Harmony #9: Second Birth (John 2:23-3:21)

John 2:23 During the Passover feast in Jerusalem, the crowds were watching Jesus closely; and many began to trust (affirm/have confidence) in Him because of the signs He was doing. But Jesus saw through to the heart of humankind, and He did not entrust himself (affirm/have confidence) to them. He didn’t need anyone to testify concerning character of humanity. He understood human nature.

Jesus saw that their admiration of his miracles and signs was not the same as faith. They were impressed, but being impressed is not the same as being a follower who truly sees Jesus for who he is. There is belief about and belief in. Even demons believe true things about God.[1] The crowds believed true things about Jesus. We are about to meet Nicodemus, who apparently falls into the category of someone who is impressed – he believes true things about Jesus -  but doesn’t understand truly who Jesus is.

I tend to think that miraculous signs would have been impressive enough to win me over. So why weren’t those miracles overwhelmingly convincing concerning Jesus’ divinity? Miracles were attributed to religious leaders, royalty, and heroes (depending on your culture). Apparently everybody believed in miracle-working; they just weren’t sure where the power came from; some claimed Jesus’ power comes from Satan (see Mark 3:20-30).

It reminds me of my class at Spring Arbor of students who already worked in the medical field. When I gave my presentation on dualism (supernatural and natural worlds exist; there are immaterial realities as well as material ones), they stopped me: “You are preaching to the choir. Anyone who works in a hospital long enough has stories of strange, unexplained things. You don’t have to convince us.”  

So miracles were accepted as a thing to those watching Jesus: either God was ‘with’ someone, or evil was empowering people to do astonishing things. But it didn’t necessarily mean more than that. As one pastor said,

“"Seeing signs and wonders, and being amazed at them, and giving the miracle worker credit for them that he is from God, saves nobody. This is one of the great dangers of signs and wonders: You don’t need a new heart to be amazed at them. The old, fallen human nature is all that’s needed to be amazed at signs and wonders.”[2]

My sense, for what it’s worth, is that Jesus miracles were primarily intended to prove to the Jewish community that He was the messiah foreshadowed in the Old Testament.[3] See my footnotes for how Jesus’ miracles hit all the OT hyperlinks for what a Messiah would do.

Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees[4], a man with some clout among his people. He came to Jesus under the cloak of darkness to question Him.[5] He said, “Rabbi, some of us have been talking. It is generally agreed that you are obviously a teacher who has come from God. The signs You are doing are proof that God is with You.[6]”

Once again, Old Testament prophets did signs. Think of Moses turning staffs into snakes, and the plagues, Daniel in the lion’s den, Elijah withheld rain, etc. “God is with you” is respectful to be sure, but it’s not new territory. At this point Jesus totally changes the subject. Remember how “he saw the heart of mankind?” He apparently introduces the true reason Nicodemus is visiting.

Jesus:  I tell you the truth: only someone who experiences birth for a second time[7] can hope to see the kingdom of God.

Last week, when I was downstate doing some teaching for a gig involving youth, I had a long conversation after a session with a student. It took 40 minutes until we finally got to the heart of the issue. All the discussion was good, but every 10 minutes or so she would say something that would make me think, “Oh. We aren’t talking about the real issue yet.” But we got there. Jesus didn’t need 40 minutes. That’s one of the perks of being God in the flesh. He just went there.

Nicodemus: “Well, we’ve seen your signs and heard you teach, and we pretty much agree you are a teacher with God’s power behind him.” Jesus: “There’s no way you are going to see the Kingdom of God in the state you are in.”  Apparently, Nicodemus really wanted to be a part of the Kingdom of God. Kudos to Nicodemus. This guy is going out of his way to talk with Jesus because this is a big deal to him. So, it’s helpful to know how Nicodemus had been raised to believe one got into the Kingdom of God.

"Nicodemus would have stressed the careful observance of the Law and the traditions of the elders. [but it is] not a devout regard for the Law, not even a revised presentation of Judaism [that] is required, but a radical rebirth. The demand is repeated three times. Nicodemus and all his tribe of lawdoers are left with not the slightest doubt but that what is asked of anyone is not more law, but the power of God within that person to remake him or her completely. In its own way this chapter does away with “works of the law” every bit as thoroughly as anything in Paul."[8]

This had to be a spiritual earthquake. Nicodemus has been dedicating his life to doing all the right things to the best of his ability. Later, when Jesus starts rebuking the Pharisees point by point, we will see they were dedicated to getting even the smallest of things right. Jesus says, “No, the problem is that you aren’t the kind of person who can do this. The solution is so radical that it’s going to be like you started your whole life over and got born again.”

Nicodemus: I am a grown man. How can someone be born again when he is old like me? Am I to crawl back into my mother’s womb for a second birth? That’s impossible! 

The Jewish people believed in people being regenerated when people converted to Judaism; they even referred to it having a new birth. I suspect the idea wasn’t the problem so much as the fact that Nicodemus had already been ‘born again’ into Judaism. That ground had been covered. This really limited his options as he considered that he would have to be born again, again. 

Jesus:  I tell you the truth, if people not experience water and Spirit birth,[9] there’s no chance they will make it into God’s kingdom.

This likely refers to Old Testament passages in which “water” and “Spirit” describe the pouring out of God’s Spirit in the end times (Is. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:25–27). It’s a hyperlink to a “cleansing and transformation” that involves becoming a new kind of person, not just a cleaned up one. (See my footnotes for more details.)

When my computer gets old enough, it can’t do what it’s supposed to do because the programs are becoming obsolete. I can add patches; I can load all kinds of upgrades; I can get it refurbished. But eventually, it’s not going to run the programs it was intended to run and that I need to run. Shoot, I can’t find chargers that match, and it can’t interact with other computers because none of the connectors work.  I need a new computer.

Nicodemus was patching and upgrading relentlessly. He wanted to function as Yahweh intended: There is no reason to doubt that he wanted to love God and love his neighbors as God intended. But He needed to be new. So Jesus explains what he needs in order to be new.

Like comes from like. Whatever is born from flesh is flesh; whatever is born from Spirit is spirit. Don’t be shocked by My words, but I tell you the truth. Even you, an educated and respected man among your people, must be reborn by the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God.[10]

“Like comes from like” just means that things give birth to other things that are like themselves. If you are fleshy, you give birth to fleshy things, and they will be like you. The line continues. Obviously Nicodemus knows this. But Jesus introduces a different line of succession for those who will enter His kingdom: It’s not the fleshy descendants of Abraham; it’s the spiritual children of God. God’s people need to be new: they need a new spirit, and that has to be birthed from a spiritual place, not a physical place.  

The wind blows all around us as if it has a will of its own; we feel and hear it; we do not understand where it has come from or where it will end up, [yet we see its impact, so we know it is real.]

So far, so good. Earthly analogy. The wind is less mysterious to us than it was to them #science, but try to imagine life before Doppler radar and satellites. Wind is crazy, and that area was known for really crazy winds. Sudden storms on the Sea of Galilee were a frightening thing. If you sail on the Great Lakes, you know how it is. The weather turns on a dime. I was fishing in my kayak a couple weeks on just a small lake, and a wind came up that sent me and couple others scurrying to shore. I don't understand how wind works, but, yeah, it’s real.

Life in the Spirit is as if it were the wind of God.[11] [It moves on a will of its own; we hear it, but don’t understand how it all works; we don’t know where it will end up, but we feel it. We see its impact, and we know that it is real.]

So, this is what Nicodemus is going to need. Something out of his power to earn or control or even understand. I was talking with Gary Hambleton this week about his heart procedure. He was trying to explain it, but how exactly they are going to make him feel like new is mysterious to us non-heart doctors. Gary and I can talk about diet, exercise, other things in the control of us heart patients. But the Surgeon knows stuff we don’t, and from our perspective, moves in mysterious ways, his medical wonders to perform.

Nicodemus’ righteousness – his fitness for the Kingdom of God – had been earned, controlled and understood up to that point. Now, Nicodemus was going to have to be reborn as a man who surrendered himself to a Holy Spirit that has a will of its own. He won’t know how it works; he won’t know where it will end, but he will feel its power and presence. AND IT WILL MAKE HIM NEW.

Nicodemus:  I still do not understand how this can be. 

Jesus:  Your responsibility is to instruct Israel in matters of faith, but you do not comprehend the necessity of life in the Spirit?  I tell you the truth: we speak about the things we know (zing!), and we give evidence about the things we have seen, and you choose to reject the truth of our witness.  If you do not believe when I talk to you about ordinary, earthly realities [which we have both experienced], then heavenly realities will certainly elude you.[12]  [To speak of heavenly realities with authority, one needs to have been there.] But no one has ever journeyed to heaven above except the One who has come down from heaven—the Son of Man, who is of heaven.[13]

Consider this: to be perfectly acquainted with a place, it is necessary for a person to have been at that place. A lived experience beats a theoretical experience every time. I’ve watched a show called Somebody Feed Phil, and I’ve spent an hour watching him eat and talk in cities around the world. That doesn’t mean I know the city. Phil spent days there. He knows the city better than I do, but he doesn’t know the city. It’s the people who live there who know the city.  Jesus knows Heaven. It’s worth listening to the only One who has lived there tell us about it.

Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. In the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up; then all those who believe in Him will experience everlasting life.[14]

Through the ‘lifted up’ serpent, the dying were restored by fixing their eyes on it.  When Jesus would be lifted up #crucifixion, those looking to Him, though dying in sin, would be healed and saved.

For God expressed His love for the world[15] in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge it;[16] instead, He is here to rescue a world headed toward certain destruction,[17] so that through Him it might be saved.[18]

A summary of the gospel (“good news”) paraphrased from Adam Clarke:

• The world was in a ruinous, condemned state; people were without power to rescue themselves or the world from destruction.

• God, motivated by His eternal love, provided for its rescue and salvation, by giving Himself (through his Son) to pay the penalty He set for those who contribute to the ruination of the world, themselves and others.

• Sin must be a serious evil, when it required no less a sacrifice, to make atonement for it, than God manifested in the flesh to die on behalf of those who brought sinful ruin.

• One is saved through this sacrifice when one believes that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus indeed accomplished this purpose (affirms, has confidence in, trusts and obeys so that it transforms our lives).

• Those who believe are exempted from the judgment of eternal death (that they may not perish) and enter into a new life that begins now and ends in eternal glory (that they may have everlasting life).

 No one who entrusts themselves to Him has to fear being brought to judgment (a trial the separates the grain from the chaff), yet that judgment has already happened for everyone who refuses to trust because they reject the name (the person) of the only Son of God.  What is this judgment? The Light sent from God, Jesus, pierced through the world’s blinding darkness of sinful, pain-filled deeds. Still some people loved the darkness over the light because their intentions and actions were evil.  Those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be seen for what they are.   Those who abandon deceit and act on what is true, they will enter into the light where it will be clear that all their deeds come from God.[19]

 People loved (agapao) the darkness rather than the light. They give themselves sacrificially for the sake of the sin. The immediate judgment seems to be living in darkness: living in the corrosiveness of evil deeds, not just giving in to but embracing the self-destruction that follows sin.

Then, this story bookends nicely.

• Nicodemus started with, “By your deeds, it’s obvious you come from God,“ and ends with Jesus saying, “When you are in the light, it will be clear that your deeds come from God.”

• Nicodemus started with, “I am doing the works of the Kingdom to be a member of the Kingdom”; Jesus flips it: “Enter the Kingdom so that you can do the works of the Kingdom.”

And it begins with entrusting ourselves to Jesus. It begins with believing, leaning on, following in the footsteps of, and giving our lives sacrificially to the love of God and others, made possible through the work of Jesus and the renewal of the Holy Spirit.
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[1] James 2:19

[2] “It’s precarious to be a sign-seeker, to crave the spectacular and follow the latest sign worker, until he leaves his wife or buys a new jet with everybody’s money.” #trueevents https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/he-knew-what-was-in-man

[3] The previous several paragraphs were informed by this article: “Making Disciples by Performing Miracles: A Study in Mark, ”Jonathan Rivett Robinson.

 https://hail.to/laidlaw-college/article/k1J3D96. This long quote is worthwhile:  “It is the Jewish scriptures rather than Greco-Roman literature which provide the strongest parallels for Jesus’ miracles. In Jesus’ public miracles he is revealed as God’s agent; the healer and deliverer of Israel. Like Elijah and Elisha, he heals the sick and restores dead children to their parents (Mark 5:21-43; cf. 1 Kgs 17:17-24; 2 Kgs 4:8-37). Like David, he delivers from evil spirits and defeats demonic legions (Mark 5:1-20; cf. 1 Sam 16-18). Like Moses, the hungry people of God are fed in the wilderness (Mark 6:30-44; cf. Num 11). However, those miracles witnessed only by his disciples expand these scriptural Christological insights further. Only the disciples see how the wind and waves obey him and how he walks upon the water as if it were the dry land (Mark 4:35-41; 6:45-52). These two sea miracles serve to identify Jesus with YHWH who calms the storm in Jonah 1 and who walks on the sea in Job 9:8 (LXX).”

