“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.
4 Yet 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."
This is the first of the letters that Jesus dictates to John of Patmos, asking him to send them to each of the seven churches written in the first chapter. He first identifies himself as the subject of John's vision, and then tells the church members at Ephesus what they have done that has pleased him. His addressing the letter to the 'angel' of the church at Ephesus made me think of how in the last chapter an alternative translation was given for this word; it can also mean messenger which might imply a pastor or preacher.
Jesus goes on to say that the Ephesian church members are not being motivated by love of Christ as they were in the past, but that they are being driven by duty and obligation. The article linked below from biblestudytools.com expounds on this statement and points out periods in Biblical history in which churches have lost their relationship with God and Christ and performed religious duties by rote rather than out of a true love for their God. Link
Jesus tells the church at Ephesus that they must repent or he will come and remove their lampstand, which implies that they will lose the presence of the Holy Spirit within their church. He does compliment them by saying that they 'hate the practices of the Nicolaitans' as Christ Himself does. I did quite a bit of reading on what "practices of the Nicolaitans" could refer to; though there is not a lot of definitive evidence out there about the specific nature of the Nicolatians, some scholars believe it could possibly refer to the followers of one of the seven Deacons appointed in Acts 1:1-6. Nicolas is referred to Acts 1:6 as "a proselyte from Antioch". It's a bit easier to find Catholic sources that refer to Nicolas; this article at compassnews.org makes note that Nicolas is not revered as a saint but doesn't give much detail as to why, beyond an oblique reference to a notation from the writing of Pope Clement. The reference page from wikipedia on Nicolaism gives the opinions of several historical figures in the church as to why Christ made a point of holding the Nicolaitans up as an example of rank heresy.
Just as a side note, when I was trying to get more information on the nature of the Nicolatians, I came across a handful of blog articles and youtube videos confusing the reference to Nicolaitans with St. Nicholas, and thus, Santa Claus. As most folks know there was a real-life St. Nicholas; however, he was born much later, (A.D. 270) than Nicolas the Deacon from Antioch, and therefore could not possibly be the subject of the reference in Revelation; as noted above, Nicolas of the Seven Deacons was not canonized by the Catholic Church so any reference to Saint Nicholas rules out the possibility of his being associated with the Deacon Nicolas referred to in Acts and the Nicolaitans of Revelation 2.
If you want to accept Salvation from Christ here are some resources:
A Prayer for Salvation from Christ:
Lord
Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into
my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and
help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer.
A more detailed step by step process:
https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Jesus-Into-Your-Life
