Why does the book of Revelation begin with the judgement or blessing of the churches?

The answer lies in 1 Peter 4:17: For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

This message to the church of Ephesus, is the same church that Paul’s epistle Ephesians is addressed to. The message from the apostle John to Ephesus, follows 35 or so years after Paul’s epistle . Ephesians is one of the four prison epistles written by Paul, to the church at Ephesus which he had visited twice and ministered to them for close to two and a half years, 5 to 7 years before his epistle which followed. A holistic view of Paul’s epistle tells us the spiritual state of the church during Paul’s letter. Unlike his other epistles to churches in Galatia and Corinth, Paul does not write on matters of doctrine or finds a need to re-teach salvation through Christ. Rather, in chapters 1-3, he offers a short refresher on the position of a Christian in Christ and the new-birth. And in chapters 4-6, he exhorts (Ephesians 4:1) them in their walk of faith in the two spheres of – church and family. The whole epistle is like a pat on the back from a father to his son, encouraging him to continue in doing good. So, the dire warning that comes to such a spiritual church just 35 years later which had a highly-renowned man as its Pastor (Philippians 2:19-23), Timothy (1 Timothy 1:3), must make us sit straight and take heed ourselves.

As any letter we receive and the first thing we are introduced to is the sender of the letter. So does the message begin with the credentials of the Sender in Revelations 2:1. And each unique way by which Christ identifies Himself to the seven letters has a direct link to His judgement/blessing proclaimed to that church in His message. For Ephesus, He introduces Himself as The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among [in the middle of] the seven golden lampstands (v1) and the warning of judgement is I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent (v5). The message begins in v2 with I know, which can be translated also as I see from the Greek. And this is how God judges or blesses us today – through perfect knowledge of all our deeds (Revelation 20:13), words (Matthew 12:36) and the intentions or motives of our heart (1 Corinthians 4:5). When every church and Christian takes this easily-understood thought to heart seriously, it reflects through our fear of God (Matthew 10:28). And this is exactly how all the seven messages to the churches begin, further emphasizing its importance. The good foundation laid by apostle Paul, Timothy and the many other apostles, elders becomes evident by the accolades the Lord places on Ephesus – deeds, toil, perseverance and endurance, not tolerating evil men, testing of the apostles and weeding out the false ones (v2-3). And all this is even more impressive, given that Ephesus was a bustling port city, with a lot of commerce and a center for deeply immoral pagan worship. And also given that there are no other Biblical mentions of the other 6 churches, it would not be too far-fetched to assume that Ephesus had a big part to play in the birth and establishment of at least some, if not all, of these churches in its close vicinity.

Yet for all their impressive track-record. In v4, the Lord says: But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Agape is being used here to describe love, which refers to our love for God. Is not loving God really a sin? Without a shadow of doubt, the greatest commandment given to us is: love (Matthew 22:36-40). And this love isn’t just about the warm fuzzy feeling that makes you feel good about yourself. Because v5 dispels every cloud of confusion on the nature of such love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first (v5). True love’s signage is obedient deeds following after the will of God. While God would commend Ephesus for their deeds in v2; He now in the same breath would command them to repent and return to their first deeds. The word deeds is widely applicable to all kinds of works; pertaining to both matters of our personal behavior (good and evil) and labor in the ministry. Another pertinent verse here is 1 John 5:3: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. The warning of judgement which follows is clear: ..I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent (v5). The removal of the lampstand signifies the removal of His very glorious presence (since, without the light in the Holy place the priests could not enter the most Holy place of God’s dwelling) and of His light (the complete Word of God) (Psalm 119:105). Many churches have had their lampstands removed from their place and this is manifested through the substitutes or counterfeits of God’s presence, mainly being replaced through worship. Other churches have stopped teaching the full truth, omitting inconvenient truths like – sin and repentance, largely out of fear of offending people. The light of God has long been removed from these unrepentant churches.

Finally, in v6 Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Who are the Nicolaitans? And why would God openly proclaim His hate to this sect? The name Nicolaitans is derived from Nicolas, a deacon (administrator) mentioned in Acts 6:5, along with Stephen. And his name means victor (conqueror) of the people. Now, the Bible does not tell us explicitly that this sect was formed through this deacon’s actions. But, the Nicolaitans corrupted those in the churches through sexual immorality and by deceiving people to eat food offered unto the idols. God especially hates those who sin and then intentionally cause other believers to stumble in sin (Matthew 18:6), and we are likewise to hate the deeds of such Nicolaitans among us who twist the revealed truth to justify their perversions.

All the letters conclude thus: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. These blessings and warnings of judgement are only spiritually discerned by those who are always intent to hear the Spirit’s whisper, to the rest these truths are hidden or foolish (1 Corinthians 2:14). And the letters always close carrying an eternal blessing to those who repent and obey its message.