[4] “At this time, Israel’s Roman occupiers have given a small group of Sadducees and Pharisees limited powers to rule, and Nicodemus is one of the Pharisees. He holds a seat on the ruling council known as the Sanhedrin.” (commentary from The Voice translation)

[5] Adam Clarke believes this was because Jesus was alone at night.

[6] Jesus’ signs are the conversation starter but not a trigger for faith (v. 2).  (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[7] The translation “born from above” accords well with the discussion of “earthly” and “heavenly” things in v. 12, and the discussion of ascending and descending in v. 13. This is the meaning of the Greek adverb in other places in this Gospel (19:11, 23). Nicodemus apparently understood it to mean “a second time.” It is possible that both meanings are intended—a new birth that is a birth from above. (ESV Reformation Study Bible)

[8] Leon Morris, at Precept Austin

[9] Probably the statement refers to Old Testament passages in which the terms “water” and “Spirit” are linked to express the pouring out of God’s Spirit in the end times (Is. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:25–27). The presence of such rich Old Testament imagery accounts for Jesus’ reproof of Nicodemus (v. 10): as a “teacher of Israel,” he should have understood. (ESV Reformation Study Bible)  “The most plausible interpretation of “born of water and the Spirit” is the purifying and transforming new birth. Since Jesus expects Nicodemus to understand what he means (vv. 7, 10), the background to the concept is previous Scripture. Water in the OT often refers to renewal or cleansing, and the most significant OT connection bringing together water and spirit is Ezek 36:25–27, where water cleanses from impurity and the Spirit transforms hearts. So “born of water and the Spirit” signals a new birth that cleanses and transforms.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[10] “By water and the Spirit (in this place)…is probably an elliptical form of speech, for the Holy Spirit under the similitude of water; as, in Matthew 3:3, the Holy Ghost and fire, do not mean two things, but one, viz. the Holy Ghost under the similitude of fire-pervading every part, refining and purifying the whole. (Adam Clarke)

[11] Both in Hebrew and in Greek, the “sound” of the “wind” can also mean the “voice” of the “Spirit.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[12] Nicodemus should be able to recognize Jesus’ point, which draws on a familiar principle. Some Jewish people already recognized that humans, with limited knowledge even of earthly things, could not understand the heavens (noted in the widely circulated Wisdom of Solomon 9:16) — at least not without the Spirit sent from above (Wisdom of Solomon 9:17). In John, “earthly” analogies for “heavenly things” here might refer to “above” (see NIV text note on v. 3), “water” (v. 5) and “wind” (v. 8). (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[13] “But our Lord probably spoke to correct a false notion among the Jews, viz. that Moses had ascended to heaven, in order to get the law. It is not Moses who is to be heard now, but Jesus: Moses did not ascend to heaven; but the Son of man is come down from heaven to reveal the Divine will.” (Adam Clarke)

[14] Just as the image of a serpent was the weapon that destroyed the power of the serpents, so the instrument of Christ's death becomes the weapon that overthrows death. (Orthodox Study Bible)

[15] “The whole human race: This would be a revelation to the exclusive Pharisee, brought up to believe that God loved only the chosen people.”  (Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges) 

[16] “Since there are sinners in the world Christ’s coming involves a separation of them from the good, a judgment, a sentence: but this is not the purpose of His coming; the purpose is salvation.” (Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges)

[17] The world was under threat of judgment before He came; with His coming salvation became a reality offered to a hostile world (Matt. 23:37; Rom. 5:8). (ESV Reformation Study Bible)

[18] Note the change from ‘to save the world,’ to ‘that the world might be saved through Him.’ The world can reject Him if it pleases. (Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges)

[19] Jesus speaks of “doing” the truth. This indicates that “truth” is a matter of both thought and practice.

Harmony #6: Zeal For The House Of God (John 2:13-22)

Now the Jewish feast of Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables.[1] So he made a whip of cords (rushes) and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.[2] To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace!”[3] 

A couple things to note:

• Selling these animals was actually a service to distant travelers who could not bring their sacrifices with them. All the merchants could recover their money and animals. Jesus didn’t take away their livelihood.

• However… the priests rented space rather than gave it, which drove up costs; the priests and Levites often resold animals offered as sacrifices back to the sellers, who sold them again; and the money changers often took a premium.[4]

• Finally, This market was in the temple courtyard, specifically, the areas set aside for Gentiles to worship. Gentiles couldn’t worship at the temple at the very place God has set aside for them to be welcome. This marketplace had become a place of greed and fraud, and it’s presence in the outer courtyard hindered worship.  

His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will devour me.”[5]

We should note that the goal of Jesus’ zeal was to purify, not ruin. Jesus removed the problem from the temple, but he didn’t ruin the people. He rebukes them, but he doesn’t destroy them. Why not? Because the goal wasn't to humiliate them or ban them from using the temple as God intended. It was “zeal for the house of God’ that consumed him, not “zeal for calling down judgment” on the defilers of the temple. The goal was to clean the temple. In fact, Jesus is going to tell Nicodemus right after this that “God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it.” 

So then the Jewish leaders responded, “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 

The response of the Jewish leaders – the Pharisees – is interesting. They are more curious than anything. There is no record Jesus got in trouble for this, and it is not brought up at Jesus’ trial. It appears to track with what the people thought a prophet would do: protect the temple. Prophets had the authority to speak and act prophetically to cleanse the temple. They just asked for his credentials (a sign).

Then the Jewish leaders said to him, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?” But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken. 

Jesus’ claim about being the temple shifted the focus of God’s presence on Earth away from a geographical place like the temple to the person of Jesus.[6] Also note: after the first miracle, they believed in Jesus. After the cleansing of the temple, the believed the Scriptures. I suspect that language is not accidental. We worship Jesus (not the Bible), but we trust the person of Jesus and revelation of God through Scripture that points toward or tells us about Jesus. That trust is foundational to our flourishing as followers of Jesus.

* * * * *

Jesus apparently cleansed the temple twice: the first Passover of his ministry (recorded only in John) and last Passover of his ministry. He bookended his life of ministry by focusing on His house and His people.  He never cleansed a Roman or Greek temple, though God knows they needed it. He didn’t cleanse a Samaritan temple, which was even worse to the Jewish people because their temples had incorporated pagan worship. The only temple he cleansed was the one where Yahweh was worshipped. The zeal of the Lord that consumed Jesus had to do with a zeal for the temple, God’s dwelling place.

God’s concern for the purity has always started with His people. Biblical prophets consistently spoke of God’s judgment on injustice beginning with God’s household. I’m going to walk us through some examples starting in the Old Testament and ending much closer to our time.

• Here is Amos, in a classic example of God addressing the need for purification among His own people. This is pretty typical prophetic language on this issue: Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him.  Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:18-24)

• Ezekiel had a vision about how God felt about the corruption in the Israelite community. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you… Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it…”  The heavenly bearers of judgment on the unmarked were to “begin in my sanctuary” (Ezekiel 9:4-6; 11:12)

• When Jeremiah wrote about God’s coming judgment on the violent corruptions of the nations (not just Israel), we read this:“Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it….So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials…” (Jeremiah 25:15-18)

• Peter, writing several decades later, is one of several New Testament authors talks about it again. “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner… It’s judgment time for God’s own family. We’re first in line. If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message!” (1 Peter 4:12-13; 17-18, The Message)

• Augustine, in the 400s: “He then is eaten up with zeal for God’s house who desires to correct all that he sees wrong there. Let the zeal for God’s house consume every Christian wherever he or she is a member.”

• The Protestant Reformation (1500s) was all about this issue.

• The Great Awakenings (1700s, 1800s, some argue the Jesus Movement in the 1970s) were certainly about evangelism, but an awful lot of it was revival from within.

• Alexander Maclaren, (1826 - 1910) a minister in England for 65 years who was twice president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and president of the Baptist World Congress in London in 1905, wrote a commentary I read a lot when I do sermon prep. Here is his commentary for this section:

A church as an outward institution is exposed to all the dangers to which other institutions are exposed. And these creep on insensibly, as this abuse had crept on. So it is not enough that we should be at ease in our consciences in regard to our practices as Christian communities. We become familiar with any abuse, and as we become familiar we lose the power of rightly judging of it.

 Therefore conscience needs to be guided and enlightened quite as much as to be obeyed.How long has it taken the Christian Church to learn the wickedness of slavery? Has the Christian Church yet learned the unchristianity of war? Are there no abuses amongst us, which subsequent generations will see to be so glaring that they will talk about us as we talk about our ancestors, and wonder whether we were Christians at all when we could tolerate such things?

They creep on gradually, and they need continual watchfulness if they are not to assume the mastery. The special type of corruption which we find in this incident is one that besets the Church always…It is all Christian communities, established and non-established churches, Roman Catholic and Protestant. The same danger besets them all. There must be money to work the outward business of the house of God. 

 But what about people that ‘run’ churches as they run mills? What about people whose test of the prosperity of a Christian community is its balance-sheet? What about the people that hang on to religious communities and services for the sake of what they can make out of them? We have heard a great deal lately about what would happen ‘if Christ came to Chicago.’ If Christ came to any community of professing Christians in this land, do you not think He would need to have the scourge in His hand… if Jesus Christ had not thus come, over and over again, to His Church, Christian men would have killed Christianity long ago...

We and our brethren, all through the ages, have been corrupting the Water of Life. And how does it come to be sweet and powerful still? That unique characteristic of Christianity, its power of reformation, is not self-reformation, but it is a coming of the Lord to His temple to ‘purify the sons of Levi, that their offering may be pleasant as in days of yore.’ So one looks upon the spectacle of churches labouring under all manner of corruptions; and one need not lose heart. The shortest day is the day before the year turns; and when the need is sorest the help is nearest...

I believe too, with all my heart-and I hope that you do-that, though the precious wheat is riddled in the sieve, and the chaff falls to the ground, not one grain will go through the meshes. Whatever becomes of churches, the Church of Christ shall never have its strength so sapped by abuses that it must perish, or its lustre so dimmed that the Lord of the Temple must depart from His sanctuary.[7]

God does not abandon His people. He intends the church to be a glorious bride (to use last week’s language), and to be salt and light in this rotting and dark world. So He’s going to do work in His people. And He intends for that salt to be salty, and that light to be bright.

When we (rightly) mourn and condemn the sin all around us, just know: God will deal with His children first so that when they go out into all the world to preach a gospel that transforms heart, soul, mind and strength, they are bringing the solution to the problem in word and deed, not adding to it.

How do we respond?

1. Identify what needs to get out of temple. [8] What most threatens to occupy the space God has set aside for His purposes in the church? What corrupting influences needs to be cleansed? I wrote down 5 things the broader church in America is wrestling with right now based on conversations and insight from those who study these things. Last night, at a wedding reception, Sheila and I sat with a young couple who live downstate who cited at least three of them for why they and many of their friends are struggling with church.  

Setting empire measures of success. Last week we talked about how God loves to use the “are nots” to confound the “are.” God specializes in using the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. The success of the temple of God needs to be measured by the standards of the Kingdom of God. Worldly standards tend to involve two things when it comes to the success of organizations: how big you are, and how much money you have. Nothing wrong with either of those. If a church can be large and cash flush, more power to ‘em. It’s just not a Kingdom standard for success.

• Sometimes churches are big because they are crushing it when it comes to building a compelling community of truth and grace; sometimes they are big because they have light shows and free giveaways and a great coffee bar onsite; sometimes they are just situated in the right place at the right time. All kinds of reasons. Big is not bad, but it’s not automatically good.

• Sometimes churches are small because they have fallen out of the race through sin permeating the church, through bad leadership, or through the compromise of truth; sometimes a town died; sometimes the only people left after revival were those who were serious; sometimes they are situated in a place hostile to the gospel. All kinds of reasons. Small is not bad, but it’s not automatically good.

• Some churches have tons of money, some don’t, and the reasons for that are all over the map: what part of town is the church situated? What kinds of jobs to the congregants have? Are they recession-proof? What happened during COVID? Gas price hikes?

How does God measure success in his church, both globally and locally? That’s what I’m interested in. I would love to hear from you about this in Message+, but here’s a broad summary: Kingdom fruit. People being transformed into the image of Christ in whom the fruit of the Holy Spirit increasingly characterizes personal and corporate life.

