ANNOUNCER:
ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY, AUTHOR AND CORNERSTONE
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT,
JOE STOWELL, TRAVELS TO MODERN TURKEY
TO THE EXCAVATIONS OF
TWO ANCIENT CITIES: THYATIRA AND PHILADELPHIA. THESE FIRST CENTURY
COMMUNITIES WERE HOME
FOR TWO OF SEVEN CHURCHES... SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED
IN THE BEGINNING OF
THE BOOK OF REVELATION, A REVELATION FROM
THE RESURRECTED JESUS, RECEIVED IN A VISION
BY THE APOSTLE JOHN. AT THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY
CHRISTIANITY IS FACING MOUNTING
OPPOSITION IN THE EMPIRE, JOHN IS A PRISONER
ON THE ISLAND OF PATMOS
FOR HIS FAITH IN ONE GOD, WHICH GOES AGAINST A ROMAN
EMPIRE THAT EMBRACES MANY GODS, CHIEF AMONG THEM
THE CAESAR OF ROME. IT IS ON PATMOS THAT JESUS
APPEARS TO JOHN TO SEND
A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD, A MESSAGE THAT IS TODAY WHAT WE
KNOW AS THE BOOK OF REVELATION, BUT TO THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH,
LETTERS OF CHALLENGE AND HOPE. ON THIS DAY OF DISCOVERY. "WHAT YOU SEE, WRITE IN
A BOOK AND SEND IT TO THE SEVEN
CHURCHES WHICH ARE IN ASIA: "TO EPHESUS, TO SMYRNA,
TO PERGAMOS, TO THYATIRA, "TO SARDIS, TO PHILADELPHIA,
AND TO LAODICEA." "AND TO THE ANGEL OF
THE CHURCH IN THYATIRA WRITE: "THESE THINGS SAYS
THE SON OF GOD, WHO HAS
EYES LIKE A FLAME OF FIRE, "AND HIS FEET LIKE
FINE BRASS: I KNOW YOUR
WORKS, LOVE, SERVICE, "FAITH, AND YOUR PATIENCE. AND
AS FOR YOUR WORKS, THE LAST
ARE MORE THAN THE FIRST. "NEVERTHELESS, I HAVE
A FEW THINGS AGAINST YOU, "BECAUSE YOU ALLOW THAT
WOMAN JEZEBEL, WHO CALLS
HERSELF A PROPHETESS, "TO TEACH AND SEDUCE MY SERVANTS
TO COMMIT SEXUAL IMMORALITY... "AND TO EAT THINGS
SACRIFICED TO IDOLS. "AND I GAVE HER TIME TO REPENT
OF HER SEXUAL IMMORALITY,
AND SHE DID NOT REPENT. "INDEED I WILL CAST
HER INTO A SICKBED, "AND THOSE WHO COMMIT ADULTERY
WITH HER INTO GREAT TRIBULATION, "UNLESS THEY REPENT
OF THEIR DEEDS. "AND HE WHO OVERCOMES, AND KEEPS
MY WORKS UNTIL THE END, "TO HIM I WILL GIVE POWER
OVER THE NATIONS, "AND I WILL GIVE HIM
THE MORNING STAR. "HE WHO HAS AN EAR,
LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT
SAYS TO THE CHURCHES." JOE STOWELL:
THIS IS THE TOWN OF THYATIRA,
OR AT LEAST WHAT'S LEFT OF IT. BUNKERED DOWN INTO THE BUSTLING
CITY OF AKHISAR, TURKEY, THESE ARE THE REMAINS
AND RUINS OF THIS TOWN WHERE
THE EARLY CHURCH GREW UP. ORIGINALLY, THYATIRA WAS
FOUNDED BY ALEXANDER THE GREAT
AS A MILITARY GARRISON. HIS SOLDIERS WORSHIPPED
THE GOD APOLLO. HE WAS THEIR PATRON GOD.
