Professor Danson, AKA Dronemaster finds himself in a jam, and has to rely on our heroes to get him out!

Introducing the voice of John Warren as Street Boss!

Or, The Faithful Church of Missions, Evangelism, and Revival.

The letter to the Philadelphia Church can be found in Revelation 3:7-13. After a brief overview of what the town was like then, and now, by J Vernon McGee, we dig in, and unpack the statements in this letter.

Verse 7

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

As with all these letters, they were addressed to the "angel" or the minister at each church. The city still exists in modern day Turkey. Its position along foothills gave it some military importance, but was prone to earthquakes. Philadelphia's wealth came from textiles, and local vineyards. With common earthquakes, the surrounding country became more popular to live in.

The phrase, "These things saith he that is holy," points to holiness as an attribute of god, meaning that Jesus also claims that godly attriubute.

Also refer to: Revelation 4:8; Isaiah 6:3; Isaiah 47:4; Isaiah 55:5; Mark 1:24 (ESV)

Also pointing to a shared attribute of God, the phrase, "he that is true," means that Jesus is trustworthy in his actions.

Refer to: Revelation 16:7; Revelation 19:2; John 14:6

The identifier, "he that hath the key of David," has two meanings. One carrying power and authority. The other linking Jesus to David.

Refer to: Revelation 1:18; Isaiah 22:22

Adding to his final say over a matter, "he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth," demonstrates that its Jesus alone who determines who is in his kingdom. Not even anybody else qualifies to challenge this authority.

Refer to: Revelation 5:3-5; Revelation 5:9; Job 12:14

Verse 8

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

As their works were identified, there was nothing bad said. They were told they had an open door, implying opportunity. It was an open door that not even anybody could shut.

Refer to: 1 Corinthians 16:9; Colossians 4:3

The church here had only a little strength. A word where we get the word "micro". It may have been a tiny strength, but one that was fully functional, just tiny. When we are connected to God's strength, or power, all it takes is our own tiny power. A word related to the word, "dynamo."

Refer to: 2 Corinthians 12:8-10; Philippians 4:13

Another important trait of this church Is that they kept his word. They were faithful. They kept, or held fast.

Refer to: Revelation 22:7; John 14:21-24; 2 Timothy 4:7

Another way of saying they were faithful is that they didn't deny, or reject Jesus name.

Refer to: Luke 12:9; 1 John 2:22-23

Verse 9

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

This isn't the first time to see this phrase, "the synagogue of Satan." The author explains it by adding that they "say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie." These were Jewish oppressors, trying to convert the Christians back to Judaism. They lied, or were false. Jesus was the fulfillment of the law, and to go back, would be a false religion to follow.

Refer to: Revelation 2:9

Instead of being oppressed, Jesus would "make them to come and worship before thy feet,

Or, Confused? In despair? Accept Love's Gift Now!

In the previous section in this chapter of John, the visit with Nicodemus doesn't clearly end. The verses from 16 to 21 might either be concluding statements to Nicodemus , or comments by the author to expand on the discussion with Nicodemus.

Comments are provided by Keith, Nathan, and our favored old time radio bible teacher, J Vernon McGee (See credits below)..

Notes

The most important statement of the gospel, maybe in the whole bible.

Verse 16 "

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

There are two actions. God loves, and the reciprocal to it, we believe. In the middle is a gift we don't deserve.

Love. By itself it doesn't save us. What it does do is provide grace. Its grace that saves. Grace is a gift. It only requires belief. It's a gift that's sufficient for the world.

Belief. It's a passive act. To accept something. it's not doing something. Belief results in salvation from the consequences of sin. The result means there is no condemnation, no judgement. No death.

Eternal. Not only the amount of time, but quality of life. Through belief, we are found to be approved by god.

Parish. Another verb. Its the result of not believing. The opposite of life. It doesn't mean to stop existing, but utter failure. To lose all that makes existence worthwhile. A continuing state of Destruction. Its the result of doing nothing.

Verse 17

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

God's purpose, and desire is for salvation. He didn't send his gift to judge, or condemn. He did it to save and redeem.

Note: This verse is the only one with a challenge. Did Jesus come in love, or in judgement? In the show, Keith shares what the response is from "The Big Book of Bible Difficulties," by Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. Copyright 1992, Baker Books. The short answer is, context. References to his judgement involve his second coming. References to his love relate to his first coming.

