THE SCROLL: Ephesus
(Study 5-A)

In the book of Revelation, John the Apostle was instructed to write down a certain vision, and to send it by letters to seven churches of Asia minor. Several ideas have been proposed in order to explain why these seven churches, and not others, were chosen. The most reasonable explanation seems to be, from the characteristics of each church, that each of the seven represents a different age of church History, from Pentecost to the second advent of Christ.

We find this pattern of "sevens" repeated several times throughout Scripture: seven seals, seven trumpets, seven plagues. By comparing these diverse signs, we find that the Revelation is indeed a successor to the book of Daniel, which foretold the pattern of the kingdoms which should exist until the first appearance of our Lord on earth.

Here then is the study concerning the first Church, Ephesus, which means "Desirable," and represents the first age of church history - the time of the Apostles. May it be that we imitate the good characteristics of each of these Churches and learn from their mistakes, that we may be innocent of any of their failures for the Gospel's sake.

QUESTIONS:
01) What is the full name of the Book of Revelation? (Rev 1:1a - the first 5 words)
02) Are we intended to understand the symbols presented by John? (Rev 1:3, Neh 8:7,8,12)
03) What are the means by which we can understand difficult Bible texts? (1Ch 22:12, Psa 119:25-27, Job 32:8, John 16:13, 2Tim 2:7)
04) On what day did the apostle see these visions? (Rev 1:10)
05) What two interpretations of the phrase referring to that day are provided by Scripture? (Isa 58:13 & Lev 23:3, Zeph 2:3 & Mal 4:5)
06) Who is the speaker of these visions to John? (Rev 1:12,13,17,18)
07) What good things were said of the Ephesian church? (Rev 2:1-3)
08) How does the Bible give instruction for carrying this out? (Isa 8:20; Gal 1:8,12)
09) What were some of the reasons why this is necessary for a pure faith? (Mat 7:15; 2Cor 11:12-15; Acts 20:29,30; 2Th 2:1-2)
10) What occurs when the first of the seven seals are broken by the Lamb? (Rev 6:1,2)
11) What does the color "white" represent in Scripture? (Ecc 9:8, Isa 1:18, Dan 12:10, Rev 3:4)
12) What do both a "crown" and a "bow" (with its arrows) represent in the Bible? (Pro 4:9, Isa 63:5, 1Pet 5:4; Gen 49:23,24; 2Ki 13:15-17)
13) What are the characteristics of the Apostolic teachings? (James 3:17, Acts 1:8, 1John 5:4)
14) What negative characteristic was noted concerning the Ephesian church? (Rev 2:4)
15) Why was this such a detrimental thing for the congregation? (1John 5:2,3; Mark 12:30; 1John 4:19-21; 1Cor 13:131)
16) What three things are included in the means given to them for the healing of this situation? (Rev 2:5)
17) What is the importance of remembering the changes Christ has made in your life? (Psa 63:5-8; Num 15:40,41)
18) How does our Father treat us when we repent after realizing we have made errors? (Jer 31:34, James 5:20, 2Sam 12:13, 1Kings 11:42)
19) What promise is given to those who overcome the negative aspect of this Church age? (Rev 2:7)
20) What should be our attitude towards upholding the undefiled teachings of the disciples? (Jer 6:16a; Jude 1:3)

Note1 If you are using the KJV, the word translated "charity" is the Greek "agape," which means pure, selfless love.
Note2 David's heart is referred to has having been "perfect" due to his repentance, in spite of his earlier transgression.

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