This is the Truth Network, my dear Christian friend. When Jesus judges the churches, will it make a difference that He's given some more blessings and others less?
Well, stay with us, listen, and learn. You're listening to "Until He Comes," a blend of prophetic and practical biblical studies with Dr. Greg Hinnant, author of "The Second Coming of Christ," His Appearing, His Return, Our Preparation, and now author and teacher Greg Hinnant. Welcome to the program. In our previous episode, we were continuing the study of Jesus in judgment mode, and we noted that Jesus spoke to the Laodiceans and said that, in effect, they were carnal Christians.
We described what it means to be a carnal Christian, and noted not only the obvious signs of carnality, but the inward, shall we say, invisible signs—those that deal with the attitude in the mind.
Now. We want to note also that Jesus corrected five of the seven churches, and therefore it is highly likely that your church and mine needs something corrected by the Lord. We should be open to it, and even ask the Lord to show us what is necessary to be corrected among us, because. That will open the path to perfection. I do not mean by that sinful, sinless perfection, but the attainment of spiritual maturity on a consistent day-to-day basis.
That's the goal of the Lord in the church in this age.
Now, since these truths were repeatedly spoken by Jesus, I think it's important for us to repeatedly obey them. Everything he warned to the churches of Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea. We need to search our hearts and lives and our churches to see are these things in us, and if so, get rid of the errors and hold fast to the virtues and grow in those joyfully by the grace of God every day, obeying the Lord not out of some false obligation that we think we're going to be saved by it. Not at all, but because we love Him, and He taught us, "If you love Me, obey Me, obey My words," and so we want to obey the Lord.
Now let's look at this: the seven judges, extraordinary blessings on the churches of Asia. We've been talking about these seven churches in Revelation two and three.
Now let's note that there were some great blessings the Lord had bestowed upon them. These churches were exceptionally blessed, naturally, and. Spiritually, now let's discuss those blessings. First of all, in their founding, every church has a founder. We know that some human being that comes along we call him a church planter.
Maybe a group of people sent out by a church. It may be a missionary in a foreign field. It may be just someone who feels called to start a church in their home, and then people come and it grows. But. The founding of this church was by none other than the apostle Paul, so this church was apostolically founded.
This, these churches, these groups of churches, they were apostolically founded by Paul or one of the disciples that he sent out.
Now we don't know a lot of specifics about the founding of these churches, but we do know this. Acts nineteen records Paul's period in Asia. Which was an important province in the Roman Empire, very productive naturally agriculturally, in wine and in crops, and in commerce. But Paul didn't go there because of that. He went because he was sent by the Holy Spirit.
As you will recall, in Acts 16, Paul wanted to go to Asia but was forbidden and sent to Macedonia instead. Why did God not send him to Asia?
Well, here's the answer. Are you ready? I don't know. And you don't know for sure. That is in a definitive way.
What we do know is that God sent him to Macedonia, where there he found an open-hearted woman named Lydia, in whose home the church was founded. There, in in Philippi, and that was the first official European church. Found it, and so it was an important breakthrough moment.
Now we do know the gospel had gone to Rome already, but this was a significant moment because Paul was the prime apostle to the Gentiles, and there he was sent at that time.
Now, why not to Asia? Again, we don't know, but it's likely that either they weren't ready for him, or he wasn't ready for that ministry, possibly both. You know, God has to prepare people to hear the word and receive it. Technically, it's called prevenient grace—the drawing of God that brings someone to the point of salvation. It occurs in all of our lives, and we really don't know much about it except when we look back on our life, we can see the influences that were working, but we can't see the effects.
Of the intercessions that were offered, by usually one or two people, and in some cases many people, those intercessions were working in drawing us to Jesus.
Now, so these these churches were founded by the Apostle Paul. What a wonderful thing! What a blessing!
Sometimes churches are found by people who are well, shall we say, biblically ignorant or illiterate. And those who have little or no sound theological training or knowledge, and so in those cases, God can bring those churches along, but they don't have the advantages of churches that were founded by those who are already sound in the knowledge of the Word of God and doctrine. But this church was founded by not only someone who was sound, but an amazing, extraordinary Christian visionary. Remember, Paul saw the Lord. Paul heard from the Lord.
