Expedition 44

Revelation 2:18-29

Background 

• In the ancient world Thyatira was not very important like Ephesus or Pergamum.  

• It was founded as a military outpost to protect the governmental seat of Asia in Pergamum.  

• It did become a bit of a trade city because many people traveled through it.  

• It was known for its trade guilds (It was a blue-collar city) such as wool and linen workers. It became known for its purple dye (Lydia in Acts 16 was in this line of work).  • There were also a lot of metal and bronze workers in the area.  

• At this time in history, trade guilds functioned similarly to modern unions. Yet, each trade guild had a patron deity and to be part of the guild meant that you needed to worship that deity, attend the guild worship festivals, and this would have been a major problem for Christians.  

 Faithful witness- What do we learn from Thyatira about what it means to be a faithful witness?  

• Balance of Love and Doctrine/Theology: Thyatira did love well (unlike Ephesus) but they got into the ditch. They neglected doctrine and theology. This shows the importance of being studied and having discernment in order to refute false teachings, but in love. How are we doing in the American Church? 

 • Spirit of Jezebel: Is the mindset of the world/Ba’al/Satan creeping into the church? Immorality, power-over systems, self-seeking motives?  

• What does ruling look like? Do we want to rule like Jesus or Rome? Jesus is calling the church to be servants, to be shepherds and not to Lord over. The church needs to get back to “washing feet” rather than grasping for political and top down power.

Revelation book recommendations   

The Sermons to the Seven Churches in Revelation (Jeffery A.D. Weima) 

Understanding the Seven Churches of Revelation (Dr. Jonathan Welton) 

Unholy Allegiances (David deSilva) 

Apocalypse and Allegiance (J. Nelson Kraybill) 

The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia (Colin J. Hemer) 

Revelation (Interpretation Commentary Series) (Eugene Boring) 

A Slaughtered Lamb (Gregory Stevenson) 

Reading Revelation Responsibly (Michael J. Gorman) 

The Triumph of the Lamb (Dennis E. Johnson) 

Revelation (G.K. Beale)

and More

Background 

• Pergamum was the seat for the Roman Governor for the region. So, if Ephesus was like New York (Financial and commerce center), Pergamum would be like Washington DC (governing and legal center).  

• They had the 2nd largest library at the time (Alexandria had the largest) 

• In 29 AD Pergamum was the very first city to erect a temple to a Caesar (Augustus) 

• Those in Pergamum also worshipped the god Asclepius, who was a healing God in the form of a serpent. They also were the center for medical practice. This God’s temple had a medical spa connected to it and a 3500-seat amphitheater for musical therapy. 

o  Asclepius was given the title Soter (savior)for his “healing power”. This would have put early Christians at odds with this cult claiming Jesus was the healer and savior.  

• On the highest peak of the hillside around Pergamum was the temple to Zeus. It had a huge altar that looked like a throne. Smoke would rise day and night from the temple from the sacrifices being made. 

 • On another hilltop near Zeus’ temple was Athena’s temple the goddess of victory.  

• As well there was a massive temple to the god Serapis who was also a god of healing. Today this temple is known as Red Basilica. It contained a massive 30-foot statue that the priest could make “talk” by entering the base and speaking through a pipe.   

NT Wright describes the impact this environment might have had on the church in Pergamum: “Many local inhabitants in the first century must have been proud of all of this.  But for the little Christian community it represented a threat- and a threat with which, it seemed, the Christians were not coping particularly well.”   

All of these temples, smoke, talking idols, altars and more must have seemed overwhelming and intimidating to the believers here. It’s no wonder Jesus describes Pergamum as the place where Satan dwells. Not only was it the governing center for the imperial cult but also a major center for false worship and some of the Christians are struggling to maintain a faithful witness in this culture.  

Revelation 2:12-17

Description of Jesus (v12)  

Antipas the Faithful Witness (V13)  

Balaam/Nicolaitans (v14, 15)  

Call to Repent (v16)  

Reward: Hidden manna and New name (v17)  

Conclusions: How to apply this to the Church today

Smyrna 

Revelation 2:8-11   

Background 

• Smyrna was one of the most prosperous cities in Asia Minor in the 1st Century  

• 195 bc Smyrna built a temple to Roma   Remember the big idea is faithful witness! 

• Smyrna is 1 of 2 of these churches that gets praised and not correction in Revelation.   