Here's the gift, now what?

Verse 18

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Once again, belief is the only action on our part. To passively accept the gift. To do nothing is to perish. To go into eternal destruction, judgement, and despair.

Believe, and avoid the condemnation already in your future.

Verse 19

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

The difference between the elect and the doomed is not guilt. Its not even innocence, or doing good works. Everybody sins, all are doomed. All prefer the dark. All we are inclined to do is evil.

Verse 20

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

Attitude is the difference. Some are drawn to the light. Evil hates the light for exposing evil deeds. Lovers of truth are drawn to light. There are some who love to have their works of truth seen.

How does this happen? The Holy Spirit gives you the faith you need. Does the light of the gospel message make you f...

Before getting into the feature, there's time for a segment of "Dumb News,", the part where Chris joins Keith to read real news headlines, but the commentary is all made up.

Main Topic

The church in ancient Sardis had problems. They had once received good gospel training. But somehow they coasted to a place of general corruption. They weren't being persecuted by the pagan culture/ they hadn't fallen to false teachers. They just weren't doing anything exactly.

Sardis was a city of commerce, and had an important strategic military location. There were tall,. Nearly vertical stone walls on all sides except the south. Though it was frequently attacked,. The city was only captured twice. Both times it was due to a sleeping sentry. A demonstration of how luxurious living led to decadence, coasting through life on past glory days, and sleeping on the job.

Verse 1 "

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "'

Similar to the Ephesus church, Jesus reveals his identity, and authority over the spirits, and messengers to the church. But there's a difference. The Ephesians were calling out false prophets and bad teaching.

I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Jesus sees and knows. He sees the people in this church, and their reputation of being vibrant, and doing all the churchy activities. Their name was of being filled with life. The horrible reality is that they are dead. Their faith was coasting on past glory days. They had been duped, lured into complacency to the po8int of losing their identity in Christ.

Verse 2

Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die,

The call to action is to wake up. Strengthen, or stabilize in faith. The phrase, "What remains," means that not all were in dire straights.

But, if nothing is stabilized, they

would Were expected to die off.

for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

Based on the only thing that matters,, God's standard, these people fell short. The phrase, "Not complete" has a meaning of filling a hollow space and found lacking. To be not satisfactory. Being not up to the mark.

Verse 3

Remember, then, what you received and heard.

Again, similar to the Ephesian church, they were told to remember. The Ephesians had been sticklers on theology, but had forgot their first love. The church in Sardis had received good word, but they had just about entirely fallen away into their old lifestyle of sin. They needed to wake up, and remember the gospel.

Keep it, and repent.

Keep, or safeguard the good message. If memories need refreshing, its time to repent.

If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

If no repentance, not waking to the gospel, Jesus will come, and it won't go well for these people with dead faith. .

Come. Or to be present, to arrive . the sense of the word is that Jesus is only a footstep away from appearing in their presence.

Like a thief. Surprised by the unexpected hour. A phrase that is a common one through the gospel writings.

Verse 4

Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments,

There were only a few, not many left awake who still had a good name. A small amount who still had garments of faith that were unndefiled, unsoiled.

Think of it.

After the amazing events surrounding the birth of Jesus, notable things keep happening.

In keeping with the expected behavior of a young Jewish family, Mary and Joseph take the newborn Jesus to the temple. The parents are amazed at not only one, but two prophets who give thanks for the arrival of the Messiah, and reveal both blessings and tragedies that await him.

In our commentary through drama, Marry is feeling the affects of her age. Fortunately for Luke, a couple of Mary's young friends have stopped by to check on her, and relate their own experiences as girls on a long ago caravan to Jerusalem . Jesus never fails to amaze his parents as he grows in favor with God and men.

Stay tuned as Luke's investigation continues

Taking a look at an earlier series we did to reply to "10 Nonbelievers arguments," your Podcast Host Deputies respond to the claim that religion is too narrow minded for science to flourish. We've taken the audio track from the YouTube video, so if you're interested in it, do a search, and look it up.

Science and Religion.

The historian in the clip has some good information on how the seat of knowledge shifted out of the Middle East,, into Europe. And other parts of the globe. Astronomy, mathematics, and more had thrived in Bagdad until the Mongols invaded.