Paul listened to the Lord for an extended period of time after his salvation. We don't know specifically where, but somewhere in the region of Arabia, he had extended time sitting at the feet of Jesus, receiving from Christ not only understanding of the Old Testament types and shadows and what they meant in New Testament reality, but also. New truths that had not been revealed. For instance, the church it had not been revealed. The Jews thought that the church would come by the conversion that came through Judaism.
So they thought that the Gentiles should first become Jews, then they could be saved. This was the teaching later of the of the Judaizers, and so that was their concept. But they had no concept of an entirely separate. Yet fully accepted by God, Gentile body called the Ekklesia, they had no they had no clue about it.
So when Paul came forth with this mystery, as he called it, and the word mystery simply means previously undisclosed divine secret. At first, it wasn't accepted. The Jews didn't like it because they were used to being the chosen. That is, they were used to being the people of God.
Now are they being told that these other people are also chosen? Huh. That was cold water on their red hot religious pride.
So he had some opposition for a long time because of this doctrine. Also, he received the new doctrine of the rapture of the church. No one knew about this. It was absolutely. Unknown.
No Old Testament scripture clearly spoke to that. Only Enoch and Elijah had been translated, taken alive to heaven, and changed from a mortal to an immortal body in a in a moment.
So this was given to him as well. He also received the knowledge of the Lord's return in a specific way. The rapture would be when he caught up the church, and then he saw the return of Christ in power and glory. He described it in Second Thessalonians chapter one, and he described the Antichrist in some detail in Second Thessalonians chapter two.
So Paul received special revelations, and he was the man that founded. These churches in Asia.
Now, either Paul or one of his specially trained disciples. Again, referring back to Acts nineteen, in those texts, you will find that in first one, I would say verses one through twelve, and then also you see the effect of his teaching in verse twenty-six, where the Gentile silversmith Demetrius raises a great cry in the city. To expel Paul because he has, in effect, destroyed the idol-making business in the in the city. He's destroyed the local economy, which was built upon the visitation of pilgrims coming to the great Diana's temple, and this had been impacted significantly.
So Paul had an amazing ministry there, and he sent out disciples whom he trained. On the Roman roads, and they either founded these seven churches, or possibly he founded them, and they followed up with messages from him and other letters he was sending to the other churches, and then learned extensively. What Paul had taught through these men that he sent out. Who were they? We don't know specifically.
We know some. We know Timothy was there. We know there was others. And we also know there were other churches that were not addressed. For instance, the church at Colossi and in Hierapolis.
So these churches in Asia were apostolically founded. No one today can definitively make that claim that they were founded by an apostolic visionary on the level of the man Paul.
Now, while I say that there are many, in fact, I know a few. Who have apostolic gifts and apostolic ministries? Whether I would call them a full apostle or not is another question. But there's no question they have special gifts in founding churches, establishing them by the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, establishing them in the Word of God and in the ways of God, training them, educating them, founding them, and then being there for spiritual counsel as a good shepherd and under shepherd. Of Christ, after these churches are founded, so that they continued to grow, they are not infected with heresy or sin.
These are men I would call apostolic in nature. Many of them are establishing churches in other nations.
Now, next, these churches had extraordinary instruction. They were saturated in apostolic. Teaching—it's one thing for a church to be founded by an apostle; another for that church to have that same apostle teach them, in person, and by letter.
So their apostolic instruction was amazing. First, from Paul, he was there personally. We know about that for a total of three years—two years of intensive teaching. And that's in Acts chapter nineteen, verses nine through twelve. Let's read about that so that we can see what the Bible has to say about this important period in the ministry of Paul.
Again, it was the apex, the highest point of his apostolic ministry. This is chapter nineteen, and we'll look at verses nine through twelve. But when various ones were hardened and believed not, but spoke evil of that way—that is, the way of Christianity—before the multitude, that is, those who were in the Jewish synagogue there in Ephesus, he departed from them. Paul left, and separated the disciples, those who were Christians and who were learning to walk closely with God. He separated them, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
So he was both disputing the Greek philosophers and Jewish disbelievers, and instructed others who were open to the gospel. This continued by the space of two years, so that all they—that is, two years of intensive teaching—the total time he was there was three years, according to another references later in the chapter. This continued by the space of two years, so that all they who dwelt in Asia, think about that, all they who dwelt in Asia, heard. The word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. What an amazing ministry Paul had!