HE WAS CALLED THE SON OF GOD. BY THE TIME THE EARLY CHURCH
GREW UP IN THIS TOWN... IN THE FIRST, SECOND,
AND THIRD CENTURIES,
IT WAS A VERY PROSPEROUS TOWN. WELL, NOT LIKE PERGAMUM
OR EPHESUS OR EVEN SMYRNA,
THOSE WORLD-CLASS CITIES. THIS WAS KIND OF YOUR
AVERAGE TOWN, MAYBE LIKE
THE TOWN YOU GREW UP IN. BUT ITS MAJOR COMMODITIES WERE
WHAT DROVE THE PROSPERITY. ITS LEAD COMMODITY WAS TEXTILES. IN FACT, THE WATER
HERE IN THYATIRA WAS
SO RICH IN MINERALS... THAT NO PLACE ELSE IN THE WORLD COULD MAKE A RED TEXTILE
SO BRILLIANT AND SO BOLD. IT WAS DESIRED WORLDWIDE. IN FACT, INTERESTING, LYDIA, WHO
MET PAUL AND ACCEPTED CHRIST IN
PHILIPPI AND ENTERTAINED PAUL, LYDIA WAS A SELLER OF
PURPLE FROM THYATIRA. ITS BRONZE SMITHS WERE FAMOUS. ITS SILVERSMITHS MADE
SOME OF THE BEST SILVER
PIECES IN THE WORLD. ITS POTTERY WAS COVETED,
AND IN THIS TOWN BELIEVERS
WERE COMMENDED BY JESUS CHRIST. HE OPENS HIS LETTER BY SAYING, "I KNOW YOUR WORKS,
YOUR LOVE, YOUR SERVICE,
YOUR FAITHFUL ENDURANCE." AND THEN HE ADDS, "AND THAT THE
WORKS YOU DO TODAY ARE BETTER
THAN THE WORKS YOU DID BEFORE." THIS WAS A CHURCH
ON AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY, AND THAT'S REMARKABLE
GIVEN THE PRESSURES THAT EARLY
CHRISTIANS FACED IN THIS TOWN. SO HERE'S WHAT EARLY
CHRISTIANS WERE UP AGAINST. THE ENTIRE SOCIAL, INDUSTRIAL,
RELIGIOUS STRUCTURE OF THYATIRA
WAS BUILT AROUND THE GUILDS. NOW, A GUILD WAS LIKE
A LABOR UNION. EVERY SINGLE CRAFT
HAD ITS OWN GUILD. THE TEXTILE PEOPLE HAD A GUILD. THE BRONZE SMITHS,
THE SILVERSMITHS, THEY ALL
BELONGED TO THEIR OWN GUILD. NOW, IT JUST WASN'T LIKE A LABOR
UNION. IT WAS MORE THAN THAT. THAT WAS THE HEART OF THEIR
SOCIAL FUNCTION, THEIR RELIGIOUS
FUNCTION, AS WELL AS THEIR WORK. AND THYATIRA WAS
A CLOSED-SHOP TOWN. PERIODICALLY, THE GUILDS WOULD
HOLD GREAT FESTIVALS FOR ALL
THE MEMBERS OF THEIR GUILD. THE PROBLEM FOR CHRISTIANS WAS
THAT THESE FESTIVALS WERE HELD
IN THE TEMPLE TO APOLLO, WHO IS THE PATRON OF THE GUILDS,
AS HE WAS THE PATRON TO THE
MILITARY GARRISON THAT WAS HERE, APOLLO, WHO WAS
CALLED THE SON OF GOD. SO THESE GRAND GUILD
FESTIVITIES WERE HELD THERE. THEY WOULD WORSHIP APOLLO. THEY WOULD EAT AND FELLOWSHIP
AND OFTEN INVOLVE THEMSELVES
IN SEXUAL IMMORALITY. SO WHAT'S A CHRISTIAN TO DO? WELL, IF YOU SAID,
"I'M NOT GOING," YOU RISKED
THE SUCCESS OF THE GUILD, BECAUSE MAYBE APOLLO WOULD
BE ANGRY WITH YOUR PARTICULAR
KIND OF CRAFT OR FUNCTION. SO NEEDLESS TO SAY,
THE GUILD ONLY HAD ONE OPTION
AND THAT WAS TO EXPEL YOU. YOU LOST YOUR JOB. YOU KNOW, IN PERGAMUM CHRISTIANS
FACED THE TREMENDOUS PRESSURE OF
NOT WORSHIPPING IN THE TEMPLES, AND NOT WORSHIPPING
THE EMPEROR, AND PERHAPS FOR
THAT WOULD LOSE THEIR LIVES. IN THYATIRA
THEY LOST THEIR JOBS. IT HIT THEM
WHERE IT HURTS THE MOST,
RIGHT IN THE POCKETBOOK. AND EVERY FOLLOWER OF CHRIST
HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE. IT WOULD BE JESUS OR HIS CAREER. BUT IN SPITE OF
THE COMMENDATIONS THAT JESUS
GIVES TO THESE EARLY FOLLOWERS, HE SAYS, "BUT I HAVE
SOMETHING AGAINST YOU, "THAT YOU TOLERATE
THE PROPHETESS JEZEBEL
IN YOUR MIDST." THE CONTEXT OF THE LETTER SEEMS
TO INDICATE THAT THIS WAS A
PROPHETESS WOMAN IN THE CHURCH, WHO ENCOURAGED PEOPLE NOT
TO QUIT THEIR JOBS, BUT TO GO
TO THE FESTIVITIES OF APOLLO, AND TO PARTICIPATE IN EATING
MEAT OFFERED TO IDOLS,
AND THE IMMORALITY. NO ONE IS QUITE SURE
WHAT HER PHILOSOPHY WAS
OR HER THEOLOGY WAS, MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE
THE NICOLAITANS. BUT IT IS CLEAR THAT SHE SPUN
A KIND OF INTELLECTUAL APPROACH, WHICH JESUS REFERS TO AS
THE DEEP THINGS OF SATAN. SO THAT MAYBE SHE WOULD APPROACH
PEOPLE AND SAY, "LET ME CLUE YOU
IN TO THINK DEEPLY ABOUT THIS, "MORE CAREFULLY ABOUT THIS,
AND YOU DON'T NEED TO BE LIKE
THESE SILLY PEOPLE WHO... "WHO REFUSE TO
GO TO THE TEMPLE." WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT
SHE SAID. WE JUST KNOW
THAT SHE WAS A PROBLEM. WE KNOW THAT SHE WAS
A PROBLEM BECAUSE JESUS CALLED
HER JEZEBEL, NOT A COMPLIMENT. I MEAN, NOBODY IN
THE EARLY CHURCH IS NAMING
THEIR LITTLE GIRLS JEZEBEL, BECAUSE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
SHE WAS THE WIFE OF ISRAEL'S
MOST WICKED KING, AHAB, AND SHE INTRODUCED
THE WORSHIP OF BAAL, THE IDOLATRY TO BAAL TO ISRAEL,
AND ISRAELITES WERE... WERE WORSHIPPING BAAL TO
THE EXTENT OF SACRIFICING
THEIR CHILDREN TO BAAL, AND PARTICIPATING IN THE IMMORAL
SEXUALITY OF WORSHIP TO BAAL. AND GOD SO JUDGED
AHAB AND JEZEBEL... THAT IT WAS THE LAST STRAW
BEFORE THEIR CAPTIVITY TO
THE ENEMY FORCES. SO, COMPROMISING TO
SAVE OUR SKIN, TO MAKE
LIFE A LITTLE EASIER... IS A HUGE PROBLEM
TO JESUS CHRIST, AND THE WARNINGS IN THE LETTER
SOUND A VERY SERIOUS NOTE
AGAINST HER TEACHINGS. I LOVE HOW JESUS
STARTS THIS LETTER, AND IF YOU WERE A MARGINALIZED
BELIEVER IN THYATIRA, YOU'D LOVE IT TOO,
BECAUSE HE IDENTIFIES
HIMSELF AS THE SON OF GOD. THAT'S WHAT
APOLLO CALLED HIMSELF,
THE PATRON GOD OF THE GUILDS, AND JESUS SAYS,
"I AM THE SON OF GOD." AND THEN IN REFERENCE TO THE
BRONZE SMITHS HE SAYS, "MY FEET
ARE LIKE BURNISHED BRONZE," AND IN REFERENCE TO THE REFINING
FIRES OF THE INDUSTRY HERE, "MY
EYES ARE LIKE FLAMES OF FIRE." WHAT A MARVELOUS,
POWERFUL PICTURE OF JESUS,
WHO IS SO FAR ABOVE AND OVER... ALL THE THINGS THAT
HAVE PLAGUED THEIR LIVES. AND IN THIS LETTER, THIS SON
OF GOD, THE CHOICE IS CLEAR. DON'T LET JEZEBEL MUDDLE IT UP. HOW MUCH IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU? WHAT KIND OF VALUE
DO YOU PLACE ON HIM? WOULD YOU VALUE YOUR JOB,
YOUR CAREER, YOUR ECONOMY
MORE THAN HIM? THAT'S THE CHOICE. AND SO HE SAYS
TO THE FAITHFUL WHO HAVE NOT
