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2¹ “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.² I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.⁶ But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.⁷Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

The Son of Man who is Lord of the angels of the churches (holds the seven stars in his right hand) and who walks among (travels through) the Universes (on an inspection or judgment tour of the church communities) speaks to the guardian of Ephesus. Ephesus as one of the seven Universes (or spheres) of Material Creation is, according to the Grail Message, the world community or Universe to which we belong and the admonition is particularly relevant to us today. Although addressed first here, Ephesus is actually the last Universe visited by the Son of Man. Its first position in Revelation is probably an indication of the fact that the revelation is primarily focused on Ephesus.

Irrespective of what we accept as the meaning of the seven churches, it is important as indicated earlier to realize that the admonition to the various communities has relevance to each particular individual depending on his level of maturity and his disposition. This is because as we rise or fall in our spiritual movement through our experiences in the World of Matter, we move up or down the characteristics that mark each community of believers and so fall into one or other of the seven churches. Thus, although, we may be in Ephesus, the admonition to say Laodicea may be more relevant to one as an individual because of his state of maturity, although, collectively the message to Ephesus applies to all.

In this regard, it becomes relevant to note that we are not all required as seekers, believers or servants of the Eternal One to fit the same pattern. Our strengths are different as are our weaknesses and so, we must tolerate each other and more importantly learn from each other – one group from another, Ephesians from Laodiceans etc. This is possible because for the spirit, the worlds are not really separated, the distance in space and time being only a function of the density of matter and our physical bodies.

The Lord is talking only to those who have been found worthy and starts by commending striving human spirits in Ephesus about their perseverance. This pattern is followed in all the other admonitions, first, a commendation followed by warnings. The admonitions also always end by demanding that those who are still alert must listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. This will suggest that in whatever form He is introduced; it is always the Son of Man, who comes with the judgment, who speaks. ‘Listen to what the Spirit says to the churches’ is an admonition to listen to the Truth brought by the Spirit of Truth promised by Christ, the Message or little scroll brought by the Son of Man with His incarnation (Rev. 10:2).

We first see this scroll as a book with seven seals in the hand of the Son of Man at the summit of Creation (Rev. 5:1). The only one worthy to do so, the Son of God, Jesus, the Love of God, then opens the seals. Each seal unveils epochs of human experiencing in the Worlds of Matter. Finally, the open book, now in a form that is accessible to human spirits, was brought and offered to deserving human spirits as part of the work of the Son of Man in His judgment tour through the seven Universes.

To those who are open to it, the Message is the enablement to overcome, the last hope of salvation. To the others, the Message remains the book with seven seals. Thus, the book was described as sweet in the mouth, i.e. desirable or palatable, but sour in the stomach, i.e. hard to digest or accept and follow.

The Lord identifies and highlights the distinguishing characteristics of the striving ones amongst the Ephesus community, i.e. they cannot tolerate wicked men, and carefully check those who claim to be apostles, but are not. In addition, this community has the added crown of patient endurance as they are subjected to hardships for the name of the Lord. On this basis, one may know that he belongs to the best of this community of human spirits. It must be apparent that the words are addressed only to those in the various communities or Universes who can still be saved, i.e. those who believe in the Eternal One and who seriously strive for the Truth. The rest of the human spirits in the Universes, those that reject God are no longer relevant in the work of the Son of Man. They have already judged themselves.

Of more importance to the Ephesian church is the shortcoming involving the majority of striving human spirits in this community. They have forsaken their first Love, perhaps referring back to the distant past before the fall of man on earth when spiritual service and Love of God were our first love before we fell and allowed over cultivation of the intellect to the detriment of the spirit. If we accept Ephesus as the world community or Universe to which we belong, we, human spirits, have fallen from the great height of a direct link to Paradise, a natural ability of an alert spirit, to the depth of impenetrable darkness led by our intellect.

However, if we bear in mind that this is directed to only striving human spirits who still retain a spark that may be awakened, then this may be a direct condemnation of the groups who claim God, but live a life that does not bear up the Will of God, an indictment that we have forgotten the Message and work of the Son of God amongst us.

For those who think of the churches as snapshots of man’s spiritual progress in subsequent Creation, and the admonition to Ephesus as referring to Judaism, this is believed to refer to the failure of Judaism to keep the Light bright and their failure to recognize the Son of God.

The Lord calls urgently for repentance and a re-awakening of the spirit in the new birth. Everything must become new. We must return to a life ordered according to the Will of God. The Message of the Son of God demands this and the Message of the Son of Man compels it. Unless we live in the Will of the Father, Ephesus as World community will cease to exist. If we fail in this, we will lose our place in the world communities before God and cease to exist (the lampstand will be removed from its place).

Although, the star of Ephesus may still be glowing, it is no longer luminous. Indeed Smyrna and Thyatira were the most luminous at the approach of the Lord (transmitted writing).

A specific and obviously important commendation is made to Ephesus, but who are the Nicolaitans, who are abhorred by the Lord and who we must avoid? The exact identity is not known; but among scholars, they are thought to be followers of Nicolaus, a movement that taught that it was permissible to eat things sacrificed to idols and to engage in utter self expression and release, including especially in sexual immorality. There is however no clear evidence that such a sect existed. It is more probable that the name does not refer to a sect, but is used symbolically, denoting those inclined towards the principles of Balaam (Rev. 2:14-15). As pointed out in the New Bible Commentary: Revised, the names Balaam and Nicolaus have the same etymology, indicating he who consumes or overcomes the people.

We must seek the meaning of this reference from the point of view of the spiritual development of humanity in Ephesus. The most recurring theme linked with our failure in Ephesus is the over cultivation of the human intellect. Since these events are occurring after the Son of Man had come to Ephesus, this is most probably a reference to the misleading intellect.

There are many in the world today who hold strong views on self-expression and letting one’s self go. This is a belief or characteristic that is the norm in our societies today and should not be found amongst the striving human spirits. Rejecting this doctrine is important to the process of repentance and re-awakening. Nicolaitans like adherents of Balaam follow a doctrine based on intellectual sophistry.

The Lord concludes His admonition to Ephesus by becoming personal, by talking to the individual human spirits. In response to the request of the Son of God, Jesus, the Son of Man had come to us first as the comforter, the Spirit of Truth with a Message. We must listen to this Truth or be rejected in the judgment. He talks directly to each of us, but the decision is still ours – to listen and hear or to reject. This is a spiritual intuitive movement and the reward for overcoming is eternal life in Paradise. Can we afford not to obey?

This is a recurring injunction to all the communities visited by the Son of Man. The Message is clearly given to the striving spirits in the various Universes and so, this must be after the sifting. In all the Messages, the Lord implies that after the gift of the Message, a period of testing will come and only those of the faithful who overcome will receive the reward of life.