Jesus’ description (v8)  

Poverty and Riches (v9a) 

• No health and wealth gospel is being preached to the church in Smyrna

 • Some have argued that ptocheia (poverty) is a very strong word for this concept meaning they had literally nothing  Who is the true Jew? (v9b) 

• Michael Gorman sums this up in READING REVELATION RESPONSIBLY: 

o It is likely that some Jews have betrayed their own identity as God’s people (from John’s perspective) by colluding with those possessing economic power (perhaps officials in the trade guilds, the networks of tradespeople similar to modern unions, or in the temples that served also as banks) and/or Roman political officials in persecuting the Smyrnaean church. The economic impact and the potential for legal action have apparently not led any in the church to accommodate. The challenge is to remain fearless and faithful—to trust and obey. 

 Do not fear/Tribulation for 10 days/ Be faithful unto death (v10) 

o Gregory Stevenson- A Slaughtered Lamb, Pg. 118-19:

  In imitation of their Lord, the church in Smyrna is called upon to maintain their faithful witness, even if such witness leads to their deaths because the victory of Christ is achieved through a witness that does not faulter or fade even in the most extreme circumstances. Yet, He assures them, if they share in this part of Christ’s pattern, they will also share in the remainder of that pattern- Christ’s glorified resurrection (The crown of life)… the seven letters transform the concept of victory. If Christ sets the pattern, then our understanding of victory must conform to Christ’s own victory. Christ’s own victory achieved on a cross was not a victory over his Roman oppressors or Jewish enemies, but over the Power of Satan.   

Conquers (v11) 

Polycarp

Interview with Keith Giles on the Church, the Kingdom of God, and Politics.

Keith Giles is a former pastor who left the pulpit over a decade ago to follow Jesus. He’s the author of several books, including “Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb” in the "Jesus Un" series.

Keith is the host of the podcast 2nd Cup with Keith.

www.keithgiles.com 

Content Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the media or comments on this channel are those of the speakers or authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views held by this channel's broadcasters.  

Faithful Witnessing is actually the big idea in revelation 

Revelation 1:4-6  

Revelation 2:1-7 

It is interesting that much of our New Testament was written to the church in Ephesus: Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, 1-3 John, and Revelation. Also, the Gospel of John was likely written by John when he was in Ephesus. We know that Paul and Timothy also ministered in this church.   

Ephesus was the home to many major temples. 

The patron God of Ephesus was Artemis who was the goddess of food and fertility/childbirth   

Ephesus was also the hub of the imperial cult in Asia minor with a temple to the Caesars and worship of the empire. Ephesus was a center of patriotism.   

Ephesus was also the center of commerce of the entire world.   

Jesus is described in 2 ways… Power and Presence 

·      Jesus is described as the one who holds the 7 stars. “Holding” was a symbol of power in the Roman world. 

·      Jesus is depicted as the one that walks among the lampstands. It says he knows what they do… He is present!   

o   The churches are described as lampstands here. This is temple imagery. In the Temple the lampstand was a menorah with 7 candles, representing these 7 churches.  

o   the role of the lampstand in the temple was to shine light on the table of showbread. Jesus is the bread of life!  

o    Our purpose as the church is to shine our light on Jesus, who is our life!  

 Praise for Ephesus  

Jesus knows their hard work Ephesus had discernment and good doctrine 

They endured hardships for Jesus’ name 

They hated the practices of the Nicolatians   

Forsaken Love 

In verse 4 Jesus has something against them… They had forsaken the love they had at first.  

• There are 2 ways this can be translated- “Left your first love” (Jesus) or “left the love you had at first” (love for others) • The second view, but it connects to the first view too (1 John 4).  

• Ephesus obviously loved Jesus they obeyed his commands to be in the truth and worked hard for his name but were likely hardened in their love for each other because they had spent so much energy on standing up to the culture and for pure doctrine. These are good things, but Ephesus neglected the greatest thing.    

Remember, Repent, Do 

The book of Ephesians if the earliest letter we have written to this church in the Bible and it’s interesting that it’s Paul’s only letter to a church that isn’t in crisis. The only command in the first 4 chapters of the book of Ephesians is to “remember” (Eph 2:11) . The letter to Ephesians is all about what Christ has done in love for the church and how that should motivate them in love for each other.   

“Conquering” 

Jesus redefines Roman conquering in Revelation 5 as he conquers as a slaughtered lamb. Winning in God’s kingdom often looks like losing in the eyes of the world.   

Conclusions: 

·      This is a church that was reactive and defensive towards the outside, rather than living the love of Jesus inside the church 

·      Without love for the body, we won’t be counted as a faithful witness. Jesus tell his disciples that the world would know they are disciples by their love for EACH OTHER, not by pure doctrine or good works done in his name.

