“Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place-unless you repent.”
(Revelation 2:5)
Israel had been a lampstand (Zechariah 4:2,11), but when they forsook their call to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6-7,49:6) their lampstand was removed and the church in Christ continued the role of true Israel. The primary meaning of lampstand is that of witness, as is shown by (Revelation 11:3-7,10), where the lampstands refer to the prophetic witnesses. Jesus talked of the church as a lamp to be put on a lampstand, emphasizing the church's role as witness to the nations. The lampstands also generally represent the power of the Spirit, since this is how they are implicitly identified in (Zechariah 4:6) although we have seen more precisely that John views the "lamps" as the Spirit which burns on the lampstands (the churches), thus is empowering them for witness. Therefore, it is possible that the Ephesians' leaving their first love refers to their lack of dependence on the Spirit, which was necessary for an effective witness.
If they do not respond, Jesus Himself will come in judgment and the church at Ephesus will be no more. It is interesting to note that a coming of Jesus is referred to here which is definitely not His final return. The actual wording I will remove your lampstand from its place indicates the removal of the church as a light of witness to the world, which points to the removal of it before Christ's final coming, since the churches' witness is a relevant activity only before the final advent, not afterward. If Jesus was ready to come in this way to the Ephesian church he must have come repeatedly throughout history to various churches in similar judgment. Though the Lord will return in a final sense at the end of history, He comes regularly to visit His church in this present age, both to encourage and to judge.
(G.K. Beale)
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