Revelation 2:1-4

In this text, John is in prison on the Island of Patmos. John is given a vision. This book is not a revelation of John. Often man has put that title on this book of the bible. This book was a revelation of Jesus Christ and then given as a vision to john.

John is told to write what he sees and begins by addressing the seven churches found in Asia minor. The seven churches listed in Revelation 2 were actual historical churches in Asia minor. They represent the churches that have existed throughout the church age. What Christ says here to the churches is still relevant in our day and age.

Revelation 2:1
We know a lot about the church at Ephesus. It was a church that was greatly blessed. The church was planted by Paul, and it began with a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

After the Apostle Paul’s tour in Corinth, Paul came to Ephesus but left to preach in Caesarea, then to report in Antioch. He returns from Antioch to the upper coast of Ephesus in Acts chapter 19.

When Paul meets with some of the disciples of John the Baptist, he was surprised to find out that they had not heard of the Holy Ghost. They had been having church, but they had been operating without the power and guidance of the Holy Ghost. That’s how many churches operate today. They often operate on their own power with no Holy Spirit.