CAPITULATED AND COMPROMISED, HE SAYS TO THEM,
"HOLD FAST TILL I COME." I LOVE THAT. YOU KNOW, THIS
ISN'T THE END GAME FOR THEM. THE FUTURE IS STILL AHEAD
AND JESUS IS COMING BACK
AGAIN FOR THEM. AND THEN HE MAKES THEM A PROMISE
AND THE PROMISE IS THIS: THAT THEY WILL REIGN WITH AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS. THIS WEAK, MARGINALIZED
CHURCH THAT HAS NO POWER,
THEY WILL RULE THE NATIONS. HE SAYS, "I WILL GIVE YOU
A SCEPTER OF IRON, "AND WITH MY FATHER
YOU WILL SMASH THE VESSELS... "OF THE AUTHORITIES
OF THIS EARTH THAT HAVE SO
OPPRESSED AND PERSECUTED YOU." AND THEN HE REALLY SEALS
THE DEAL WITH THIS PROMISE: "AND I WILL GIVE YOU
THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR." WHAT IS THAT? WELL, IN ANCIENT TIMES, ALL THE
WAY BACK TO BABYLONIAN TIMES, VENUS, THE MORNING STAR,
WAS SEEN AS THE SOURCE
OF ULTIMATE AUTHORITY. MAYBE THAT'S WHAT HE MEANT,
BUT I LIKE TO THINK IT'S
JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, BECAUSE IN REVELATION,
CHAPTER 21, CHRIST IS CALLED
THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR. SO HE SAYS, "I WILL GIVE
YOU MYSELF, THAT WHERE I AM,
THERE YOU MIGHT BE ALSO... IN ETERNAL FELLOWSHIP WITH
THE SON OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST." WHAT A PROMISE.
I WOULD SAY THAT'S
SOMETHING TO PERSEVERE FOR. YOU KNOW, IN RETAIL TODAY
THEY HAVE WHAT IS CALLED
A LOSS LEADER. THAT MEANS YOU SELL SOMETHING
AND LOSE SOMETHING UP FRONT... ON SOME PARTICULAR
PIECE OF MERCHANDISE... TO GET PEOPLE IN YOUR STORE
SO THEY'LL BUY SOME MORE. SEEMS TO ME LIKE LOSING YOUR JOB
FOR JESUS IS LIKE A LOSS LEADER. YOU PAY A PRICE UP FRONT FOR
A REALLY BIG GAIN AT THE END. AND THAT'S WHAT JESUS
CALLS US TO, TO VALUING HIM
MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE
REGARDLESS OF THE PRICE. AND HE SAYS TO US,
"FOR THOSE WHO ENDURE, GREAT
IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN." "AND TO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH
IN PHILADELPHIA WRITE: "THESE THINGS SAYS
HE WHO IS HOLY, WHO IS TRUE,
HE WHO HAS THE KEY OF DAVID, "HE WHO OPENS AND NO ONE SHUTS,
AND SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS. "I KNOW YOUR WORKS. SEE,
I HAVE SET BEFORE YOU AN OPEN
DOOR, AND NO ONE CAN SHUT IT, "FOR YOU HAVE A LITTLE
STRENGTH, HAVE KEPT MY WORD,
AND HAVE NOT DENIED MY NAME. "INDEED I WILL MAKE THOSE
OF THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN, "WHO SAY THEY ARE JEWS
AND ARE NOT, BUT LIE, "INDEED I WILL MAKE THEM COME
AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOUR FEET, "AND TO KNOW THAT
I HAVE LOVED YOU. "BECAUSE YOU HAVE KEPT
MY COMMAND TO PERSEVERE, "I ALSO WILL KEEP YOU FROM
THE HOUR OF TRIAL WHICH SHALL
COME UPON THE WHOLE WORLD... "TO TEST THOSE
WHO DWELL ON THE EARTH. "BEHOLD, I AM COMING QUICKLY!
