1. Revelation 2:5 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What would Jesus do if the saints of Ephesus declined to heed his instruction?

Revelation 2:5 (ESV)

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

The same glorious Jesus who appeared to John on Patmos would himself “come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” The One who would come would be that same almighty Jesus as John described in Revelation 1:1–20, even if the people of Ephesus would not see Jesus in the same degree of glory that John saw. And instead of trimming the wick of the lamp on the lampstand, Jesus would take the lampstand itself out of town, for the lamp on the stand wasn’t shedding light. This threat links directly to Jesus’ self-description in Revelation 2:1.