REVELATION 2:6-7
"But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate" (Revelation 2:6).
"Nicolaitanes" comes from two Greek words: nikao and laos meaning "establishing a priesthood over a laity."
The church of Ephesus hated that establishment of a spiritual hierarchy.
Jesus said, "Which I also hate."
Why? Because, in our minds, it suddenly puts some men closer to God than others. God doesn't want anyone to feel far from Him. He wants every man to feel close to Him.
God doesn't want you to feel that you have to go through someone to get to Him. He wants you to come directly to Him in His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus has opened the door to God for every man alike, and He doesn't want anyone to stand in your way of coming to Him.
To each church Jesus said, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give..."
To each church there is a blessing to the overcomers.
It is interesting to note, and I do bear witness, that in every church, even the most apostate, there are the individual overcomers who truly know Jesus Christ.
To the church of Ephesus He promised, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7).
In the Garden of Eden God had given to man the fruit of the trees for his meat.
Two specific trees were mentioned. There was the tree of knowledge of good and evil which man was forbidden to eat, and the tree of life which, if a man ate of it, he would live forever.
Adam and Eve had their choice of the trees. It would seem to me that they would have chosen immediately to eat of the tree of life. Why would they choose the tree of knowledge of good and evil over the tree of life?
Why would they eat of its fruit before the fruit of the tree of life?
The knowledge of good and evil, however, was more important to them than life.
In reality, man has the same choice today. You can't blame Adam for all your evils or troubles or ills, because God has given you the choice of the tree of life, if you'll just partake of it.
The cross of Jesus Christ is life to those who believe and trust in Him. You have the opportunity to partake of that life in Christ.
A lot of people have intellectual hang-ups. They have made their intellect their god. Because they cannot fully understand or comprehend the meaning of the incarnation and its purpose - the substitutionary death of Christ - they do not partake of the tree of life, though the opportunity is there for them.
When Adam ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God banished him from the Garden. The cherubim stood above the Garden with a flaming sword to protect it lest man would return, eat of the tree of life, and live forever in his sins
(Genesis 2:9,16-17; Genesis 3:24).
That cherubim was not stationed there as a judgment of God but as a representative of the mercy of God. God in His mercy didn't want man to go on forever in this corrupt, sinful body. For man's sake, He put the cherubim there to keep stupid man from the garden lest he would eat of the tree of life and go on living forever in a body corrupted by sin.
Too many times people see God as a God of judgment and wrath when, in reality, He's a God of love and mercy. But they misinterpret the mercy of God for judgment.
God was protecting man from himself by placing the cherubim at the entrance to the Garden to keep man from reentering.
The tree of life is in the midst of the Paradise of God, wherever that may be. He that overcomes will have the opportunity to eat of that tree.
We'll partake of the tree of life!
Historically, Ephesus is the early church, the apostolic church that existed up until the time of the death of John (c. 99 A.D.). Even at the time of John's writing, the fire of love had begun to wane a bit in the early church.
When they first started out they were fervent. They went everywhere preaching the Gospel.
The love of Christ was driving them throughout the world.
Now, they were already becoming a bit established, leaving the first love.
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