah 2:2 (allusion): God recalls Israel's 'devotion of your youth' and laments their turning away—parallel language and theme of forsaken first devotion to the Lord.
- Hosea 6:4 (allusion): Israel's love is compared to a morning cloud that passes away, echoing the idea of an initial love that has been lost or faded.
- 2 Timothy 4:10 (thematic): Demas is said to have forsaken Paul because he loved the present world—a New Testament instance of abandoning a former commitment or love.
- Revelation 2:5 (structural): Immediate follow-up within the same letter: the exhortation to 'remember...from where you have fallen, and repent' directly addresses the charge of leaving the first love.
Alternative generated candidates
- But I have this against you, that you have forsaken the love you had at first.
- But I have this against you, that you have abandoned your first love.
Rev.2.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- μνημονευε: VERB,pres,act,imp,2,sg
- ουν: CONJ
- ποθεν: ADV
- πεπτωκας: VERB,perf,act,ind,2,sg
- και: CONJ
- μετανοησον: VERB,aor,act,imp,2,sg
- και: CONJ
- τα: ART,acc,pl,n
- πρωτα: ADJ,acc,pl,n
- εργα: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- ποιησον·ει: VERB,aor,act,imp,2,sg
- δε: CONJ
- μη: PART
- ερχομαι: VERB,pres,mid/dep,ind,1,sg
- σοι: PRON,dat,sg,2
- και: CONJ
- κινησω: VERB,fut,act,ind,1,sg
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- λυχνιαν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,2
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- τοπου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- αυτης: PRO,gen,sg,f
- εαν: CONJ
- μη: PART
- μετανοησης: VERB,aor,act,sub,2,sg
Parallels
- Revelation 2:4 (structural): Immediate context: the accusation that the church has 'fallen' from its first love, which sets up the command in 2:5 to remember, repent, and return to first works.
- Revelation 3:3 (verbal): Uses similar wording—'remember... keep... repent... or I will come'—echoing the same threat and call to repent found in 2:5.
- Matthew 5:14-16 (thematic): Lamp/stand imagery: Christians are portrayed as light-bearers; removal of the lampstand in Rev 2:5 implies loss of public witness, resonating with Jesus' teaching about lighting a lamp to give light.
- Zechariah 4:2-6 (allusion): Golden lampstand motif in the OT temple vision provides background for Revelation's lampstands and emphasizes dependence on God's Spirit rather than human power—relevant to the threat to remove a church's lampstand.
- Joel 2:12-13 (thematic): A prophetic summons to 'return' and 'repent with all your heart' parallels the call in Rev 2:5 to repent and return to former faithfulness.
Alternative generated candidates
- Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
- Remember therefore from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If then you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Rev.2.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- αλλα: CONJ
- τουτο: PRON,nom,sg,n
- εχεις: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,sg
- οτι: CONJ
- μισεις: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,sg
- τα: ART,acc,pl,n
- εργα: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- Νικολαιτων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- α: PRON,nom,sg,n
- καγω: CONJ+PRON,nom,sg,1
- μισω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
Parallels
- Revelation 2:15 (verbal): Directly names the Nicolaitans and condemns those who hold their teaching—closely related verbal parallel to Rev 2:6's hatred of their deeds.
- Revelation 2:14 (thematic): Condemns compromise with idolatry and immorality (Balaam's teaching), a theme echoed in the rebukes connected with the Nicolaitans' practices.
- Revelation 2:20 (thematic): Denounces a false teacher ('Jezebel') promoting sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols—parallels the moral and cultic errors attributed to the Nicolaitans.
- Acts 6:5 (allusion): Mentions a man named Nicolas (a proselyte), often cited as the probable namesake/origin of the Nicolaitans; provides historical-allusive background to the sect's name.
- Jude 1:4 (thematic): Condemns false teachers who pervert grace and deny Christ, resonating with Revelation's denunciation of groups (like the Nicolaitans) leading believers into false teaching and immorality.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yet this you have: you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
- Yet this you have: you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Rev.2.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- εχων: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,sg,m
- ους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- ακουσατω: VERB,aor,act,imp,3,sg
- τι: PRON,int,nom,sg,n
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- πνευμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- λεγει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- ταις: ART,dat,pl,f
- εκκλησιαις: NOUN,dat,pl,f
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- νικωντι: PART,pres,act,dat,sg,m
- δωσω: VERB,fut,act,ind,1,sg
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- φαγειν: VERB,aor,act,inf
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- ξυλου: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- ζωης: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- παραδεισω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- θεου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Genesis 2:9 (allusion): The first appearance of the 'tree of life' in Eden; Revelation's promise to eat from the tree recalls the Edenic imagery of life restored.
- Revelation 22:2, 14 (verbal): The final vision of Revelation again depicts the tree of life in God's paradise and explicitly links access to the tree with the righteous—echoing the promise to the overcomer in 2:7.
- Matthew 11:15 (verbal): The formula 'He who has ears, let him hear' is a common Johannine/Gospel exhortation; Rev 2:7 uses the same imperative to urge attentive reception of the Spirit's message.
- Revelation 3:21 (structural): The phrase 'to him who overcomes' introduces promised rewards throughout the seven letters; 3:21 is a parallel instance of the conqueror motif and its attendant blessing.
- Luke 23:43 (allusion): The term 'Paradise' as the blessed abode appears in Luke (and Paul) and resonates with Rev 2:7's 'paradise of God,' linking New Testament usages of the term for the postmortem blessed place.
Alternative generated candidates
- He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
- He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
I know your works, your labor, and your patient endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them false.
You have persevered and endured for my name, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you: you have abandoned the love you had at first.
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Yet you have this: you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.