HOLD FAST WHAT YOU HAVE,
THAT NO ONE MAY TAKE YOUR CROWN. "HE WHO OVERCOMES,
I WILL MAKE HIM A PILLAR
IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD, "AND HE SHALL GO OUT NO MORE. "AND I WILL WRITE ON HIM
THE NAME OF MY GOD AND
THE NAME OF THE CITY OF MY GOD, "THE NEW JERUSALEM, WHICH COMES
DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM MY GOD. "AND I WILL WRITE
ON HIM MY NEW NAME. "HE WHO HAS AN EAR,
LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT
SAYS TO THE CHURCHES." JOE:
PHILADELPHIA IS A PROSPEROUS
CITY UNTIL THE YEAR 17 AD, WHEN THIS REGION WAS STRUCK
BY A CATACLYSMIC EARTHQUAKE, AN EARTHQUAKE
THAT WAS SO DEVASTATING
THAT ROME ACTUALLY... EXEMPTED PHILADELPHIA
FROM TRIBUTE FOR FIVE YEARS. THE PHILADELPHIANS WERE
HOPING FOR A LITTLE MORE HELP
FROM ROME TO GET THEM REBUILT, WHICH WAS NEVER
REALLY FORTHCOMING, SO THEY FELT SOMEWHAT
NEGLECTED BY THE EMPEROR. NOW, THAT NEGLECT TURNED INTO
A SENSE OF DEEP BETRAYAL... WHEN DOMITIAN DECREED
THAT ALL OF THE VINEYARDS OF
THIS REGION SHOULD BE TORN OUT. YOU KNOW, I COULDN'T HELP BUT
NOTICE DRIVING HERE TODAY... THAT IN THIS BEAUTIFUL
VALLEY THE VINEYARDS
WERE LUSH AND FULL. THE VINEYARDS WERE
THE BACKBONE OF THEIR ECONOMY. THEY WERE SO GOOD HERE THAT
THEY COMPETED WITH THE VINEYARDS
IN ROME AND SO DOMITIAN SAID, "YOU GUYS TEAR YOUR VINEYARDS
OUT SO THAT OURS CAN BE THE
FRONT EDGE OF COMMERCE." IN DOING THAT, HE BROKE
THE BACKBONE OF THEIR ECONOMY
SO THEY FELT DEEPLY BETRAYED. THE EARLY CHRISTIANS
HERE IN PHILADELPHIA
FELT BETRAYED, AS WELL, BETRAYED BY THE AUTHORITIES. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT IT MEANT
FOR THESE EARLY CHRISTIANS TO
GET A LETTER FROM JESUS, WHERE HE BEGAN BY SAYING,
"I AM THE HOLY AND TRUE ONE." HOLY, MEANING THAT HE WAS
TOTALLY OTHER AND DIFFERENT, AND IN THAT OTHERNESS
HE WAS PERFECT, THAT
HE COULD DO NO WRONG, THAT HE WOULD NEVER
DO THEM WRONG. AND TRUE, THAT HE WOULD
BE ABSOLUTELY FAITHFUL TO THEM, NEVER NEGLECT THEM,
NEVER BETRAY THEM. THAT WAS A WORD THAT THESE
CHRISTIANS DESPERATELY
NEEDED TO HEAR. THE CURVATURE OF THE SLOPE
BEHIND ME REPRESENTS THE ANCIENT
SEATS OF THE THEATER... THAT WERE PART OF THE LANDSCAPE
OF PHILADELPHIA THAT... THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD HAVE
SAT ON AND WALKED THROUGH. THESE EARLY CHRISTIANS RECEIVING
THE LETTER FROM JESUS CHRIST... READ THE REFERENCES TO
OPEN DOORS AND SHUT DOORS.