Article: https://expedition44.com/2022/07/11/the-church-series-pt1-introduction/

Matt's Sermon on the Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2: https://subspla.sh/r8zp4j5 

We have spent our lives trying to be good Christians that “go to church”. However, you would be hard pressed to find anything that looks like modern day American church anywhere in the pages of the Bible. It might even surprise you to know that the word “church” isn’t in the Bible. We have created the traditional concept of what we call church. In this series we’ll be looking at whether the text of scripture affirms the western form of church and what might a better way be?

We are happy to support anything that seeks after God but what we do here on x44 is look at what is biblical and Jesus’ ideals and then try to align our lives with that.

Ekklesia

The reason the word ekklēsía is (rightly) used is because it meant “the called-out ones.”  It is an invitation, particularly focused on God’s provision of salvation (which in Hebrew is better described as an exodus or rescue).  To be part of the body that was summoned and invited by the sovereign God for the purpose of rescue from immediate danger.

Revelation

The reason we want to start our series with revelation is that it’s about 7 churches living in the midst of empire (Roman) and the religious (Jewish) world as called out ones. It gives some practical things to watch out for in the churches and also things we need to strive for to be a healthy church body. Revelation is a prophecy, apocalypse, and a “pastoral” letter to 7 actual churches in Asia Minor

How did we get here?

Like most things the church became institutionalized by merging with the world. In the 5th century Christianity became the national religion of the Roman empire under Constantine. This led to a lot of problems.

professional clergy

Clergy/Laity hierarchy

Buildings

Handcuffing of gifts in the body

Institutional mindset

Back to the Start

The 2 major metaphors for the church in the Bible are the body and the family. This explains why the word adelphoi, translated “brethren,” appears 346 times in the New Testament. It appears 134 times in Paul’s epistles all the Christians in a local assembly. In most places, this word is Paul’s shorthand way of referring to all the believers in the church—both women and men. By contrast, the

word “elders” appears only five times in Paul’s letters. “Overseers” appears only four times. And “pastors” appears only once. (346 to 10)

The stress of the New Testament, then, is upon corporate responsibility. It’s the believing community that is called to carry out pastoral functions.

The big idea is that the church is not an institution … it’s an organism (it’s organic)!

Throughout this series we’re going to be looking at what could be a better picture of the church. Invested in relationships rather than rituals, being a living organism rather than an institution, having all the giftings of Christ on display rather than a few gifts by a few people, making disciples rather than converts.

Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Leak  

• Molech is the act of sacrificing babies  

• or the god himself History is filled with barbaric cultures - ancient Canaanites The Bible mentions Molech about ten times. Here are a couple of them.  — Leviticus 20:2 Jeremiah 32:35

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL:  

“why does God allow all this evil to happen in the world?” and “Why does he not put a stop to it?” Canaanites: God was patient for 400 years and then decides it’s judgment day. It is one of the times in history that God actually does choose to NOT allow the evil that pervades in the world and utterly decimate it. ARCHETYPE OF EVIL The Canaanites were particularly Evil.  Genesis 19  Sodom and Gomorrah would be rebuilt In (Deuteronomy 9:4–5) God did not decide to command the Israelites to destroy all the inhabitants of Canaan simply because  He promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit that land  He commanded them to do it because the Canaanites were utterly wicked and evil people. If you’re connecting the dots… the ugliest most horrific thing in Genesis is the nation of Canaan. Why are they horrific? Because they sacrifice babies. Because of this, God sought to wipe them out. Israel was meant to purify and bring peace to the nations yet failed, we as Christians of the New Covenant are now called to the same commission. Have American Christians utterly failed?  A God of Genocide? Total annihilation? The Bible uses a lot of figurative language and so do we.  God is Grace love and mercy and even though we don’t have all the answers of an event that took place 4-5000 years ago we can trust the nature of God to be complete and holy and acting for the good of humanity, His treasured possessions.  In Exodus 21:22-25 If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely, but there is no serious injury, court for a monetary fine  But if there is a serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.  Luke 1:41-44 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb.  baby (Greek, brephos).  children outside the womb (Lk. 18:15).  Where do we go from here? Well first, everyone I know is a sinner, but some worse than others! (That’s another post on the problems of thew Calvinistic doctrine of total depravity though).  We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s grace.  We need the continued transformation to be more like Jesus each and every day.  Luckily, the Lord’s arms are always open and outstretched to return to Him for healing.  So, if you have made poor decisions, then you should seek to reconcile them before the Lord. Your already forgiven for them but sometimes there is some continued work to be done that comes with real healing.  • Unfortunately, many Christians forget what the Love of Jesus looks like.  

• They represent hate, hostility, and animosity more than they represent the love of Jesus.  

• Jesus makes it clear that judgment and life in the kingdom are antithetical to one another. 

