Revelation 2:1-7 [4] 'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

[5] 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent.

For an individual, removing the lampstand means blotting out the name recorded in the Book of Life in heaven so that he cannot be saved.

For the church, since the works of the Holy Spirit stopped, the church couldn't do its duty as a church, a body of Christ.

So, can you imagine how terribly shocking these words were to those to whom these words were intended!

If I say to someone who comes to me for counseling, "God wants to take away the Holy Spirit from you, and you will not be saved," he will be terribly shocked, lose his strength, lose his mind, and collapse down in a heap.

The same thing might happen to the church in Ephesus that heard such a reproach from the Lord.

That's why after the Lord severely rebuked the shepherd and the congregation of the church in Ephesus, He held back one commendation to give to them to keep them from being too disheartened so they could repent and turn back.