Confusing empire power with kingdom influence. All throughout church history, whenever the church has become too deeply embedded within the halls of cultural power, it has compromised the church. It started with Constantine. He legalized Christianity, and under his rule persecution dropped dramatically. Christians began to have access to cultural comfort and wealth. It’s no surprise that they loved this change. Who wouldn’t? But almost right away, they began to passionately argue that things that weren’t okay for the previous 300 years were now okay. It turns out all those things were things that Constantine liked.

Their principle cracked; they began to love the power and comfort that came with cultural access and authority more than the power of God working through a faithful church. This pattern repeats over and over throughout history. The kind of kingdom influence that genuinely transforms cultures come from the ground up, not the top down. Christianity is a servant’s revolution.

In addition, we can take our cues from culture about how we ought to use power instead of looking to Jesus. Over the past few years, the very public reckoning in some areas of church life in America have revealed places where a love of and abuse of power looks like the world and not like how God intended his church to function. When the New Testament talks about those in positions of leadership or authority, it constantly stresses the servant nature of that position. In response to a couple disciples’ request to eventually “sit at his right and left hand” (places of authority), Jesus said,

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:20-28)

Fear of “them.” It usually sounds like this:  “If ‘they’ get their way, this is the end of…” And from that comes a whole movement based on fear often with an almost apocalyptic concern. Like Sam says to Frodo, “This is the end of all things!” But that is the exact opposite of what Scripture tells us God has given us: not a spirit of fear, but of “power, of love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

I have a concern that we look at whatever the latest challenge is to Christian life and teaching and respond as if we are thinking, “Well, looks like this one is bigger than God.”  Isn’t that functionally what we are saying when we panic in the face of cultural challenges? But as long as there has been a church, there have always been empire values that have pressed hard against the gates of the Kingdom. Sin has never stopped crouching at the door. This has always been true. Yet God hasn’t left his throne; He hasn’t abandoned his church; he hasn’t closed His Word or stifled his Holy Spirit. The church goes on. It has always gone on.    

Celebrityism. It is easy to fill the temple courtyard with people on pedestals. This, too, is as old of the church. Paul called out the factions and basically said, “Stop it! We don’t follow people!!”[9] We all have people we admire and trust; that’s not a bad thing. But they didn’t build the temple; they don’t set temple agendas; and they don’t get our worship or loyalty. There is something compelling about the idea that there is someone out there who I know is always speaking the truth, who always sees the world correctly, who whenever they speak or act, we can trust it’s good and true. But…that’s only Jesus. There is never a time we don’t filter people’s words, actions and character through the filter of God’s word.

We also have to be careful not to import celebrities from their cultural pedestal onto a church pedestal. Being a “big deal” in the eyes of the Empire carries no automatic weight in the Kingdom. It’s easy to think, “If we could get HIM or HER, then people will pay attention to the church!” And then it’s easy to think, “I want to be in small group with them, or sit nearby on a Sunday morning so we become friends.” Wanting to be their friend isn’t a bad thing in itself, but is a bad thing if it’s because you think they are cool or that somehow their friendship matters more than others.

 I think what God intends for the church is that we to know people with no concept of their standing in the world. If they have wisdom and righteousness, they have wisdom and righteousness. Hang out with them. That’s Kingdom life. #message+ #smallgroups  #potlucks #lobbytalk #coffee #hikingfishingBBQmoviesmealsetc

Consumerism. We live in a consumerist culture: we buy, we use, we discard. If we don’t like what we buy, we buy something else. Things are expendable. And you have noticed, people become expendable in a consumerist culture. We use and discard if they don’t make us happy. Churches can become expendable: we use and discard if they don’t make us happy. God and His kingdom can become expendable: we use the parts we don’t like and discard the parts we don’t until we created a space where (it turns out) God’s priorities and perspective perfectly align with ours. Huh. Church is a covenant community, and that’s a world apart from consumerism.

2. Pray for godly zeal.

 If we are like Jesus, zeal that our lives and our church become a holy space, “set aside” for God’s purposes, will consume us.

So, for what should we be zealous to remove and put in the courtyard of our church and our lives?  I mentioned some bigger picture issues to take out, and there are certainly more. I want to end by focusing on tangible Kingdom attributes that we are called to put in. And when God calls us, He equips us, so I know when can do this with His help. When we are zealous to see these things, the church flourishes as God’s transforming presence is made manifest in our transformed lives.

• Love – agape loving people well  

• Peace – bringing righteous order to sinful chaos

• Mercy – giving grace (unmerited favor) wherever possible

• Kindness – treating others with goodness

• Faithfulness – being a righteous presence others can count on

• Truth-telling – speaking honestly about…everything.

• Humility – having a modest/honest estimate of ourselves

• Generosity – giving to those in need

• Gentleness – strength under control in the service of others

• Self-control – not ruled by our appetites

• Prayer – regularly communicating with God

• Righteousness – doing that which God would approve

• Service – looking to serve rather than be served

• Nurture – caring for those who are hurting or broken

• Boldness – a fearlessness to do and say what is righteous

Help us, Lord, to play our part in this church becoming increasingly a holy community of love, truth, prayer, worship, repentance, forgiveness, justice and mercy – a place for people of all neighborhoods and nations, a place where the grace of Jesus’ saving atonement is central, a place where God’s name is honored in our words and actions and God’s presence is experienced as transformative, saving, and healing. May zeal for the integrity of your house, guided by your Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit, consume us.[10]

 
________________________________________________________________________________

[1] “They transformed what should have been a place for worshipful prayer into a noisy market.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[2] “John’s record of the temple cleansing immediately after the miracle at Cana (vv. 1–11 note) offers an important key to the whole of Jesus’ ministry. In these events are signaled replacement of the old order (water of ceremonial cleansing, Herod’s temple) with the new (the wine of salvation, Is. 25:6–9; the risen Lamb as the new temple, Rev. 21:22).”(ESV Reformation Study Bible)  This event is probably distinct from Jesus’ cleansing the temple at the end of his ministry (Matt 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17; Luke 19:45–46). (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[3] Malachi 3:1-4 “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight…he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.”

[4] Benson Commentary

[5] Psalm 69:9

[6] “No two scenes can be more different than the two recorded in this chapter: the one that took place in the rural seclusion of Cana… the other that was done in the courts of the Temple swarming with excited festival-keepers; the one hallowing the common joys of daily life, the other rebuking the profanation of what assumed to be a great deal more sacred than a wedding festival; the one manifesting the love and sympathy of Jesus, His power to ennoble all human relationships, and His delight in ministering to need and bringing gladness, and the other setting forth the sterner aspect of His character as consumed with holy zeal for the sanctity of God’s name and house… they cover the whole ground of His character, and in some very real sense are a summary of all His work.” MacLaren’s Expositions.

[7] MacLaren’s Exposition

[8] This can be really personal as well as corporate. “Do you not know that you [the church] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you… For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) The church is “the household of God” (Eph. 2:19).  Believers are “a spiritual house” (1 Pet. 2:5); “God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3:17).

[9] 1 Corinthians 1

[10] Colin Smith, https://openthebible.org/sermon/zeal-for-gods-house/

The End Of All Things (Revelation 19:11- 20:15)

Revelation is “A revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Rev 1:1) “If anyone asks, ‘Why read the Apocalypse?’ the answer must be, ‘To know Christ better.’”[1] Too much of a focus on anything less will rob us of the goodness of the message of Revelation. I say this because today’s passages have been interpreted…a lot of different ways. We must be consistent with our interpretations when reading Revelation. We tend to play “duck, duck, goose” with Revelation: “Figurative, figurative, LITERAL.” I am no exception. I have found myself revising numerous sermons in this series because I would think, “Anthony, that’s not how you used that image last week.” So, here is A WAY to understand Revelation that I have been using so far:

• Numbers are figurative. Weigh them, don't count them. That includes the 1,000 years that show up today.

• Sun, moon stars are heavenly beings

• Mountains are nations; the sea is people of all nations

• Fire/blood/winepress[2] have been icons that when you click on them lead to  the grim reality of God’s judgment. Sometimes more than one image is used at the same time (like today’s passage) 

• The Beast, the False Prophet and Babylon have been corporate rather than individual, though individuals have embodied them throughout history. They are systems, empires, worldviews.

• The catastrophic physical calamities have been about spiritual, economic, and political realities.

• Recapitulation has been a thing; we saw the end of the world multiple times; we are about to hear about Armageddon again two more times (from two different perspectives) in Rev. 19 and 20.

We are going to pick up Revelation 19, beginning in verse 11. Verses 1-10 will show up next week when we get to Chapter 21. Once again, I am going to let the next few pages be the original text (mostly from The Voice translation) with its myriad of footnotes. We are going to skip to page 6 for a version/translation/commentary by yours truly that seeks to combine all the…stuff. All the things. 

I looked up and saw that heaven had opened.[3] Suddenly, a white horse appeared. Its rider is called Faithful and True,[4] and with righteousness He exercises judgment and wages war.  His eyes burn like a flaming fire, and on His head are many crowns.[5] His name was written before the creation of the world, and no one knew it except He Himself.[6]He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,[7] and the name He was known by is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, outfitted in fine linen, white and pure, were following behind Him on white steeds. [8]From His mouth darts a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 

He will rule over them with a scepter made of iron.[9] He will trample the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, the All Powerful.[10] And there on His robe and on His thigh was written His name:[11] King of kings and Lord of lords.[12] Then I looked up and saw a messenger standing in the sun; and with a loud voice, he called to all the birds that fly[13] through midheaven. The Heavenly Messenger said, “Come. Gather for the great feast[14] God is preparing for you  where you will feast on the flesh of[15] kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the rich and powerful, the flesh of horses and their riders[16]—all flesh—both free and slave, both small and great.”[17]I looked down, and I saw the beast I had seen earlier and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered together to wage war against the One riding the white horse and His heavenly army.[18] 

The beast was soon captured along with the false prophet, the earth-beast I had seen earlier who performed signs to deceive those who had agreed to receive the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its detestable image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.  And all who remained met death at the blade of the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One riding on the white horse. All the birds feasted fully on their flesh.[19] 

Then I saw a messenger coming from heaven. In his hand was a key to the abyss and a great chain that had been forged in heaven. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years with the great chain.[20]The messenger cast him into the abyss and locked it and sealed him in it so that he could not go about deceiving the nations until the 1,000 years had come to completion.[21] Afterward he must be released for a short time.[22] 

Then I saw some thrones, and those seated in judgment were given the right to judge. Standing there were the souls of those who were beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and the word of God. They had refused to worship the beast or its detestable image and had not received the mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. They had come back to life and reigned with the Anointed One, our Liberating King, for 1,000 years.  Now as for the rest of the dead, they were not given life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are the ones who take part in the first resurrection.[23] Over these, the second death has no power;[24] they will serve as priests of God and His Anointed, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years. 

When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison.[25]And he will crawl out of the abyss in order to deceive the nations located at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog[26] as Ezekiel described them, in order to rally them together for one final battle. They are in number as the grains of sand on the shore. 

They marched in unholy array over the expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.[27] As they laid siege to the city, fire rained down from heaven and incinerated them. And the devil who had deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet[28] had already been thrown; and the unholy trio will be tortured day and night throughout the ages.[29] 

The scene changed.[30] I saw a great white throne, and One was seated upon it. The earth and heaven receded from His presence; there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in front of the throne. Some books were opened. Then another book was opened; it was called the book of life. And the dead were judged according to what had been recorded in the first books; these were the records of everything they had done.[31] And the sea surrendered its dead.[32] Death and Hades gave up their dead as well. And all were judged according to their works. 

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.[33] This is the second death, the lake of fire.[34]  And everyone whose name could not be found among the names written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. And they will have no rest, day or night.[35] 

* * * * *

So here is my version, in which I stand on the backs of 2,000 years of commentators. I mean, it’s not all of them, but it’s a good representation of common themes. My goal is not the details (though I hope to get them right), but the message that transcends and illuminates the details. In other words, don’t miss the forest for a few distracting trees J 

[Note: we are apparently seeing the final confrontation twice. The first one focuses on Jesus as the Returning King and feels like the start of the movie where you give away what’s about to happen, then something like “Three Weeks Earlier” appears on the screen. That’s kind of how Chapters 19-20 feel. So I am going to try to tell them as a synchronized story, which means I’m combining what I understand to be the narrative of the two stories. THIS IS NOT MEANT TO TAKE THE PLACE OF THE ORIGINAL J It’s only to make the reading less confusing.]

* * * * * 

Then another messenger came from heaven with a key to the abyss, the home of chaos and evil, and a great chain that had been forged in heaven made of Jesus resurrection power. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and thoroughly bound him with the chain to suppress his power in the world. 

