Christ had a purpose with writing the letters and a common format that is followed in each one. The first major purpose in writing the letters was to commend and rebuke the churches. In each letter He gives them commendation for the good they are doing, and yet also rebukes them for wrong doings going on in there church that need to be made right. It was not only written specifically to the church as a whole, but to the individuals in the church as well. God wants to be personally living within each of the lives of the believers in the church and that is expressed within the letters. Through that it can be grasped that God is using these letters even today to reach the people within the church. "The Lord obviously chose these particular churches because they had the combinations of strengths, weaknesses, and differing characteristics t

9. Bible Times; Severy Merle; National Geographic Society; Chicago, Wisconsin; Copyright 1967; 424-434

hat would convert many lessons to the church throughout its history" (Lindsey 38). That desire to be number one in the lives of those He!

The church of Ephesus had a lot to be commended for. This church is commended for five specific things: 1) working hard, 2) being patient, 3) resisting sin, 4) examining carefully the claims of false apostles, and 5) suffering patiently without quitting (Barton 8). Two times the letter speaks of how the church worked for the name of Christ. They knew how to trust the Lord under trials, and that is a meaning for the word patience. They held up under stress and they had remained faithful. The believers were very strong in standing up to false apostles. This was seen in by their examination and expulsion of false apostles who had come to them. They cast out the Nicolaitans who were false teachers who claimed the actions of your body didn't affect your spirit, so it gave freedom to sin (Lyndsey 46). From the outside the church of Ephesus really looked like a top model church.

4. Spurgeon's Devotional Bible; Spurgeon C.H.; Baker Book House; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Copyright 1964; 763-778

God promises in the end that whoever listens to the words given by Him will eat of the Tree of Life in God's everlasting paradise. When looking at chapter twenty-one of the book of Revelation it is seen what an amazing promise this is!

5. The Bible Almanac; Packer J.I.; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville; Copyright 1955; 540-541

8. The Communicator's Commentary; Palmer F. Earl; Word Books, Publisher; Wacco, Texas; Copyright 1982; 125-156

There is a basic format followed in each letter. It starts with the destination, the city that the church was located. It not only states the city name but a basic background of the city. The next thing noticed in the letters is that Christ describes himself in each differently. He does this according to the need He is trying to get across in each church. The third part is the commendation. Here Christ acknowledges the church for something that is worthy of being praised within the church. However, The churches in Thyatira and Laodicea have nothing to be commended about, therefore not getting commendation from Christ. The next aspect seen is the rebuke God gives to each church. This is where the churches find out they have work to do. God is not totally pleased with what is going on there, so He tells them what evils need to be stopped. However, God does not rebuke the church of Smyrna, also known as the suffering church, and the church in Philadelphia, the Mission!

Christ could, however, see the inside of the church. He describes the church as having "forsaken their first love" (Revelation 2:4). On the outside this church had everything right, but on the inside they were in the wrong. The truth is that the Church of Ephesus did what "looked" good, but on their actual motives were not because of their love for Christ. They were acting more out of selfish pride then a servant-hood ambition. The expression of having left their first love includes both love of God and love of mankind at large, but seems to be talking about their love for one another the most (Mounce 88). A loss of personal love for God results in the loss of a close relationship with other believers. Brotherly love is a major part in Christian discipleship. The huge involvements in faith by works had made the love to God

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ephesus Christ, John Patmos, Laodicea Christ, Church Ephesus, Christians Pergamum, Life God's, Christ Lord, Believers Smyrna, Exhortation God, Caesar Lord, church smyrna, church ephesus, christ describes, lake fire, love god, revelation chapter, crown life, false apostles, thrown lake fire, talked revelation, ephesus looked, church located city, rebuke church smyrna, church ephesus looked, receive crown life,
Approximate Word count = 2366
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)