Cleaning House

Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars...

This was written to "the angel of the church at Ephesus."  It appears that God has assigned messengers to watch over, not only individual Christians but also His institutions. 

Mat 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

There are several more verses which acknowledge that we have guardian angels who watch over us as individuals. They may be assigned to more than one person each but God does take care of us! Watching over each Church is God's efficiency. If the churches are God's, His angels are certainly there.

This may be the time to address the issue of whether the Holy Spirit is there, and whether he comes and goes. The Church is the people, not the building. If we think back to the tabernacle times, God was satisfied with His "tent of meeting". It was man who wanted to build the temple for a place for God. When the curtain was torn at the crucifixion, that was in the temple built by man. Thereafter, Christians became the temple of God (1 Cor 3:16).

God's Holy Spirit is not housed in material things, thus the soul is the residence of the Spirit. The soul of mankind is supernatural but it is there. It cannot be detected by human instrumentation but it is there. Psychiatry, I believe, parallels this invisible system as the 'ego". However, in their idea of the ego, God is not housed within, but the gods and goddesses (my opinion) which are the selves. I believe "ego" accurately describes the iniquity within man. Since Sigmund Freud was Jewish, I believe that he knew much about the soul.

The superego is the self-evaluating conscience. Definitions use the words "self-critical" but in practice, the normative is self-aggrandizement. 

The content of the ego and superego is not righteous. If it were, then the ego could be symbolized by the temple, and the superego as the Spirit. The contents of the soul is changed with transformation. Abraham Maslow would call that a "peak experience". Jesus referred to it as born-again. Maslow may have been half-right. His peak experience could either be an experience with God or with the devil (again, my opinion). He might have been thinking of profound self-actualization, Vishnu, or whomever; but Scripture puts that experience in focus: it is either God or His adversary, Satan! We must be careful of our ego, and who we let into it!

Thus, the Holy Spirit resides in the soul of each person. Even when sin enters into the soul, it is still home of the Holy Spirit. That Spirit is an aspect of God but is symbolized by wind and fire (Acts 2:2-3). In other places as living waters (John 4:10). Various versions of the Bible are translated "filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:4 for instance). "Filled" in the Greek is pletho. Strong's Dictionary first definition is "imbued", meaning inspired. Knowing the Holy Spirit is resident, the second definition may fit the context better - "supplied". That seems more appropriate because Christians still sin although the Holy Spirit is still in the temple. "Filling" would come at glorification - after the person is freed from the flesh, is in the presence of God, and no sin is within!

In Acts 2, the Holy Ghost "filled" all the house where the Christians were sitting. No longer were they sitting on chairs, stools, or even the ground. They were sitting and standing on Holy Ground because they were in the presence of the Lord. (Exod 3:5 quoted by Luke in Acts 7:33). Thus, the Holy Spirit comes to the Church in general but more importantly, the Christians individually. We see that in Acts 2:4.

My point is that God, of course, resides in the individual Christians but also in the Churches. Thus, I believe, that "the angel of the Church" at each of the seven Churches was the Holy Spirit just as "the angel of God" is Jesus in His glory (read that before and after he was flesh). As individuals can be supplied with Jesus's Ghost - the Holy Spirit, so can the Churches be. Of course, the universal Church is one but it is made up of many Churches (capitalized because I don't mean the buildings!)

"Apostasy" is when those who at first believed, reject the Holy Ghost. (Don't let "ghost" scare you. I am not a Pentecostal. I merely refer to the aftereffects of the Holy Spirit experiencing death with Jesus). "Apostasy" is blaspheming against the Holy Ghost:

Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

Notice that the King James translators put pneuma in context because this was written about Jesus's death.  In lieu of "Spirit", "Ghost was used. 

John 7:39 But this spake he of the Spirit (pneuma), which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost (pneuma) was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.

So as Jesus ascended, his Ghost descended and found residence in the Church and in the Christians. 

Now for my point: just as individuals can blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, so can the Church! In Rev 2:2 above, Ephesus was an imperfect Church! It was supplied with the Spirit, but still had sin. There were false teachers within the Church.. "The angel of the Church" was still there, but so was sin.

This church, however, was not in apostasy. An angel is a messenger. He is a two-way messenger. He brings Comfort from God, but reports to God iniquity as well. Since Jesus holds the candlestands of all the Churches in his right hand, I believe his angel is Jesus's own Holy Ghost, the same one who filled the house at Jerusalem in Acts 2. "Right hand" has significance, since that is Jesus's place on the throne!

Thus, although the Holy Ghost was in the Church at Ephesus, so were false teachings. The Church there had had a trial. They tested liars who claimed to be apostles. It doesn't say who they were but history and false scripture points to the Gnostics. Simon Magus is identified by historians as the originator of Gnosticism. He was said to have levitated and claimed that he was Savior. In his memory there were two bridges, forming a cross, built in Italy. Showing that he would die and be resurrected, he only fulfilled the first half: he died but was not resurrected! Those who followed him were false apostles, and it seems that they infiltrated the Church at Ephesus. 

The evil spirit of Simon Magus is still in the modern Church. What John saw in his vision was not only for the extant Churches in his day, but are representative of the Churches in different ages, and the ones at the end of time. We must apply these prophecies to the present-day and future or they are meaningless as scripture. The past cannot be changed but we can prepare for the future!

For one to know what to look out for in the church, it would be wise to study Gnosticism. Today, we refer to that mode as esoteric thought, and it is the hallmark of "New Age" thinking. 

If one doubts the existence of the spirit of Simon the magician, he need only examine the religion of the Third Reich. Every sort of evil spirit was in the foundation of National Socialism, as it is for any type of "ism" , socialism included! If evil people could be reincarnated, and I don't believe they can be, Karl Marx would have been the apparition of Simon Magus. Indeed, the same demon which was in the Church at Ephesus was in Marx himself.

Those who follow false teachings have some of that evil spirit within. The Church at Ephesus was wise enough to test those spirits, and threw them out. We must do that today as well. Some of those false apostles are progressive, humanistic preachers. The liberal church is full of them. Don't expect the Holy Ghost to supply those Churches even though some individuals within may be supplied with the Holy Spirit. Even a few within the Church can test the spirits, clean house, and welcome Jesus back in!