We've seen in the letters to the churches the opportunity for great eternal rewards for those who conquer and are faithful to the end. The question is how do we conquer? As we explore this we'll see the scriptures have great insights for us in what it means to conquer and be victorious in Christ
To The One Who Conquers
Red Letter Days
August 22, 2021 • Mike Shuter
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Red Letter Days
Named & Shamed
September 8, 2021 • Richard Jones, Mike Shuter
We review episodes 1 & 2 of Things That Make You Go Mmmm where we looked at Rewards & Riches and Insightful Imagery, and then look at a group and an individual who are Named & Shamed by Jesus Himself! As we look at these themes in the letters to the churches we can learn about what God wants for us and how we can live fully for Him.
Laodicea - 'Lukewarm & Laidback'
August 25, 2021 • Christopher Alton • Revelation
Laodicea lay about forty miles east of Ephesus, near the banks of the river Lycus. There were at least six cities called Laodicea at the time, so it was often referred to as ‘Laodicea on the Lycus’. It was founded by Antiochus of Syria, around two hundred and fifty BC, and named after his wife Laodice. It became a rich and prosperous city, a centre of banking and finance, and famous for the soft black glossy wool from its sheep. It was so wealthy that when it was struck by an earthquake in AD 60, unlike many other cities, it needed no financial help from Rome to rebuild. The church in Laodicea must have been founded early on, probably while Paul was living at Ephesus, and most likely through the ministry of Epaphras, according to Paul’s letter to the nearby Colossians. Paul mentions Laodicea five times in this letter, including another letter he also wrote to its church, which has been lost to history. Sadly, it’s the only one of the seven churches about whom Jesus doesn’t have a good word to say. He tells them that they’ve become complacent in their comfortable lifestyle. Paul’s letter to the Colossians speaks of the struggle he had for the Laodiceans. He wanted them to ‘reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ’. Laodicea was a rich and prosperous city, and in such a place, it could be easy for the church to ignore its true spiritual riches. Perhaps even thirty years earlier, Paul had begun to see the rot set in at Laodicea? Jesus speaks about two further aspects of the church, which are reflected in the city of Laodicea. Firstly, the warm spring water. Laodicea had been cited on a strategic trade route, but not close to a water source. Its water arrived through several miles of an underground aqueduct, which meant it was lukewarm when it arrived. This contrasted with the hot springs at nearby Hierapolis, and the cold refreshing water at Colossae. For Jesus, the church was like the city’s water supply, lukewarm and sickly to the taste, and so neither use nor ornament! Secondly, Jesus refers to the ointment for which Laodicea had become famous. The city was a leading medical center for eye treatment in the ancient world. One of its most graduates produced a reference work which was still be used up to the Middle Ages. Laodicea’s ‘Phrygian Powder’ was exported throughout the world, to treat eye diseases. And with no small trace of irony, Jesus calls out the church for its spiritual blindness, offering them as a cure, His own salve to anoint their eyes.
Philadelphia - 'Gateway of Love'
August 25, 2021 • Christopher Alton • Revelation
Philadelphia is the only one of the seven cities of Revelation that was not a major city in the province of Asia at the time. However, it was on the southern highway connecting Pergamum to south Asia Minor, making it strategically important. It was called the ‘gateway to the east’, which gave it some commercial importance. Philadelphia was the youngest of the seven cities in Revelation, founded in the Second Century BC. The city took its name from the tale of two brothers, Eumenes the Greek king of Pergamum and his brother Attalus. On two occasions Attalus demonstrated complete loyalty to his brother. Once a false rumour of Eumenes’ assassination led Attalus to accept the crown, only to relinquish it when his brother returned. On another occasion the Romans encouraged Attalus to overthrow his brother and become king, which he refused to do. Attalus was nicknamed Philadelphos, meaning ‘one who loves his brother’. Philadelphia was a missionary city, founded to promote a unity of spirit in the region, by spreading Hellenistic customs, and loyalty to Greek ideas within an Asian culture. It was probably this missionary status that Jesus was alluding to, when He talked about the open door set before the church in Philadelphia. The church was well placed to use the city’s strategic location and missionary status to spread the good news about Jesus. And He was going to help them do this, despite the opposition they faced in the city. In fact, when Islam later spread in the region, Philadelphia stood as a free Greek Christian city for hundreds of years. The city was also famous for its agricultural produce, and especially for its grapes, due to its fertile soil. The city was said to produce the best wine in the whole region. But this came at a price. Philadelphia’s nutrient rich soil came from extinct volcano ash. It was on the edge of a great volcanic plan, called KATE – KE – KAUME, which means the ‘Burned Land’. The region was subject to frequent earthquakes, and Philadelphia was the closest city to the fault line. During the great earthquake of AD17, which levelled twelve cities in Asia overnight, Philadelphia was hit the hardest. So much so, that Emperor Tiberius gave them a five-year tax break! The aftershocks were said to last for months, leaving residents afraid to return to their homes in the city, for years afterwards. The fear of a city that could fall again lived long in the memory. So, Christ’s promise to make them pillars in the immovable temple of God, must have been a treasured promise to the Philadelphian Christians.