Why didn't science and learning make a comeback? The historian lays blame on a Muslim holy man who shaped that religion. He claimed that math and such things were of the devil, and should be avoided. The main statistic used for proof of the lingering, backwards thought is in the glaring lack of Muslims receiving a Nobel Peace Prize in sciences.

I' with him except for two points.

First, he tries to say that the god of islam is the same one as the god of the Bible. Second, he tries to say that one holy man reforming islam is the same as one holy man forming the Christian faith. I figured he would then use his statistics to show a glaring disparity of religious folk across the board as recipients of the Nobel prize. Though it's true that by his claim, and he's being generous to allow that 2% out of a world population of 1.3 billion Muslims have won it in the science categories. He never offers a breakdown for atheist, or christians.

He then does something confusing. He states that Jews have won 25%

Out of a world population of only 15 million. Wait. Is he trying to say that a small people group dominates the world in science, while one of the largest one barely puts a dent in it? And it all must be due to longstanding, close-minded, religious teaching? He does know that the god of the Jews is the same one he just claimed was the same as the god of Islam? The god where the religious, and holy men are the same?

Which is it? All religions can't bee the same, based on his own scientific evidence.

Here's a quick rundown on the latest numbers on the Nobel prizes, thanks to wikipedia.

Nobel prize winners, by religious affiliation.

Sciences.

Total: 300 awards.

Chemistry and Physics awards (CP): 164

Chemistry, economics, physics, medicine

Non-religious: 18, 6, 36, 24

Total: 84

CP: 54

Total: 28%

CP: 18% (out of 300)

Adjusted CP: 32.9% (out of 164)

p, C, M, e

Christian: 14, 3, 9, 11

Total: 37

CP: 17

Total: 12.3%

CP: 5.6% (out of 300)

Adjusted CP: 10.4% (out of 164)

C, m, p, e

Jewish: 35, 54, 55, 32

Total: 176

CP: 90

Total: 58.6%

CP: 30% (out of 300)

Adjusted CP: 54.9% (out of 164)

P, c, e, m

Muslim: 1, 2, 0, 0

Total: 3

Total: 1%

Adjusted CP: 1.8% (out of 164)

Continuing our expository look at the gospel of John, we start with the closing thought in chapter 2, "Jesus knows what is in man." Joined by the magic of post production, and collaboration efforts, Keith presents thoughts from Nathan Caldwell, and old time bible teacher, J Vernon McGee. Along the way, a few challenges to the text are included.

Jesus had apparently been teaching and healing. Although John is silent on what those miracles might be.

John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.

Though many believed, it was a superficial, shallow faith.

24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people

The people likely figured it took God to do the miraculous signs, and equated Jesus with God. However. their purpose would likely be to seek to make him a physical leader. Jesus knew his purpose, and didn't need the approval of man.

25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Jesus knew their intent even better than they did, and didn't need their approval. .

The text moves seamlessly into the visit by Nicodemus, and his meeting with Jesus in the middle of the night.

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

From these simple words we know Nicodemus was a political leader,,, and as a Pharisee, was in the upper class. His intent showed his interest in teaching, not so much politics. Of course, he was likely motivated by the signs Jesus did. He was cautious, open minded, and ready to receive revelation.

2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him."

The fact that Nicodemus approached Jesus by night might not mean he was timid, but by the same token he was not aggressive as a disciple either. He was courteous, and not hostile. Jesus gets to the point, and abruptly cuts him off, and gets to the real point Nicodemus needed to hear.

3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Born again, or of above. A spiritual birth. Keith shares a challenge over what being born again means in the face of those claiming it relates to reincarnation.

4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

Nicodemus goes for the obvious, materialistic response. He possibly held an attitude of, "You can't teach old dogs new tricks."

5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus restates his answer. Instead of born above, he says Born of water and spirit.

This brings up another challenge. What exactly does he mean by water and spirit? Is water physical birth, or spirit. One view is it means being born of the water of the womb, and later a spiritual birth. A second view is the water related to the repentance of what John the Baptist taught. This still requires a later spiritual baptism .

One thing it does not mean, is that water baptism has some kind of power to regenerate the lost soul.

Water is often connected to being washed in the word. The word is revealed in the opening statements of John's Gospel as the word. So salvation is to come through the water, or word, or Jesus himself.

Susan and I are interviewed by Keith.  This one is near and dear to my heart.