SO WHAT DID THAT MEAN? WELL, MOST LIKELY, IT MEANT
THE FACT THAT THEY HAD BEEN
KICKED OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE, AND THE DOOR HAD BEEN
SLAMMED SHUT BEHIND THEM. THAT MEANT TROUBLE FOR THEM. MAYBE WE NEED A LITTLE
BACKGROUND HERE TO FULLY
UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON. JEWS WHO WERE PERSECUTED
FLED THROUGHOUT ASIA MINOR, AND ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES
IN THESE LITTLE TOWNS, AND WOULD BUILD
A SYNAGOGUE WHERE THEY
WOULD MEET AND WORSHIP. EARLY CHRISTIANS
WHO CAME TO THIS AREA WOULD
MEET IN THOSE SYNAGOGUES, BECAUSE IN THE EARLY
DAYS CHRISTIANITY WAS
REALLY A JEWISH SECT... WELCOMED INTO THE SYNAGOGUE. BUT IN TIME, AS THEY
PREACHED THE RESURRECTION
OF JESUS CHRIST, AS THEY PROCLAIMED THAT
HE WAS THE TRUE MESSIAH, AND AS THEIR EVANGELISTIC
FERVOR BROUGHT OTHER PEOPLE
TO CHRISTIANITY, THEY WERE FINALLY
EXCLUDED, KICKED OUT,
NOT ALLOWED TO COME IN. THAT MEANT FOR THEM
THAT THEY BECAME ALIENATED
FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS, BECAUSE THE SYNAGOGUE WAS
THE CENTER OF THE SOCIAL
LIFE OF THESE EARLY JEWS. NOT ONLY THAT, IT MEANT THAT
THEY SUFFERED SOME SHAME IN
THE TOWN WHEN PEOPLE WOULD SAY, "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO
BE AT THE SYNAGOGUE NOW.
WHY AREN'T YOU THERE?" YOU KNOW, I CAN IMAGINE THESE
EARLY CHRISTIANS AS THEIR FAMILY
WOULD GO TO THE SYNAGOGUE, AND AS THEY WOULD TRY
TO WALK IN, THAT THE ELDER
IN THE SYNAGOGUE WOULD SAY, "NO, NO, NO. YOU CAN'T COME," AND SHUT THE DOOR. OR IF THEY WOULD GO BACK,
KNOCK ON THE DOOR, A LITTLE
PEEPHOLE WOULD OPEN. SOMEONE WOULD LOOK OUT, SAY,
"NO," AND SHUT THE PEEPHOLE. SO THIS SENSE
OF EXCLUSION WAS DEEP, NOT ONLY SEPARATED THEM
FROM FAMILY AND BROUGHT SOME SHAME TO THEM IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT MOST SERIOUSLY, IT MEANT
THAT SINCE THEY WERE OFF
THE ROLLS IN THE SYNAGOGUE, THAT THEIR LIVES WERE AT RISK. IN THE EARLY TIMES OF THE
EMPIRE, JEWS WERE EXEMPT FROM
HAVING TO SAY, "CAESAR IS LORD." THEY HAD A REGISTER
IN THE SYNAGOGUE, AND THE NAMES THAT WERE
ON THAT REGISTER WERE EXEMPT. NOW THESE CHRISTIANS' NAMES
WOULD BE STRUCK FROM THE BOOK. MAYBE, IN FACT,
A REFERENCE TO THAT STATEMENT
IN SARDIS WHERE JESUS SAID, "I WILL NEVER STRIKE YOUR NAME
FROM THE BOOK OF LIFE." WHAT JESUS WAS
SAYING IS, "YOU WILL
ALWAYS BELONG TO ME." WELL, THEY WOULD BE
STRUCK FROM THE REGISTRY AND
IF THE ROMAN OFFICIALS CAME, AND IF THESE CHRISTIANS
WERE PROCLAIMING THAT
JESUS CHRIST WAS LORD, THEIR LIVES WERE AT STAKE. TODAY, RIGHT NOW, WHEREVER
YOU ARE, YOU NEED TO KNOW... THAT THERE ARE TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF CHRISTIANS
AROUND THE WORLD... THAT ARE SUFFERING THIS KIND
OF EXCLUSION AND ALIENATION... BECAUSE THEY REFUSE
TO DENY JESUS CHRIST. MARTIE AND I HAVE FRIENDS
WHOSE FAMILIES HAVE HAD
A FUNERAL FOR THEM... ONCE THEY'VE ACCEPTED
JESUS CHRIST. JUST A FEW DAYS AGO
I WAS CHATTING WITH
A MAN WHO TOLD ME THAT... WHEN ONE OF HIS FRIENDS HAD
ACCEPTED CHRIST AND MADE
IT KNOWN TO HIS FAMILY, THAT TWO OF HIS BROTHERS
PLOTTED TO KILL HIM. CHRISTIANS FOR YEARS, CENTURIES,
HAVE BEEN PAYING THE PRICE FOR
CHRIST, THE PRICE OF EXCLUSION. AND THAT'S WHAT THESE
PHILADELPHIANS WERE EXPERIENCING... WHEN THEY WERE BETRAYED BY THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SYNAGOGUE. THE REMARKABLE THING IS THAT
THESE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST HERE
IN PHILADELPHIA REFUSED TO BAIL. THEY CHOSE TO BEAR
THE SHAME AND FACE THE
DANGER FOR JESUS CHRIST. SO JESUS CHRIST WRITES THIS
LETTER TO ENCOURAGE THEM.