The messenger cast him into his abysmal home of chaos and evil and locked it, sealing him in it so that he could not stop the spread of the gospel to all the nations for 1,000 years[36] – that is, until God’s timetable had been completed, and Satan must be released from the abyss (but not unbound) for a short time. 

Then I saw that God had placed people on thrones of judgment. In front of them were the souls of those who were killed because of their testimony of Jesus and the word of God, as well as those who had paid any price by refusing to worship the beast or its detestable image, and who had not been marked as “beastly” by the allegiance in their hearts and the actions of their hands. 

Their souls were alive (#firstresurrection), and they were reigning with the Lamb, the King of Kings, while Satan was bound and the gospel flourished in the world. Blessed and holy are the ones who take part in the first resurrection as they await the reuniting of soul and body after the final judgment, when all things are made new.  

Over these, the second death – not the first, physical death, but the spiritual death that follows final judgment[37] – will have no power; they serve as priests of God and His Anointed, and they reign with Him as the gospel spreads through and flourishes in the world. 

When the time of Satan’s bondage and the gospel’s spread is completed, Satan will be released from the abyss (though not from the chains of Jesus’ resurrection power) and will deceive all the nations in order to rally them together yet again for one final battle. His followers are numerous, as numerous as the sand on the shore of the sea of humanity from which the beasts had arisen. These citizens of the city of Satan – anywhere Rome and Babylon are central - marched  over all the earth and surrounded the city of God – the church.[38]  

I looked up and saw that heaven had opened – another vision was beginning. Suddenly, a white horse appeared that looked like the horse with the false Christ-pretender from the Seven Seals. But this rider was different. This rider was Jesus, the Faithful and True.  

He comes to exercise righteous judgment and to bring an end to all unrighteousness. His eyes burned with righteous anger, and he wore…all the crowns, from everywhere, from all the kings, from all time. Only He knew His secret name, which was written before the creation of the world. 

Dressed in a robe dipped in the life-blood of his sacrifice,[39] He finally revealed His name: The Word of God. The armies of heaven, outfitted in purity as if in fine, clean linen, were following behind Him on horses just like His. From the mouth of The Word of God darted…well, the Word of God, a sharp sword of Truth with which to strike down the false foundations of nations. 

He had an iron scepter befitting all-powerful king. Like all royalty,  inscriptions that define Him were written on His robe and on His thigh, but they surpassed the inscriptions on the statues of emperors or rulers: “King of kings and Lord of lords” belongs only to Him.  

Like Isaiah prophesied concerning the ‘winepress’ of the wrath of God[40]  the  ‘grapes’ of evil will be harvested from the earth, then drained of life and destroyed.[41] [Babylon’s] sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup....” (Revelation 18:5-6; 20)  

With a loud voice, an angelic messenger standing as if in the center of the sun called to all the carrion birds that fly through midheaven. “Come. There is about to be a war, so all you eaters of the dead be prepared to feast at the winepress: on kings, captains, the rich and powerful, horses and their riders, free and slave, small or great - all those who helped the Beast (made up of the Romes and Babylons in the world) commit evil against God, His world, and His people.” 

As they laid siege to the global church, God’s judgment rained down on them from heaven like fire and destroyed them.[42]  The earthly empires stood no chance, and the Beast was soon captured along with the False Prophet (remember, this is the spirit of anti-christ, of religious deception, of idolatry masquerading as holiness, who was able to perform signs and wonders, just like Pharaoh’s magicians, to deceive those who had agreed to be marked by their allegiance to the beast and those who compromised true faith to worship its detestable image.)  

The Beast (Global Systems hostile to God’s people) and the False Prophet (Religious Idolatry and Deception) were thrown into the lake of judgment[43] that burns with fire and sulfur, so that they would be completely consumed.  And as the One riding on the white horse spoke the sword of God’s Truth, the people who remained saw the lie that sins brings life turn into the truth that the wages of sin is death  

Just as Satan was defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his followers' testimony (12:7-9, 11), this battle was won by the blood of the Lamb and the Truth of The Word. The carrion birds, the scavengers who feed on death, feasted until they could hold no more. 

And the devil who had deceived them was exiled to a lake of fire[44] and sulfur (God’s judgment)[45] where the Beast of Empires and the Second Beast, the False Prophet of Idolatry had already been thrown; and this anti-trinity will pay the price of their evil throughout the ages. 

[now we move to the Final Judgment]

The scene changed. I saw a great pure and holy throne, and One was seated upon it. Even the earth and heaven receded from His presence; there was no place for even things as grand as them in His presence. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in front of the throne. Some books were opened. 

Then another book was opened; it was called the Book of Life. It contains the names of all saved by grace (Ex 32:32; Is 4:3; Dan 12:1, 2)— God's mercy through the Lamb who was slain for their sins is far greater in comparison than the frailty of their works. 

And the dead were judged according to what had been recorded in the first books; these were the records of everything they had done without the blood of Jesus on the doorpost of their lives.[46] Everything that held the dead – the Sea[47] and Death, which between the two of them accounted for all the bodies; Hades, which held their souls -  gave up their dead, and all were judged according to their works. 

Then Death, Hades, and everyone whose name could not be found among the names written in the book of life were given to what looked like a Lake of Fire: God’s eternal judgment. This is the second death, where both soul and body meet their eternal death. 

* * * *

I like puzzles. To use a puzzle analogy, the point is to see the Big Picture once all the pieces are together, but if some key pieces look out of place, it’s distracting at best, maybe confusing, and we might even fight over where they go! -So let’s see if we can find how some of these pieces fit into the Big Picture in a way that makes the whole come to life.

First, “The Millennium itself is one of the most controversial questions of eschatology (the doctrine of the last things)…there are problems with [all] views… responsible Christian scholars vary in its interpretation according to their convictions and presuppositions.”[48] I think it’s fair to say the timing of the tribulation and the question of whether or not Christians will have to endure it rank pretty high too. Here are 4 key ways Christians have thought about this.

Michael Heisser describes himself as an “eschatological system agnostic.” I like that term. Revelation is the kind of book that defies airtight theories. I’m thinking of a book title to highlight the problem: The Last Word on Eschatological Details (5th Revision).[49]

Second, I find it helpful to remember the “now and not yet” aspects seen in Revelation already. 

• In some sense the Millennium began at Jesus’ resurrection (Satan is restrained now, the Gospel is flourishing in the world now, the saints in heaven are ruling and reigning now) with a fullness yet to be experienced (we have not yet seen Satan destroyed, or the Kingdom inaugurate fully and perfectly in the world). 

• It sure seems like tribulation has always been with us (the now), which is not to say it won’t get worse (the not yet). What’s the take away from both of them? 

• The now: “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Revelation is not about being taken out of this world but about faithful, obedient discipleship characterized by love in this world.[50] It is meant to enliven Christians in the midst of persecution and chaos, to help them patiently endure persecution and struggles both within and without. 

• The not yet: Revelation 21-22 (next week).

Third, the return of Jesus, the Second Coming, uses the term parousia. This was the word used to describe Roman generals returning from battle. They literally would ‘descend from the clouds’ as they crossed the tops of mountains before being received with great pomp and circumstance as a returning, conquering King. John has been digging Rome and Emperors for the whole book; here is just another reminder that all earthly kings are pretenders to the throne. Jesus is King, and he’s coming back in glory. 

Fourth, at this last battle in Revelation 19, there is no literal, physical war for those present at the Second Coming to join. The heavenly armies just sit on their horses. All the actions belong to the Lamb Who Was Slain, who rids the world of evil through his own blood and a sword of Truth (19:15).[51] 

The symbol of the beast can open our eyes to systemic and structural evil in our world. Sometimes injustice or suffering may make it appropriate for us to use the rage passages [of Psalms] in prayer. But we must always return and worship to the central motif of the Lamb. The example and teaching of the Lamb must cover the lives of believers. Then the rage we bring to God and leave at the throne of grace will find its proper place.[52]

We can be distracted by the looming threat of a guns and mortar war and forget that our battle has been ongoing: we don't wrestle with flesh and blood, but with spiritual forces, and our solution has always been the spiritual armor of God. (Ephesians 6)

Fifth, Revelation is the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing for reading it: “Blessed is the one who obeys the words of this prophecy.” In other words, in light of the not yet, how should we live now?

You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and eagerly hasten toward its coming…But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2Peter 3:8–15)

We can be the voices naming that which is Beastly in the world, and calling out the false prophets who want to convince us that evil is good, that darkness is light, and that the wages of sin are anything other than death.

We can be the ambassadors of the Lamb Who Was Slain, representing the One who is Faithful and True by being faithful to the truth, and by walking in the way of the Lamb rather than the way of the Dragon.  

We can, in this Church Age, live in the ‘now’ of Christ’s Kingdom (wherever we are on this unfolding historical map). We can taste and see that the Lord is good, and that His mercies are new every morning, and that the goodness of which we only catch a glimpse now are just a teaser trailer for what awaits us in the New Heaven and New Earth. 

We can have confidence and peace now in the midst of any circumstance knowing it hasn’t surprised God. Covid? Not a surprise. Elections? Not a surprise. War? Not a surprise. Opposition to our faith? Not a surprise Your current circumstance? Not a surprise. Be at peace. 

The King is coming, and He is going to make all things new.

____________________________________________________________________________________

[1] Reading Revelation Responsibly

[2]  Like the fire and hail from the First Trumpet angel, or the fire from the mouths of the two witnesses.

[3] Emperors or various kings would have special ceremonies for their parousia (coming into a city). The king would have a specific crown that was only used for victory marches; citizens would be dressed in white robes and yelling deification names to give him honor. The parousia of Jesus brings about the final conquest of the devil and his forces (1 Cor. 15:23–24), the final judgment of the world (1 Cor. 4:5), completes the redemption of the redeemed (1 Jn. 3:2; 1 Thes. 4:16–17; Heb. 9:28), brings history to its fulfillment (Rom. 8:19; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1) and establishes the public vindication and glorification of Jesus (Mk. 14:62; Rev. 1:7). (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/the-parousia-getting-our-terms-right/)

“His robe is dipped in blood (19:13) even before he engages his enemies. The blood, therefore, is his own. Christ’s victory over his enemies… transpires through his death.” (Michael Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly)

[4] The rider on the white horse in the first seal (6:1-2) was introduced with exactly the same words (6:1; 19:11). If the rider in chapter 6 represented either false prophecy or the spirit of antichrist, it is appropriate that the rider here represents both true prophecy ("the testimony of Jesus") and Jesus Christ himself. (IVP New Testament Commentary)

[5] His crowns indicate that he is king of all (vv. 12,16).

[6] “This is a reference to what the rabbins call the shem hammephorash… the name the Jews never attempt to pronounce… they all declare that no man can pronounce it… and that God alone knows its true interpretation and pronunciation. (Adam Clarke)

[7] His bloody robe (see Gn 49:11; Is 63:1–6) unites Christ's sacrifice on the Cross with His righteous war (v. 11) and judging of sin (see 14:14–20). (Orthodox Study Bible) “The blood mentioned in connection with Christ in the Apocalypse is always his own life-blood (1:5; 5:6, 9; 7:14; 12:11.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[8] There are three OT allusions to the warrior-Messiah in this verse: he strikes down the nations (Isa 11:3ff.); he rules them with an iron rod (Ps 2:9); he tramples out the winepress of God's wrath (Isa 63:1-6)…Here his sword is the power of His Word (1:16 and 2:16)… the instrument of both his judgment and his salvation (Mt 12:37; Jn 12:48). (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[9] The promise in v. 15 echoes the earlier description of the male child born of the woman and caught up to heaven (12:5). (IVP New Testament Commentary)

[10] In Semitic thought, name expressed being. In this case, Faithful and True (see 3:13), Word of God (v. 13; see Jn 1:1, 14), KING OF KINGS (v. 16; see 17:14) AND LORD OF LORDS(see Dt 10:17; 1Ti 6:15). (Orthodox Study Bible)

[11] Ancient nations adorned the images of their deities, princes, etc. with inscriptions, expressing either the character of the persons, their names, or some other circumstance which might contribute to their honor, on the garment, or the thighs. (Adam Clarke)

[12] The Parthian ruler was called the “great king” and the “king of kings…” (Ezr 7:12; Eze 26:7; Da 2:37). Scripture applied similar titles to God (Dt 10:17; Ps 136:3; Da 2:47; Zec 14:9; 1Ti 6:15). (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[13] This is according to a Jewish tradition, Synopsis Sohar, p. 114, n. 25: "In the time when God shall execute vengeance for the people of Israel, he shall feed all the beasts of the earth for twelve months with their flesh and all the fowls for seven years." (Adam Clarke)

[14] See Ezek. 39:4

[15] Very similar list to Revelation 6:15

[16] The only fate considered worse than death itself was death followed by lack of burial. In Eze 39:17 – 20: God invited beasts and birds to devour the flesh of the end-time army. (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[17] Recalls the graphic prophetic curse against Gog (Ezek 39:4, 17–20; cf. Rev 20:8).

