Many times, in our lives as believers, we get comfortable with what we are doing in our lives and how we are living our lives.  We think that because we believe in Yeshua, our thoughts and actions do not merit change and improvement.  Many times, we feel secure in our believe that we may not contemplate that all we know as truth may be a lie or may be short of Elohim’s glory; so, then we are thinking in our minds and in the way we are living our lives that we are save. However, we have Yeshua’s reaction to some communities which should shake our very beings into looking at our lives and what needs to change in our thoughts and behaviors.

Yeshua and Ephesus:

Ephesus was a city which became important because of its close proximity to the water and its ports.  Trading goods and the temple of Artemis or Diana their goddess was their main source of income.  The believers living in Ephesus were confronted with the ongoing change of power and idolatry. The emissary Paul’s efforts to bring the good news of Yeshua to the people of Ephesus brought about new believers.  While Paul went to visit there; he encountered Jews who knew Yeshua but were not Baptist by the Holy Spirit.  While there he visited the synagogue and he was confronted with false doctrines about Yeshua and opposition by business owners like Demetrious who sold statues idols of Artemis their goddess. Many believers there went astray by the teachings of Hymenaeus, Alexander and Philetus. (Acts 18:19-21, Acts 19, 1 Corinthians 15:32, Acts 21:27, 1 Timothy 1:3,4,16,18, 2 Timothy 2:16-18.) Also, many assimilated themselves into idol worship and the pagan Hellenistic culture of Ephesus.

Yeshua said this of Ephesus:

Revelation 2:2-7 “ I know all about your deeds and your toil and your patient endurance, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. You have tested those who call themselves emissaries and are not, and have found them to be liars. ³ You have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴ “But this I have against you, that you have forsaken your first love.  ⁵ Remember then from where you have fallen. Repent and do the deeds you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your menorah from its place, unless you repent.

Ephesus today is a land of ruins located south of Izmir, Turkey. It is an archeological and tourist site for Christians and non-Christians alike.  The great temple of Artemis destroyed.  The great city of Ephesus great brilliance lost its Menorah or light. It lost its position.

What are you doing in your life that can jeopardize your position in the kingdom of God?