 • Jesus came to free us from judgment and to restore our capacity to love the way God loves.

1. Creation teaches mutuality

 • Men and Women each created in the image of God 

• “rib” vs. side/half 

• Ezer- helper= Savior 

• If you get creation wrong, you get it all wrong- Paul and etc.    

2. Men ruling over women is a result of the fall and desecration of the world 

• If Jesus’ death and resurrection reverses the effects of the “fall” it disproves complementarian roles   

3. The idea of gender “roles” is not biblical. “Giftings” is a more biblical approach.  

• The Spirit always gives gifts indiscriminately  

• God doesn’t show partiality.    

4. Authority (rulership) and hierarchy are antithetical to the Kingdom of God.  

• Throughout the Bible we see many instances of God’s ideal that that no person have rulership over another, but rather that we rule mutually  

• We obey God alone, we submit to each other out of reverence for Christ, our King 

• When Paul used head in Col 3 and Eph 5 it’s talking about the thing on top of your shoulders and not authority. Preeminence. 

 • Considering marriage in 1 Cor 7 everything is applied mutually    

5. 1 Tim 2 and 1 Cor 14 were dealing with specific issues, in a specific church, at a specific time. These passages do not prohibit women from speaking, teaching, or leading today.  

• These passages are descriptive and not prescriptive.  

• The command in 1 Tim 2 is for the woman to learn (This is exciting for the women!) 

• Women being commanded to be silent in 1 Cor 14 must be reconciled with all the other instances of women praying and prophesying in 1 Cor 11, 12, and 14 in the same letter.  

6. The Bible teaches a priesthood of all believers (not just men)  

• Adam and Eve were the original priesthood 

• 1 Tim 3 and Titus 2 use neuter (masc/fem) pronouns when referring to the giftings and character of the elders and deacons. (11 he/his pronouns in the NIV and ESV that aren’t in the text) 

• There’s lots of evidence of women leading and exercising their mutual priesthood in the Bible… Here’s a few: 

o Mariam (led Israel with Moses)  o Deborah (Led as a judge) 

o Huldah (Prophet who explained the law) 

o Mary Magdalene (first to preach the resurrection) 

o Percilla (discipler/teacher)  o Phoebe (deacon, house church leader, Roman’s letter carrier/reader) o Junia (apostle/church planter) 

• Unity and mutuality … All are one in Christ!   

7. Biblical Theology and the entire lens of scripture point to God’s ideal of mutuality 

• We need to view the bible not as a flat text but as a narrative 

• The Bible begins and ends with a picture that looks like Eden 

• We see the early church in the Bible living out this ethic of the age to come in the present because it has broken in with the resurrection of Jesus

1. Were Adam and Eve the first Human Beings 

2. Were Adam and Eve real people or just a typological example 

3. What about Science 

4. How should we best interpret the story of Adam and Eve?  

MY BASIC PREMISE: 

1. I believe God created Adam and Eve by His direct hand and in His image and that they were actual people but also serve as a typology, they were the first priests in the line of the Messiah but likely not the first people on earth. 

2. God inaugurated creation in 7 days as a cosmic temple 

3. The focus of Genesis 1-3 is God’s relationship with humankind and not necessary the details of building the creation. The Bible therefore becomes the love story of God reclaiming the treasured possession of humanity that was lost. (house vs home story) 

4. Genesis 1-3 (specifically) should be read in light of its intended audience (Ancient Near East Mesopotamian) Israelite culture.  

We mostly struggle with the concept of Adam and Eve and ancient things because we think in terms of western cosmology and Platonic logic.  We don’t think like the ANE authors of Genesis did.  We want to read the Bible like a history or science book and that simply isn’t what the Bible is or how it was intended to be read.  The Bible describes the earth as sitting above deep waters with spheres connecting the heavens.  Does this make the stories mythology?  In most cases God meets people and even allows them to be part of the story.  Sometimes that means borrowed words, and ideas become part of the story and we find that God in his mercy goes along with a lot of man’s ways.  The nature of God and his mission to reclaim what was lost reads a whole lot more like a love story that isn’t overly concerned with painting any other pictures.  To get the whole story we have to find our place in the culture. Our goal should be to understand the story as it was given to the intended audience and figure out how we are impacted and fit in.  What does God desire of you based on the story we are given?  As you explore the possibilities, I pray that you will find you are also falling in love with the Word and the Word is Jesus.  This is the pre-emanate calling of the New Testament, to grow deeper in intimacy with Jesus and lead others to also embark on that beautiful journey.  May the Lord Bless you and Keep you. -Dr. Will Ryan