[18] This is the gathering which was initiated by the three unclean spirits like frogs “which go out to the kings of the earth” (Rev. 16:14+) (Precept Austin)

[19] No battle is fought. John may be indicating that the battle has already been fought and won by the death of the Lamb (5:5, 9) just as Satan was defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his followers' testimony (12:7-9, 11). (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[20] “Satan’s power to influence the nations is suppressed….The present spread of the gospel to the nations, as initiated in Acts, is the result of a restriction on Satan’s power to deceive.” (ESV Reformation Study Bible)

[21] “Thousand” is often used in the Scriptures to denote a long period of time, a great quantity, completion, perfection, thoroughness (Job 9:3; 2Pt 3:8).” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[22] “Satan was bound at the completion of Christ's saving work (Mt 12:28, 29; Lk 10:17, 18; Jn 12:31, 32; Col 2:15). He is not totally inactive (Acts 5:3; 1Co 5:5; Eph 6:11), but he cannot keep the gospel from the nations.” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[23] “The first resurrection (v. 6) is the heavenly life of souls who have died in Christ before His Second Coming… These righteous spirits (Heb 12:23) await only the reuniting of soul and body after the final judgment (21:1).” (Orthodox Study Bible) 

[24] “The first death is bodily death…The second death is ultimate and spiritual in character. Likewise, the first and second resurrections may be preliminary and ultimate, respectively. The first is spiritual, the second is of the body. (ESV Reformation Study Bible)

[25] Some of the early church fathers, Augustine included, thought that when Satan was cast into the abyss, it was into the hearts of those who were evil. When his is released, it is seen by those in whom Satan dwells terrorizing the people of God. 

[26] “Jewish writers typically used the invasion of Gog to predict the gathering of all nations against Israel. (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[27] “There are only two cities or kingdoms in the Apocalypse: the city of Satan, where the beast and harlot are central, and the city of God, where God and the Lamb are central. This city…Wherever God dwells among his people, there the city of God is (21:2-3).” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary) “The city is Christ’s church.” (Augustine)

[28] “That the beast and false prophet are [thrown into the lake of fire] does not argue for their individuality, since later "death" and "Hades," nonpersonal entities, are personified and cast into the same lake of fire (v.14).” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

[29] Postmillennialism: the return of Christ will not take place until the church has set up the kingdom of God on earth. Premillenialism: Christ’s return will be followed by the binding of Satan and a thousand-year reign of saints before the final judgment. Dispensationalism: divides history into seven dispensations, with the final one culminating in a kingdom centered in a renewed Jerusalem with a rebuilt temple. Amillennialism: the thousand-year reign is happening now during the Church Age in some fashion. All affirm God’s victory, and the future reign of the saints with Christ. (Asbury Bible Commentary)

[30] The vision shares features with Ps. 7:6–8; 47:8, 9; Dan. 7:9, 10 and other Old Testament judgment scenes (cf. Matt. 25:31–46). (ESV Reformation Study Bible)

[31] The books of judgment (Dan 7:10) contain a record of deeds, which will judge people (Ps 61:13; Jer 17:6). The Book of Life contains the names of all saved by grace (Ex 32:32; Is 4:3; Dan 12:1, 2)—not that they have no works, but that God's mercy is far greater in comparison.” (Orthodox Study Bible)

[32] “Many Gentiles believed that those who died at sea were barred from Hades because they were not buried.… Some apocalyptic writings expected Hades to return what was entrusted to it when the dead are raised for judgment.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible) However, Augustine notes that the “sea”, in Revelation, has always meant the nations. He thinks that when the Sea gives up its dead, it’s the spiritually dead from the nations who had not yet physically died. Later, John will say “there is no more sea.” I always thought that meant “no more chaos,” but might it mean “no more distinct nations of earth?” Hmmm…..

[33]   A river of fire flows from God’s throne in Da 7:10, an image that is heavily developed in later Jewish tradition. Most relevant… is the Jewish image of fiery Gehenna (Gehinnom), where many Jewish teachers believed that the wicked would be either tortured or consumed.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[34] “Death, the “last enemy that will be destroyed” (1Co 15:26), and Hades, the intermediate state between death and resurrection, will end.” (Orthodox Study Bible) 

[35] How Revelation 14 describes it.

[36] “A thousand-year Messianic age can be found in rabbinic literature… but [John’s]  main point was highlighting the temporary binding of Satan until the final judgment.” (NIV First Century Study Bible) There is no record in Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture that the Early Church thought this to be a literal 1,000 years. Almost to a man, the early church fathers thought this 1,000 years were either a) the time between the Resurrection and the Second Coming, or b) the span of Jesus’ incarnate life during which the gospel spreads and Satan’s power and deceit is limited.

[37] “The first death consisted in the separation of the soul from the body for a season; the second death in the separation of body and soul from God for ever. The first death is that from which there may be a resurrection; the second death is that from which there can be no recovery. By the first the body is destroyed during time; by the second, body and soul are destroyed through eternity.” (Adam Clarke)

[38] “The worldwide city of Christ is to suffer at the worldwide city of the Devil.” (Augustine)

[39] Quick note: According to the excerpts in Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture, all of the Early Church Father’s thought this blood was Jesus’ own. Some modern commentators think it’s the blood of those God judges in the ‘winepress’ of his wrath – which, as I read it, has not happened yet in the narrative. 

[40] Interesting: the judgment is here a winepress, in a couple verses, it will be a fire. We saw this in Revelation 14: “ Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.  Another angel, who was in charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes off the vine of the earth, because its grapes are now ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and tossed them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” Both capture the point that judgment is coming; both are images, ‘icons’ on which to click.

[41] “Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” (Joel 3:13b-14)

[42] Interesting perspective from Caesarius of Arles, which will show the kind of interpretation the church fathers offered: “Either they will believe in Christ through the fire of the Holy Spirit, and they will be spiritually consumed by the church, that is, incorporated into the church, or they will be consumed by the fire of their own sins and they will perish.” (Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture: Revelation)

[43] (Is. 66:15, 16; Joel 2:3). 

[44] Fire is frequently associated with all-consuming judgment (Is. 66:15, 16; Joel 2:3).

[45] So far in Revelation, all fire has represented judgment and not actual fire. I’m trying to stay faithful to that framework.

[46] My image to link it back to Exodus, which has happened a lot in Revelation. 

[47] Augustine thought this meant that, since the sea represented nations, the Sea gave up the living who were spiritually dead, and Hades gave up the physically dead. 

[48] Expositor’s Bible Commentary

[49] Got the term and the book idea from Michael Heisser, on the Naked Bible Podcast

[50] Michael Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly

[51] Michael Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly

[52] Seven Deadly spirits: The message of Revelations letters for today's Church, T. Scott Daniels

Church of the Lukewarm: Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22)

One of the wealthiest city of that area during Roman times, Laodicea was widely known for its banks, a medical school with a famous eye salve[1], and a textile industry famous for glossy black wool that was used for making tunics and cloaks. The church appears to have been as wealthy as the town. There's no mention of persecution, or trouble with the Jewish population, or any conflict with heresy. 

The city worshiped a moon God named Men, a lord of the underworld. People counted on him for healing, safety, and prosperity.[2] Called ‘Lord of Two Horns’ by the Romans, [3] he was often depicted riding a horse and carrying a scepter, crescent moon rising behind him like two horns, with a slain beast at his feet. 

In A.D. 60, an earthquake leveled Laodicea (along with a lot of other places). Laodicea refused to accept Roman financial assistance because they had enough money to go it on their own. They were pretty proud of being rich enough to take care of themselves.[4]

The city’s major weakness was lack of a decent water supply. It was not hot, like the water from the hot springs of nearby Hierapolis; it was not “cold” like the water at nearby Colossae. Aqueducts brought water from these locations to Laodicea, and it was lukewarm and somewhat dirty by the time it arrived. The pipes that have survived are coated with calcification and minerals, some to the point of blocking the water flow almost entirely.

This brings us to today’s text.

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen,[5] the faithful and true witness,[6] the ruler of God’s creation.[7] 

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot (from zeo, to boil) nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 

17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.[8] 18 I counsel you to buy from me[9] gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 

19 Those whom I love I rebuke (reprove)[10] and discipline.[11] So be earnest (from zeo, to boil) and repent. 20 Here I am! I have been standing at the door and knocking.[12] If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person,[13] and they with me.[14] 

21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

* * * * *

Augustine, around 400 AD, wrote about the distinction between the City of Men and the City of God.  

“The earthly city glories in itself, the Heavenly City glories in the Lord. The former looks for glory from men, the latter finds its highest glory in God, the witness of a good conscience. The earthly lifts up its head in its own glory, the Heavenly City says to its God: 'My glory; you lift up my head.' 

In the former, the lust for domination lords it over its princes as over the nations it subjugates; in the other both those put in authority and those subject to them serve one another in love... The one city loves its own strength shown in its powerful leaders; the other says to God, 'I love you, my Lord, my strength.' 

French sociologist Jacques Ellul once noted of human cultures, 

“The whole goal of the city of man is to be able to say, we did it ourselves, we did it our way, we did it our own, we have need of nothing.”

That’s Laodicea. That’s problematic enough. It gets worse when the City of Man becomes confused with the City of God. One biblical scholar wrote of Laodicia, 

“No doubt part of her problem was the inability to distinguish between material and spiritual prosperity. The church that is prospering materially and outwardly can easily fall into self-deception that our outward prosperity is the measure of her spiritual prosperity."[15]

The link between spiritual complacency and material blessing came up time and again as I was studying this. This isn’t a new idea. Jesus warned that material comfort would make it challenging to enter the Kingdom of God.  John Wesley, an English clergyman who founded the Methodists, made an interesting observation:

“I fear, wherever riches of increase, the essence of religion is decreased in the same proportion… as riches increase, so will pride, anger, and love of the world and all its branches.” [16]

This is not inevitable, of course. It’s not money itself that’s the problem. But the Bible sure does warn about how easy it is to love money and the material things of the world. This appears to be the source of the lukewarmness in the church in Laodecia. It led to (depending on whose study you prefer):

·      works (“deeds”) that were barren and ineffective. Jesus didn’t say, “I know your heart,” though he surely does. There was something about their deeds.

·      a self-sufficiency that caused them so say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” which led them to live in a lukewarm fashion

·      a lack of passion for the things of God (they weren’t ‘boiling’) 

It’s probably a combination of all three. At minimum, they are neither pleasing nor beneficial to God. 

Ever heard the phrase “Go big or go home?” Something like that. Not that you have to do something grand, but do it wholeheartedly. It’s discouraging to watch your favorite sports team mail it in. At least try.  Sometimes I’ll watch movies where I feel insulted by the level of artistic work that went into telling the story. Just how low did they think my standards were? 

G.A. Studdert Kennedy, an Anglican priest and army chaplain for England during WW1, wrote a poem I saw referenced more than once as I was studying the church in Laodicia.[17] It’s intended to show the insult to God when we treat him casually.

When Jesus came to Golgotha, they hanged Him on a tree,

They drove great nails through hands and feet, and made a Calvary;

They crowned Him with a crown of thorns, red were His wounds and deep,

For those were crude and cruel days, and human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to Birmingham they simply passed Him by,

They never hurt a hair of Him, they only let Him die;

For men had grown more tender, and they would not give Him pain,

They only just passed down the street, and left Him in the rain.

Still Jesus cried, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do,”

And still it rained the wintry rain that drenched Him through and through;

The crowds went home, and left the streets without a soul to see,

And Jesus crouched against a wall and cried for Calvary.

 If you love or hate Jesus, either way you have invested time and emotion in wrestling with the reality of Jesus. But to ignore him? To just take him lightly or for granted? I’ve been in the position where I have wounded others in a decision I made. That’s bad enough. It’s worse when I have to say, “I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I didn’t even think about you.”  You think that’s going to make it better, and then you hear it come out of your mouth and you just cringe. I think that’s why we often hear that the opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s indifference.  

The Laodecians weren’t going through life hostile to Jesus. They just weren’t thinking about Jesus. Jesus would spit out lukewarm water; he promises to spit out such Christians. They disgust him. It’s a sobering image. 

I probably can’t overstate how bad it was going in Laodicea. In my Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series, there is a loooot more the church fathers have to say about Laodicea than any other church.  Like, they had strong opinions.  Commentators are in agreement: the idea that God would just vomit them out is a gross image for a reason. 

