1 TO THE angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him Who holds the seven stars [which are the messengers of the seven churches] in His right hand, Who goes about among the seven golden lampstands [which are the seven churches]:
The word angel here in verse one means a messenger or one who is sent, Strong’s Concordance 32. The Greek word that angel is translated from is aggelos and it can be translated to mean a messenger, a person, or an angel of God. John would not be writing a physical letter to an angel of God, but Jesus does have him write a letter to the messenger, or the head, of the church of Ephesus. The first thing that John is told to tell the elder of Ephesus is that Jesus holds all of the power.
For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him. Colossians 1:16
2 I know your industry and activities, laborious toil and trouble, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot tolerate wicked [men] and have tested and critically appraised those who call [themselves] apostles (special messengers of Christ) and yet are not, and have found them to be impostors and liars.
Look at what Jesus tells the leaders of Ephesus, that He knows their industry and their labors. Jesus does not start off by telling them that He knows our Father’s labors through them, or the power of the Holy Spirit that is working through them. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew that there will be many who stand before Him who did works in His name, but Jesus will say that He never knew them. Jesus will say this to these people because the works that they performed were of themselves. These so called prophets will mention our Father and Jesus, but the primary focus will always be on themselves and bringing credit and attention to what they believe that they are doing for God, Matthew 7:22-24. The Truth is that the works that many people do may look righteous, but even though they have a form of godliness, the people doing them deny the true power of our Father. They believe that they have first decided, with their own free will, to do what is right and that has allowed our Father to act.
So how can we know which works are of our Father and which are not? The way to know is to listen to what the people are saying about the works. If their confession is somewhere along the lines of, “look at what we are doing for God,” instead of, “look at what our Father is doing through us,” then you have your answer that the works are not from God. It is simple, if the confession of a person is that we have to do, or I did, or our responsibilities, then the works are being credited to man. Jesus told the people that it was the Father in Him doing the works, John 14:10. People who are truly being used by our Father as ministers always bring the power back to Him. So when you hear a confession of look at what our Father is doing, or it is the Father within us, and the confession always seems to drive the listener back to our Father, you may have peace and confidence that the works are of Him. This will be a vital Truth to know during the Great Tribulation, because there will be many miraculous works being performed that are allowed to happen to mislead. The anti-christ will be able to speak powerfully and miraculously, but it will be his confession that shows us the Truth and his confession will be to look at his own works.
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