IT'S A REALLY SWEET LETTER. HE SAYS TO THEM,
"I HOLD THE KEY OF DAVID," WHICH MEANT
THAT HE HAD AUTHORITY
OVER THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. AND HE SAID, "I WILL
OPEN A DOOR FOR YOU AND
IT WILL NEVER BE SHUT." THEN HE SAID SOMETHING
VERY FASCINATING. HE SAID, "THESE WHO
HAVE EXCLUDED YOU, "SOMEDAY THEY WILL
BOW THEIR KNEES BEFORE YOU
AND KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU." NOW, I'M NOT SURE WHAT
THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW,
WHEN THAT WILL HAPPEN, BUT SINCE THESE WERE
JEWISH BELIEVERS, I WONDER IF THEY
THOUGHT BACK TO THEIR
NATIONAL HERO, JOSEPH. YOU KNOW, THE ONE WITH
THE COAT OF MANY COLORS... WHOSE BROTHERS
TERRIBLY BETRAYED HIM AND
PUT HIM IN THE PATH OF DEATH. YEARS LATER THE BROTHERS SHOW UP
IN EGYPT AND JOSEPH IS A RULER, AND THEY BOW THEIR KNEES
BEFORE HIM, BEGGING HIM FOR
BREAD AND SUSTENANCE. AND I WONDER IF RINGING
IN THESE CHRISTIANS' HEAD
WERE THE WORDS OF JOSEPH... WHEN HE SAID,
"YOU MEANT IT TO ME FOR EVIL,
BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD." MAYBE. I HOPE SO. AND THEN CHRIST SAID, "HOLD
FAST BECAUSE I'M COMING AGAIN." AND SO HE'S MADE THESE PROMISES
TO THESE EXCLUDED CHRISTIANS AND
AS THOUGH THEY WEREN'T ENOUGH, HE RAMPS IT UP AND
GIVES THEM FOUR MORE. HE SAYS, "I WILL MAKE YOU
A PILLAR IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE." PILLARS ARE SOMETHING
THAT ARE STABLE, STEADY. THEY ARE ALWAYS THERE.
NOBODY MOVES THEM. AND HE SAYS, "YOU WILL NEVER
GO OUT OF MY FATHER'S HOUSE. "AND I WILL PUT THE NAME
OF GOD ON YOUR CHEST. "AND IN THE END I WILL BRING
YOU IN TO THE NEW JERUSALEM,
THE GREATEST CITY OF ALL." YOU KNOW, I JUST LOVE
THIS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. YOU KNOW, WHEN PEOPLE ARE
STEADY AND FAITHFUL TO HIM, HE COMES ALONGSIDE AS THEIR
CHEERLEADER AND ENCOURAGES THEM, AND THANKS THEM
FOR THEIR LOYALTY. AND SOME OF US, EVEN TODAY,
NO DOUBT, ARE FEELING EXCLUDED
BECAUSE OF OUR STAND FOR CHRIST. MAYBE FROM FAMILY, MAYBE FROM
FRIENDS, MAYBE AT THE OFFICE, SOMEWHERE SOME PEOPLE
ARE SUFFERING FOR JESUS
CHRIST AND EXCLUDED. WELL, HERE'S THE MESSAGE:
JESUS CHRIST NOTICES THAT, AND WHAT YOU LOSE HERE, HE GIVES
YOU BACK IN SPADES ETERNALLY. "AND I WILL GIVE HIM
THE MORNING STAR. "HE WHO HAS AN EAR,
LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT
SAYS TO THE CHURCHES." "HE WHO OVERCOMES,
I WILL MAKE HIM A PILLAR
IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD, "AND HE SHALL GO OUT NO MORE. "AND I WILL WRITE ON HIM
THE NAME OF MY GOD AND
THE NAME OF THE CITY OF MY GOD, "THE NEW JERUSALEM, WHICH COMES
DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM MY GOD. "AND I WILL WRITE
ON HIM MY NEW NAME. "HE WHO HAS AN EAR,
LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT
SAYS TO THE CHURCHES."
