Seven Letters, Seven Churches: Revelation 2-3

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write...

Seven letters. Seven churches. Each addressed by the glorified Christ. Each receiving praise or rebuke or both. Each promised reward for overcoming.

To Ephesus: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. You have tested false apostles and found them liars. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

Ephesus—doctrinally sound, hard-working, discerning. But loveless. The first love had cooled. Orthodoxy without affection. The warning: repent, or I will remove your lampstand.