Reading for June 15th

 Read Revelation 2.1-7. In 2.1-7: The letter from the star holder to Ephesus: Love.  Each letter is a unified composition that follows the general pattern addressee, sender (described with traits from the vision in ch. 1), description of the present situation with statements of praise or warning, a promise to those who conquer, a refrain about hearing what the spirit says (with these last two items, reversed in the first three letters). In verse 1: Angel means messenger and could refer to the leader of the local congregation, but more likely it refers to the heavenly counterpart (or inner reality) of the church, as in 1.20. See Dan 10.20-21. Ephesus was the leading commercial city of the area. In verse 2: Endurance is a quality John shares, see 1.9. Apostles are those who claim to be sent by Jesus., this is the first that the leadership of these churches is divided. In verse 5: I will come is actually a present tense: I am coming. In verse 6: Nicolaitans ("conquer of people") are undefined in John's story, and no other ancient source gives us any reliable information about them. In verse 7: Everyone who conquers is the requirement for reward in each of the letters. To eat a sacred meal perhaps alludes to the Eucharist, sacred meals were a common aspect of ancient temples. The tree of life is a multi-dimensional symbol, referring to the tree in Eden (Gen 2). Wisdom (Prov 3.18); and the tree of Artemis, the great goddess of Ephesus whose temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It may also refer to the cross of Jesus, the true tree of life. Paradise was a name both for Eden and for the temple enclosure of Artemis, for a connection with Jesus' cross, see Luke 23.43. Comments or Questions..