The description of the reality of their condition doesn’t ease up – and it nails them at the point of their false security.

“wretched" and "pitiful"—  a state when everything one owns has been destroyed or plundered by war. It had to be a shocking image to people doing really well materially. But the reality was they had lost the war. They had been spiritually plundered, and they didn’t even know it.  It turns out that when you don’t think about Jesus, you don’t stay neutral. The more comfortable we are in the world, the more it’s the world that shapes us. It’s the world that defines what’s normal, what the good life looks like.[18] We think we are cool and comfortable and knocking it out of the park, but in reality we are being plundered by the beast. 

Poor – bring no spiritual ‘gold’ to the world and they have no spiritual wealth

Naked - no virtue; righteousness; no spiritual armor 

Blind – no vision. They don’t see the world as God sees it.

And yet, after a fairly blistering takedown in which nothing good is said about this church… “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” 

In every other case, the Lord has noted both the good and the evil in the Church, and generally the good first: here He does nothing but find fault, but He adds in effect, “Do not suppose from this that I do not love you.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

There are many sayings about doors that need to be opened found in the writings of the ancient rabbis. One example will suffice.

"God said to the Israelites, My children, open to me one door of repentance, even so wide as the eye of a needle, and I will open to you doors through which calves and horned cattle may pass."[19]

John’s audience knew what was being asked of them: repentance.

“The echoes of stories in the gospels suggest that the one knocking on the door is the master of the house, returning at an unexpected hour (as in the warning to Sardis in 3.3), while the one who should open the door is the servant who has stayed awake. It is, then, Jesus’ house in the first place; our job is simply to welcome him home.”[20]

And if they repent? Jesus who has conquered, and who is sitting with the Father in power (“on the throne”), will offer them a seat with them. 

 “This is the worst of the seven Churches, and yet the most eminent of all the promises are made to it, showing that the worst may repent, finally conquer, and attain even to the highest state of glory.” (Adam Clarke)

The self-sufficient Spirit of Laodicea begins to find renewal in acts of repentance and disciplines of dependency.[21]:

Poor – bring no spiritual ‘gold’ to the world. How do we become refined gold? The Church Fathers had some opinions: 

·      “Filth is burned out by fire.” (Cyprian)

·      “…standing firm in good works...” (Caesarius of Arles)

·      “…made brilliant in the fire of temptation.” (Andrew of Caesarea)

·      “…flame of afflictions…” (Bede)

This will require endurance on a path that will refine us like gold. Many will not endure it. Even Jesus noted that. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)   

N.T. Wright recounts that Teresa of Avila once complained to the Lord about what she was suffering. ‘This’, he is said to have replied, ‘is how I treat my friends.’ Teresa, who by then prayed in the good, direct and biblical style, retorted, ‘Then you shouldn’t be surprised that you have so few of them.’[22] But the letter to each of the 7 churches reminds us that faithfulness of true friends will be rewarded. 

Naked - no virtue How do we become clothed in a white raiment?

Those who are naked are “destitute of the works of righteousness…he is clothed who is vested with the baptism of Christ, for…’as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.’” (Primasius) 

Note the inevitable two-part connection: faith and deeds. James would be happy reading this JWe are baptized into Christ, and from that flows a life inspired, empowered and ordered by Christ in us. “I know your deeds” is more than just saying, “I know what you did.” It’s saying, “I know whose you are.”

Blind – no vision . How does one get the eye salve that clears up bad eyesight? 

·       “The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes.” (Primasius)

·      “…acquire an understanding of the holy Scriptures through the performance of good works.”(Bede)

·      “For mixing together the seed of the divine word with the thistles of wealth, you have become unaware of your poverty in spiritual matters and of the blindness of your spiritual eyes and of your nakedness in good works….the salve is poverty.” (Andrew of Caesarea)

Interesting mix (and note the 2nd and 3rd are human opinions rather than quoting Scripture). But I like the way in which the early Fathers tried to consider everything: Knowing the word of God; living the commands of God; choosing self-denial. Perhaps they all sharpen our vision.

And finally, the unique term used here: ”Boiling.” It’s time to live with zeal. This is, I think, primarily about commitment, the dedicated orientation of our life.

___________________________________________________________________________

[1] Laodicea was the home of a medical school in the first century. One of its graduates was Demosthenes Philalethes, an ophthalmologist who wrote an influential textbook on the eye. An ancient healing formula called Phrygian powder was also linked with the city. (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Of The New Testament)

[2] https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-4088

[3] https://atlanticreligion.com/2014/08/13/sabazios-and-the-phrygian-moon-god-men/

[4] A snapshot of Babylon’s materialism shown in Revelation 18.

[5] Isaiah 65:16 speaks of “the God of the Amen.”  

[6] See Revelation 1:5; 19:11. 

[7] Paul wrote the book of Colossians for the church at Laodicea. See Colossians 1:15-18 for the same description of God, but in more detail.

[8] Note the contrast with the church at Smyrna: "I know . . . your poverty—yet you are rich!" 

[9] Isaiah 55:1, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." You will see the same language in Revelation 21:6 and 22:17.

[10] John 16:8; Ephesians 5:11; Ephesians 5:13 

[11] See Proverbs 3:11–12; Hebrews 12:5–6.

[12] Luke 12:35, 36, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately."

[13] In the ancient world, a meal invitation to an estranged person opened the way for reconciliation. Jesus offers to accept and renew intimate fellowship with those who repent, anticipating the final Messianic banquet in Revelation 19:9. (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[14] Note this act of grace: the self-deluded members of the congregation are being invited to an act of fellowship with Jesus. (NIV Study Bible Notes)

[15] Both quotes found in Seven Deadly Spirits: The message of Revelations letters for today's Church, written by T. Scott Daniels

[16] Seven Deadly Spirits: The message of Revelations letters for today's Church, written by T. Scott Daniels

[17] From collected poems in an anthology called “The Unutterable Beauty.” 

[18] Salvian the Presbyter (5th century) wrote of Laodicea, “They learn good and do evil…they have the form of knowledge and of truth in the law. They preach that they must not steal, yet they do steal. They read that they must not commit adultery, yet they commit it. They glory in the law, yet by transgression of the law they dishonor God. Therefore, for this very reasons, Christians are worse because they should be better.”

[19] Shir Hashirim Rabba, fol. 25, 1

[20] N. T. Wright, Revelation For Everyone

[21] The idea of “disciplines of dependency” comes from Seven Deadly spirits: The message of Revelations letters for today's Church, written by T. Scott Daniels

[22] N.T. Wright, Revelation For Everyone

The Church In Philadelphia: Open Doors (Revelation 3: 7-12)

Philadelphia was founded around 190 B.C. by the king whose close relationship with his brother earned Philadelphia the meaning “brotherly love.” 

Philadelphia was called The Doorway to the East because you had to pass through it from a shipping port in the west if you wanted to get to the East, to India specifically – and a lot of people wanted to get to India. The main roads from nearby commercially rich regions converged in Philadelphia. 

In the 2nd century BC, the Greeks had used it as a base to spread their culture into all the surrounding regions. It had an almost evangelistic fervor. Their religion, philosophy, government, art and language all spread throughout Asia Minor.[1] Philadelphia was a doorway to spread a worldview and a culture.

It was a flourishing town, at one point earning the nickname “Little Athens.” The one major drawback was earthquakes. These were such a problem that the residents of Philadelphia got used to leaving for a while and coming back. It was just kind of life in Philadelphia. It was shaky. One historian wrote that every wall had cracks; people were often injured or killed by falling bricks and stones. 

Their temples, however, were built to withstand earthquake damage. They put the foundations on charcoal beds covered with fleeces, so the temple “floated.” For this reason, the temples would be among the most secure structures in the city.  It was not unusual for the temple columns to be the only thing left standing after severe earthquakes.  

In AD 17, the same earthquake that leveled Sardis also leveled most of Philadelphia. People stayed outside the city for as long as three years after that one. When it was rebuilt, Philadelphia became Neocaesarea, the city of Caesar, thanks to the help from Rome. 

This brings us to our text.[2] 

7 Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia. “These are the words of the holy One, the true One, and the One who possesses the key of David,[3] which opens the doors so that no one can shut them. The One who closes all doors so that no one can open[4]: 

8 “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut.[5] I have done this because you have limited strength, yet you have obeyed My word and have not denied My name. 9 Watch, and I will make those of the congregation of Satan—those who call themselves ‘Jews’ but are not because they lie—come before you humbly penitent, falling at your feet.[6] Then they will know how much I have loved you.[7] 

 10 Because you have obeyed My instructions to endure and be patient[8], I will keep watch over you and preserve you[9] from/through the hour of trial, the time of temptation/test[10] which will come upon the whole earth and put the inhabitants of the earth[11] to the test.11 I will soon/quickly return.[12] Hold tight to what you have so that no one can take away your victor’s wreath. 

12 “As for the one who conquers through faithfulness even unto death, I will plant that person as a pillar[13] in the temple[14] of My God, and that person will never have to leave the presence of God. Moreover, I will inscribe this person with the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, New Jerusalem—which descends out of heaven from My God—and My own new name.[15]

What is the "hour of trial"?[16] Three main possibilities show up in commentaries: 

•  the time known to the Jews as the "messianic woes," a time of trouble before the final "day of the Lord" (Daniel 12:1, Joel 2:31; Mark 13:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelation 14:7). 

• times of tribulation in which many Christians are martyred (6:9-11; 7:9-14, etc.).

• a judgment from God on unbelievers

Whichever one of those it is, it’s going to be a really tough time. A really tough time. I just want to note something about this verse by offering an amplified translation that captures some of the nuance going on in the language. 

I will keep watch over you and preserve you from/ keep you intact through the hour of trial, the time of temptation (negatively destructive) or test (positively refining) which will come upon all the inhabitants of the earth and put the ‘earth dwellers” to the test. 

My sense is that it’s a situation (and/or ongoing situations throughout history) which reveals who we are: are we “earth dwellers” who crumble under temptation and trials or are we “heaven dwellers” who endure, and for whom those times of testing refine and mature us thanks to God’s protection rather than tear us apart internally and corporately? 

What does it mean, then, when God says that "I will also keep you from the hour of trial"? There are three possibilities again.

• "To keep from" is to be removed. 

• It’s preservation while in the trial, being kept from the spiritual destructiveness of evil (John 17:15).

• Exemption from the hour of trial has often not been deliverance from persecution (see Foxe’s Book Of Martyrs). It’s being spared divine judgment but not hardship.

I think the biblical record and church history show us that Christians have experienced all of these in times of trials. Because I’m not that interested in trying to fit comfortably into an eschatological niche, let’s just note two things I think everyone agrees on:  

• Times will be tough.

• God will be faithful to “keep us” either through or from these trials. 

If you find that you are in them, it’s through. If you aren’t, it’s from. What I want to land on is their reward for their faithfulness in the midst of either resisting the allure of Babylon or enduring the persecution of Rome. Their reward was eternal stability and opportunity.  

ETERNAL STABILITY

The temple pillar imagery is about stability, assurance and hope. Jesus is a firm foundation. No matter what happens in this life, those who faithfully endure will stand strong through eternity.  

John’s audience lived in a place where the world was literally crumbling around them – except for pillars in temples. We live in a world that is crumbling in a different way: everything around us has cracks (families, churches, government, jobs, friendships, health); we are often injured by falling bricks and stones. We bear the bruises of a fallen world.

But there will be a day with no more earthquakes, no more instability, no more collateral damage from the chunks of sinful mortar others drop on us (and we drop on them). There will be a day where, by the grace and power of God, we are made new (Revelation 21), and that transformation will never come to end.

OPPORTUNITY

The opportunity is to spread the gospel of Christ and His Kingdom. 

Christians in Philadelphia were not meant to see what was happening around them as problems but as opportunities to speak to people about where real security can be found. It was a church that allowed its obstacles to become, through the power of Christ, open doors of opportunity for building the kingdom and extending the gospel.[17]  Think of problems in Scripture that became opportunities:

• Paul’s shipwreck leads to a miraculous sign (Acts 28)

• Paul and Silas lead their jailor to Christ (Acts 16)

• A lack of food becomes an opportunity for the miraculous (Mark 8)

• A Roman trial becomes an opportunity to witness (Acts 26)

• Poverty becomes an opportunity for generosity (Acts 4)

• Persecution becomes opportunity for testimony (all martyrs)

• Being cursed brings an opportunity to bless (Luke 6)

• Pagan entertinment become part of a Gospel presentation (Acts 17)

• It appears that, in Philadelphia, the persecution from the Jews was an open door for testimony and/or ministry, which would result in their attackers eventually giving them honor.

• Even death, for a Christian, opens a door to life.

So I am wondering what it looks like to find the open doors around us in the midst of trials that are opportunities for sharing the gospel and spreading the Kingdom. I suspect if we begin to have that mindset, the hardship and challenges of life are more likely to be positively refining rather than negatively destructive. 

• The economy is unsettled right now. Both production and supply chains are disrupted for a variety of reasons; businesses lack workers; rising wages are impacting the cost of everything.

• Our poverty rate is around 11% on average; about 20% of us are uninsured or significantly underinsured, and health challenges can very quickly become a health crisis. “Real wages” have been dropping steadily for a while. 

• From 2010 - 2019, racial and ethnic minorities accounted for all of the nation’s population growth. We are probably more ethnically diverse than we have ever been as a nation (which is not a bad thing at all), but the US has not always handled this kind of diversity well.

• The rate of church attendance might be the lowest it’s ever been. In the 1950s, about 3% of people did not claim any religious identity. Now it’s at least 20%. Church membership is at an all-time low (47%), but that’s measuring all houses of worship. Of those who attend church, only about 35% attend in a way that could be described as “regularly.”

• We have a crisis of theology. 30% of evangelicals think Jesus was a good teacher, but not God. 35% disagree that The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual new birth or new life before a person has faith in Jesus Christ.” 17% agree that modern science disproves the Bible. 46% think most people are good by nature. 42% agree that God accepts the worship of all religions.[18]

• Everything surrounding COVID. 

• Housing is really expensive; cars are becoming a precious commodity (first the lack of computer chips, and now a looming problem making the frames).

• Political tensions are such that the possibility of violence remains an ever-present concern here and abroad.

• Racism (and the best way to address it) is a front and center concern.

• The #metoo problem is ongoing. The way in which we treat each other sexually in our culture is far too often appallingly bad. 

• Identity is perhaps on shakier ground than ever. 

What if instead of seeing these things as obstacles, or getting consumed by seeing them as problems, or using them as opportunities to unleash anger, we see them as open doors of opportunity to spread the Gospel, represent Jesus, and introduce people to the beauty of life in the Kingdom. 

• Economic uncertainty - open door to look for businesses to support and people to help.

• Poverty - open door to be generous, or help people find jobs, education or resources.

• Changing demographics – open door to learn from the incredible variety of image bearers. More specifically, since immigrants are more Christian than we are (by percentage of affiliation)[19], we get the opportunity to worship with other believers in a way that points toward the image in Revelation of every tribe, nation and tongue gathered together. 

• Low church attendance – open door to go out into the highways and byways, and invite people to join us.

• Huge cracks in our theological armor – open door to study Scripture more than ever and re-present truth wherever we go.

• COVID – open door for the people of God to enter with stability, peace, hope and love.

• Housing and transportation are pricey – open door to share space and vehicles as we are able.

• Political tensions – open door to be the peacemakers Jesus calls us to be.

• Racism (and the best way to address it) – open door to talk about the value and dignity of all image bearers of God, demonstrate in word and deed the commitment to see and treat all people as Jesus would, and be a voice for those whose voices are too often not heard.

• The #metoo movement– open door to commit ourselves to honoring other with our eyes, our words, our thoughts and our actions; to teach our kids to do the same; and to offer the healing and hope that Jesus brings to those whose lives feel shattered.

• Questions of identity – open door to talk about why we believe seeing ourselves as God sees us and finding our identity in Jesus above all else are so important to bring stability and purpose to our lives. 

 And then, there’s our homes, our families, our church. Those, too, are places to which God has called us to spread the good news of the gospel minister on his behalf. These, too, have open doors. And if we build from the situation in Philadelphia, those doors will open in the midst of hardship and trials as often as not. 

Everybody around us needs ministry. They may look they are already pillars in the heavenlies (they aren’t), they may be idiots; maybe you just don’t like them. They need the ministering healing of God embodied in the church and re-presented by the people of God just as much as you do. 

May we be the kind of people who can see the doors around us that God has opened; may we have the Holy Spirit infused wisdom, strength, and love to walk through them.

________________________________________________________________________

[1] https://storage.snappages.site/HD257D/assets/files/Revelation-3.7-13-See-the-Open-Door.pdf

[2] All the commentaries at Biblegateway were really helpful. I tried to keep track, but I’m sure I did not properly credit them all.

[3] Isaiah 22:22. 

[4] Jesus claimed His authority to “open” and “shut” the doors of the kingdom (see Matthew 16:19). This passage is either admission into the kingdom or an opportunity for evangelism and service (see 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3).

[5] “There may be an allusion here to the fact that the ancient town of Philadelphia lay at the entrance of a mountain pass to the inner region of Asia Minor. The opportunity lay before the church to enter that door and spread the gospel to the surrounding area.”

https://israelmyglory.org/article/philadelphia-church-of-the-open-door-revelation-37-13/. Paul wrote to Colosse, “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message” (Colossians 4:3). Also, the phrase looks forward to the open door to heaven, which John is given in Revelation 4:1.

[6] This fulfills OT prophecies that Gentile oppressors would bow down before Israel (Isaiah 49:23; 60:14). Perhaps this is making the point that followers of Jesus are the true Children of Abraham. 

[7] Christians were persecuted by the Jews, who believed they (not the) Christians) would inherit David’s kingdom (see 2 Samuel 7:12–16). In A.D. 90, right around the time Revelation was written, the Council of Jamnia expelled Christians from the synagogue. 

[8] “Not the words which Christ has spoken concerning patience, but the word of Christ which requires patience to keep it; the gospel which teaches the need to be patient waiting for Christ.” (Vincent's Word Studies)

[9] “5083 tēréō (from tēros, "a guard") – properly, maintain (preserve); (figuratively) spiritually guard (watch), keep intact.” (HELPS Word Studies)

[10] The ‘hour of trial’ is an image used throughout the Bible (Daniel 12; Matthew 6:13; Mark 13:4; John 17:6, 15; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12), referring to the testing and trials that we endure before God’s eternal Kingdom arrives. The parallel expression in John 17:15 refers to spiritual protection. “Cognate: 3986 peirasmós (from 3985 /peirázō) – temptation or test – both senses can apply simultaneously (depending on the context). The positive sense ("test") and negative sense ("temptation") are functions of the context (not merely the words themselves).” (HELPS Word Studies)

[11] “Those who dwell on the earth” is apparently a term for “men of the world who have their portion in this life” (Ps. 17:14b). Other commentators are more blunt: it’s unbelievers who worship the beast, persecute believers, and deserve divine judgment (see also Revelation 6:10 and 13:8).

[12] Implied here is “without unnecessary delay.” (HELPS Word Studies). Sometimes, this is a warning that God will return in judgment (verse 3; 2:5, 16) but this is a hopeful event. Christ will deliver his church either through or from the hour of trial.

[13] A pillar is constantly used in Scripture as a figure of strength and durability. A faithful municipal servant or a distinguished priest was sometimes honored by having a special pillar added to one of the temples and inscribed with his name. (Expositors Bible Commentary)

[14] The church is God’s temple (2 Corinthians 6:16)

[15] Philadelphia had taken Caesar’s name at one point in their history. Jesus promises those who love him a new identity and citizenship in the New Jerusalem (Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 11:10, 16; 12:22). Christ's "new name" could be either the unknown name that he alone knows, or the new name of Christ given to the believer through redemption (cf. Isa 62:2; 65:15). The significance of these names is further developed in Revelation 19–22. (Expositors Bible Commentary)

[16] In Revelation, this “hour of trial” unfolds through the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments.

[17] I could probably dedicate a sermon to what it means that God closes doors. I don’t have time to address it in this sermon. In brief, I can see two ways we can miss what God is opening and closing: by failing to see what’s been opened, and by trying to pry open what’s been shut. 

[18] https://thestateoftheology.com

[19] https://www.pewforum.org/2013/05/17/the-religious-affiliation-of-us-immigrants/

The Buy In To Fit In (Revelation 2:18-23)

 [1]Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Thyatira. “These are the words of the Son of God,[2] the One whose eyes blaze like flames of fire[3] and whose feet gleam like brightly polished bronze: “I know your deeds: love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. Your labors greatly increase in quality as you travel along this journey.

A period of great prosperity was beginning for Thyatira. There were more trade-guilds in Thyatira than in any other Asian city at that time: wool and linen workers, garment manufacturers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers, and bronze smiths.[4]

In a town known for its work, the church is known for its deeds: love that expresses itself in serving others, and faithfulness that has expressed itself in endurance. That’s a fantastic reputation. They are nailing the orthopraxy (righteous actions) and orthopathy (righteous feeling). The problem is their foundational orthodoxy (righteous teaching/belief). 

That’s going to need to stabilize, or the foundation is going to crumble. John is going to make this point by referencing the presence of a Jezebel (likely not her real name) in their church. Here’s the backstory of Jezebel.  

Jezebel married Israel’s King Ahab and got him to worship Baal; over 800 prophets of Baal were under her care. Most of the prophets of God were murdered at her request. At one point, she set up the murder of vineyard owner just because she wanted the vineyard. Elijah prophesied to Ahab that Ahab and all his successors would be slain and that dogs would devour Jezebel. Eventually, Ahab, Jezebel and her two sons, and Ahab’s 70 sons died as Elijah had predicted.[5] John is going to use this well-known Old Testament event to make a point about Thyatira’s version of Jezebel.

 “However, I have this against you:[6] you have tolerated that woman Jezebel, who is a self-anointed prophetess and who misleads My followers to commit immoral sexual acts and to eat food prepared for idol worship.  I have provided her enough time to turn away from her indecency,[7] but she refuses to turn from these immoral acts. 

 Watch; I will throw her back into her sickbed with those who committed adultery with her, and I will make them a bed of great affliction[8] if they do not abandon her indiscretions and turn to follow Me.  I will punish her[9] by striking her children dead.[10] Through this all the churches will know I am the One who relentlessly explores the mind and heart,[11]and I will deal with each of you as you deserve according to your acts.

 Like the Nicolaitans in general, it appears Jezebel is promoting participation in the guilds where the activities mentioned took place, which would mean at best flirting with idolatry and at worst embracing it.[12] I’m not sure how to best interpret the language of judgment here. I think (?) it’s best understood as simply making the point that just as judgment followed the original Jezebel (physical affliction and death in her case) judgment will follow this Jezebel (physical or spiritual? Commentators are uncertain). Whatever conclusions you reach from that, the consequences will be serious. 

This is the third time in the first four churches in Revelation that the Nicolaitan urge has shown up. One uncomfortable implication is that this is a common problem, not an isolated or unique one. Practically everyone is wrestling with this, and there appears to have been room to wrestle.[13]

But let’s this more uncomfortable. Don't forget: in Thyatira they were flourishing in “love and faith and service and endurance, and getting better at it. These Nicolaitans of Thyatira, with Jezebel as their leader, were still active and unwearied members of the Church, full of good works, and respected by the congregation and probably by the community for their general character and way of life.[14]

It’s a deceptive spot: “I am helping so many people, I am respected in the church and in the community, so not only is what I am doing with the guilds okay, I must be okay.” But John is here to challenge that. 

Let’s look at a likely argument that Christians could join a guild and participate in its feasts without compromising the faith.[15] 

• The rituals of the guilds aren't really even meaningful to the pagans. They are simply empty rituals, more political than religious. 

• Although the pagan guild members may believe that the gods exist, Christians know that the gods are nothing. (1 Corinthians 8) When believers participate in these cultic practices, they're not worshipping a false god because there is no god there. 

• If believers do not participate in the guild events they will not only be persecuted and excluded, they will lose all relevance to the city and to the economy, and that doesn’t do any good for anybody. Participation in the guild meetings gave Christians the opportunity to be witnesses to, or positive influences on, others. 

• Others might use the opportunity to indulge in sin, but Christians certainly don’t have to.[16]

“That incense burned to Caesar? Nobody takes it seriously. That sacrificial meat offered to the gods? It used to be idolatry, but if nobody at my table takes it seriously, is it really? That letter I get to do business says I was observed sacrificing to Caesar, but (wink wink) we all know I wasn’t really, right? And sure, there were prostitutes pretty boldly advertising what they had to offer, but I just looked, I didn’t touch. That’s righteous self-control, ya’ll. Plus now I got a good business deal, which means more tithe for the church - and I can support missionaries.”

But that’s the problem. Endless justification of that which ought not be justified. How do we do that? I think it starts when we begin to make categories about what God cares about[17]: 

”Things God Cares About”                          “Things God Doesn’t Care About”  

My Sexuality                                                     My Budget

Not being lazy                                                  Workaholism #moremoney

Your Slander                                                     My gossip #prayerrequest

Meanness                                                          Memes  #butitwasfunny!

Trust/Faith                                                         My need for control 

Loving Others                                                   Well, not that person…

But our faith is intended to permeate everything we do. When we are baptized (baptizo) we are marinated, spiritual cucumbers turned into pickles when our lives have been immersed in Christ. There is no part of us that gets carved out as if it were untouched. Everything is under the lordship of Christ. Abraham Kuyper famously said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”

If this doesn’t happen, we will be under the lordship of something else. In Revelation, you either get the seal of the Lamb or the mark of the Beast. Either a heavenly kingdom or an earthly empire will lay claim to your soul.[18]

There will be times when Christians can accept the existing forms, structures, perspectives and practices of society. It’s not all bad thanks to common grace.[19] There is plenty of room for legitimate discussion about how to be in the world but not of it. But there will be a lot of times when Christians must declare spiritual war against values, structures and practices of the empire.[i]

Here’s why we have to keep our antennas up on this. 

"Gallup and Barna hand us survey after survey demonstrating that evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered, and sexually immoral as the world in general." (Theologian Michael Horton)[20]

African Christian and missions scholar Professor Lamin Sanneh told Christianity Today recently that "the cultural captivity of Christianity in the West is nearly complete.”[21]

* * * * *

I was at a gym for a while where we would have a ‘buy in’ before the main workout. You had to ‘X’ before you could start the workout. I’ve been thinking of that in light of what the Christians in Thyatira were facing. There was a “buy in to fit in.” There was an entrance fee, a price for doing business, a price for being accepted, a price for living comfortably within the Empire. 

So my question is, what’s the price point for us? When is the buy in acceptable, and when is it too much? We don’t have literal business ceremonies in pagan temples in the United States; the push toward idolatry and compromise is not so obvious. So I’m trying to think of what this deceptive buy in might look for me like without a specific ceremony in mind. This is my list for me; I hope this spurs you to do some brainstorming of your own. 

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group requires I believe that all roads lead to God, that's too high of a price. 

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group requires I deny anything in our statement of faith, that’s too high of a price.

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group requires me to be in a position or take a job where I can't ever talk about Jesus, that's too high of a price.

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ at a compelling job requires so much of me that I don’t spend a biblically responsible amount of time with my family, it’s too high of a price. 

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group means I must align myself with a political party or a community group or a civic organization that unnecessarily detracts from my ability to talk about Jesus with those who are far from Christ, that's too high of a price.

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group means unquestioning loyalty for our nation[22] in a way that does not leave room for a prophetic voice to speak righteous truth to power and call every leader at any level to appropriate repentance, that's too high of a price. 

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group means exercising my constitutional freedom in a way that overrides the biblical responsibilities I have as a follower of Jesus, that's too high of a price.

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group means I have to be comfortable with derisively mocking or slandering people I don't like on social media instead of speaking grace-filled truth in love, that's too high of a price. 

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group means you want me to minimize or ignore the very issues of justice that God cares about and which the Bible demands I care about, that's too high of a price.[23]

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ means I have to treat people as if power equals importance, or beauty equals value, or education equals wisdom, or results equals character, I’m out. It’s too high of a price. 

• If the ‘buy in to fit in’ with a group means I have to fight with the  weapons of the Beast to win battles for the Lamb, that's too high of a price.[24] 

* * * * *

We are reminded in this letter: 

“Know that I am the One who relentlessly explores the mind and heart…”

I think we probably ought to join in that endeavor. 

 I am really encouraged by our deeds here at church: you give generously, you are involved in important ministries in our church and in our local community, you support and connect with those furthering the Gospel in other countries. You have been patient with the rebuilding from the fire, and faithful through all the hardships COVID has thrown our way. Let’s not grow weary in that J

If this letter reminds us of anything, it’s that we must look honestly at the thoughts and intents of our hearts. Next week we are going to finish this letter and look at the promise for those who overcome. Meanwhile, let’s  #practicerighteousness 

·      What is the “buy in” to be a good citizen in the eyes of our American culture?

·      What is the “buy in” to be respected by the world around us?

·      What is the “buy in” to participate in the economy, to achieve the American Dream of financial success and comfort?

Pray for discernment. Process with friends. Revisit what the values of the Kingdom are as revealed in Scripture, and surrender your heart to God’s inspection.

____________________________________________________________________________

FOOTNOTES

[1] Key resources that have heavily informed this series:

·       Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics, and Devotion in the Book of Revelation,  by J. Nelson Kraybill

·       A teaching series by professor Shane J. Woods on Revelation (shanejwood.com)

·       The Bible Project’s videos, notes and podcast

·       Michael Heiser’s teaching on Revelation (Podcast: The Naked Bible)

·       Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship And Witness: Following The Lamb Into The New Creation, by Michael Gorman

·       Dragons, John, And Every Grain Of Sand, edited by Shane J. Wood.

·       Matt Chandler’s Revelation Series (Village Church)

·       Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture: Revelation, from IVP

·       Seven Deadly Spirits: The Message of Revelation’s Letters for Today's Church, T. Scott Daniels

·       The Letters To The Seven Churches: A History Of The Early Church, William Ramsay

·       Adam Clarke’s and Greg Beale’s commentary on Revelation

·       The commentaries available at Bible Gateway, biblehub.com, and preceptaustin.com

[2] Considering how Psalm 2:9 is quoted in verse 27, and Psalm 2:8 in quoted verse 26, "Son of God" is probably riffing off of Psalm 2:7, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." Also, Thyatira had two gods worshipped as the son of Zeus.

[3] Daniel 10:6

[4] The reputation of this bronze may be part of the reason why this letter is voiced by the one whose feet are like burnished bronze.  

[5] Read 1 Kings 18-2 Kings 9 for the full story.

[6] In Ephesus there is much zeal for orthodoxy, but little love; in Thyatira there is much love, but a carelessness about doctrine. 

[7] Interesting that Jezebel's deceptive teaching (as bad as it was) would have been forgiven; doing it was not as serious as refusing to repent. 

[8] “So often in his dealings with man, the instrument of wrong doing is made the instrument of punishment. The bed of sin becomes a bed of suffering.” (Pulpit Commentary)

[9] “In some ways the judgment of Jezebel prefigures Babylon in chapter 18: fornication (2:20-21; 18:3, 8-9), deception (2:20; 18:23), the command not to participate in her sins (2:22-23; 18:4, 8), and that God judges everyone according to their deeds (2:23; 18:6).” https://biblicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/commentary-on-revelation-218-29/

[10] Compare the fate of Jezebel's followers of Baal, and Ahab's sons, 1Kings 18:40; 2Kings 10:6, 7, 24, 25. ‘Kill with death’ is a reminder of "dying thou shalt die" (Genesis 2:17), which probably carries the implication of spiritual death. See 1 Corinthians 5 for Paul talking about giving someone over to the “destruction of the flesh” and consigning them to the kingdom of darkness just by putting them out of the church. 

[11] “That I am he which searcheth.  Compare Psalm 7:9, [10], Psalm 26:2; Jeremiah 11:20; Jeremiah 17:10; Jeremiah 20:12; also 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Chronicles 29:17. But the closest parallel to this phrase is Romans 8:27, which suggests that this epithet was almost proverbial in the Apostolic age, whether applied to the Father as there or to the Son as here.” (Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges)

[12] “It is probable that by fornication here is meant idolatry merely, which is often its meaning in the Scriptures.” (Adam Clarke)  Beale agrees with this, seeing the language of immorality as representing adultery. He notes that references to porneia and related words in Revelation occur 13 times; 10 of them are metaphors for idolatry. 

[13] See 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. It seems likely (though not certain) that in chapter 8, Paul is talking about eating meat in a temple that was likely served during civic celebrations. Chapter 10 focus on eating meat that one would buy in a market that had been sacrificed to a god. 

[14] It actually seems like her personal character might have been relatively solid – but this just made her the more dangerous, because her character gave authority to her words. In fact, this might have been one of the roots of the problem: “that men should have confidence in their own character and judgment, [which] set them free from a hard law, while they were in reality enticing back to lascivious enjoyment the young converts who had barely ‘escaped the defilements of the world.’”(Ramsay)

[15] From T. Scott Daniels’ Seven Deadly Spirits: The Message Of Revelation’s Letters For Today’s Churches

[16] There is good reason to believe this letter is equating sexual immorality with idolatry, as that is a common comparison in the Old Testament. However, the idolatrous rituals were almost always associated with immorality. I suspect it would have been easy to justify sexual indulgence once the justification train got rolling. Since other passages of Scripture addressed those in the church who were trying to say that you could do what you want to with your body because its only the soul that matters, I think it’s safe to assume this was a problem to some degree here as well. 

[17] This list could change quite a bit depending where, how, and if you were raised in the church. 

[18] “When the question is thus put in its full and true implication…we recognize that the whole future of Christianity was at stake over this question… We can now understand why St. John condemns that very worthy, active, and managing, but utterly mistaken lady of Thyatira… he saw that she was fumbling about with questions which she was quite incapable of comprehending, full of complacent satisfaction with her superficial views as to the fairness and reasonableness of allowing the poor to profit by those quite praiseworthy associations which did so much good and misusing her influence, acquired by good works and persuasive speaking, to lead her fellow-Christians astray. If she were successful, Christianity must melt and be absorbed into the Graeco-Roman society, highly cultivated, but over-developed, morbid, unhealthy.” (William Ramsay)

[19] William Ramsay offers a helpful overview: “It was accepted on all hands that they were to continue to live in the world, and were not to seek to withdraw entirely out of it (1 Cor 5:10). There were certain accepted customs, rules of politeness and courtesy, ways of living and acting, which were recommended by their gracious, refined, elegant character, and other ways which without any special gracefulness were recommended simply because they were the ordinary methods of behavior… In many cases, where the idolatrous connection was not obvious, but only veiled and remote, the Christian might… comply with the usual forms, unless his attention was expressly called by any one of the guests to the idolatrous connection.”

[20] "Every day, the church is becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to change. We have very little time, he believes, to reverse these trends..."  (Pollster George Barna)

[21] https://www3.dbu.edu/jeanhumphreys/SocialPsych/evangelicalmind.htm

[22] This is true of any nation….I’m not picking on the U.S.

[23] If you want me to solve them like a Marxist instead of as a Christian, that's too high of a price too. 

[24] I read an article on townhall.com two years ago that celebrated the fact some Christians on the political Right were using Saul Alinsky's book Rules for Radicals (a book popular on the political Left) as a way to fight their political battles. The author acknowledged that Alinsky dedicated the book to Lucifer and called it a “book of pure evil,” but quite gleefully embraced ‘good guys’ now using the tactics of the bad guys to defeat the bad guys. That's too high of a price. 

ENDNOTE

[i] “The Roman soldier, marching under the colors of his regiment, was marching under the standard of idolatry… Moreover, he was frequently required, standing in his place in the ranks, to take part and idolatrous acts of worship. Here, again, the rule of practice of the church seems to have been that an ordinary circumstances the converted soldier should remain passive and as far as possible silent during the ceremony at which he was compulsorily present, but should not actively protest. A similar practice was encouraged by the church in other departments of life and work. 

But in every case, and in every profession, the Christian who an ordinary circumstances might remain passive was liable to be pointedly challenged as to whether he would willingly perform this act of worship of the deity whom he considered false. In case of such a challenge there was only one course open. The Christian could not comply with the demand which was expressly made a test of his faith [and] must have no part or lot, and could not accept membership or even be present. Here the Nicolaitans took the opposite view, I could defend their opinion by many excellent, thoroughly reasonable and highly philosophic arguments. 

To illustrate this class of cases, we may take an example of a meeting which was permissible and one which was not according to the opinion of those early leaders in the church. 

 A meeting of the citizens of a city for political purposes was always inaugurated by a pagan ritual, and according to the strict original theory the citizens in this political assembly were all united in the worship of the patron national deity in whose honor the opening ceremonies were performed. But the ritual had long become a mere form, and nobody was in practice conscious at the condition of presents in the assembly lay in the loyal service of the national deity. The political condition was the only one that was practically remembered. Every member of the city tribe had a right to be present and vote. The Christian citizen might attend and vote in such a meeting, ignoring and passing and silence the opening religious ceremony. 

But on the other hand, there were numerous societies for a vast variety of purposes, the condition of membership and which was professionally and explicitly the willingness to engage in the worship of a pagan deity, because the society met in the worship of that deity, the name of the society was often a religious name, and the place of meeting was dedicated to the deity, and thus was constituted a temple for his worship. All are agreed: the true Christian cannot be a member of such clubs or societies.“ (William Ramsay)