He taught people, he evangelized people all over Asia. My goodness! No television, no internet, no microphones, no car or bus or plane for travel. Only his two feet. And so this man, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit, went all over the land, and also sent disciples of his all over the land, and they spread the gospel everywhere.
They all heard it. Not all, not all were converted, but many, many, a tremendous number of them were.
So much so that Demetrius, as I said later, complained that they had almost. Undermined the entire main economy there, which was influenced largely by tourism, and the worship of the local god. By the way, the tremendous temple of Artemis, which is also called Diana, which was in the city. Was one of the wonders of the ancient world. It was a tremendous structure, and so many came there to worship in the temple, or to put their money in the bank there, or to touch the Artemis tree or pray to their gods under that tree, hoping it would make them fertile, either women to have babies or fertile in their agricultural works, and so all of this false.
Teaching based upon false gods was being attacked, overcome, and completely subdued by Paul's ministry there. And God wrought. This is verse eleven. God wrought special miracles.
Now, all miracles are special. A miracle, by its very definition, it's a supernatural act that cannot be described and explained by natural means. It's something that's above us. We see it; it's real, but we don't understand it.
Now, this text says he wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought to the sick handkerchiefs or aprons. These would have been work cloths. This would have been a hot culture; they would have been saturated with sweat from Paul's body, and the diseases departed from these people, and the evil spirits went out of them. This is amazing.
So. The miraculous power of Christ was present and active through Paul's ministry in this area, and had a distinct effect on the power of the gospel which he preached and the doctrine which he taught.
So, this church enjoyed the apostolic instruction of none other than the Apostle Paul and also Peter. Peter, we know, had an effect through his pastorate there, and rather by his epistles, which he wrote later, First and Second Peter, they would have been circulated here in this region. Because remember, when Jesus spoke to these churches in A.D. ninety-five, so Peter passed probably in A.D. Sixty-eight.
When Paul also passed, and so his letter would have surely been sent here and read with great interest. But more importantly, the apostle John. John was a pastor here, pastored at this church, an elder and pastor, and his influence would have been tremendous.
So these churches had two of the founding apostles of the church. Who was there to teach them in person and guide them, and also, who wrote to them by letter? John, of course, wrote three epistles, wrote his gospel, and most significantly, his revelation. Then, after this, I would say the evangelism and pastoral of the Apostle Paul's devoted associate minister. Timothy, Timothy was an outstanding servant of God.
Paul highly recommended him. It would be impossible for Paul to have recommended a servant, a minister, without that minister being not only faithful but extraordinary.
So he too ministered in this region, specifically in Ephesus.
So they had apostolic founding. They had apostolic instruction.
Now they also had apostle. They had revelation. Amazing revelation! The churches of Asia were the first to read John's wonder-filled apocalypse. The first to behold in the written word Jesus glorified, Jesus in all the glory of His second advent.
Specifically, now we take it for granted because we can read this book today. But when it first came out in eighty ninety five, many doubted it. Others didn't like it because they couldn't explain these amazing things described here, but it eventually was fully accepted in the fifth century when Bishop Athanasius of Egypt finalized what we now consider the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.
So it was an amazing wonder, and a book, and they got the quote, "advanced copies," end quote, if you will. You know, an author writes a book today, and he wants it to have a good coverage. Usually, he will send advanced copies to certain publicists or media outlets so they can read the book and then give an informed interview. With the author, and help promote the knowledge of that book.
Well, the first people to hear to read the book of Revelation were these very people. They were the ones to read it first. How privileged they were! Then there was transportation.
So, in these cities and in this region, there were excellent Roman roads that connected these churches to one another. They could easily get on the road and walk, or have a donkey, or in some cases the horse, if they were very wealthy, and travel from one city to another to have fellowship, to break bread, to celebrate the Lord's supper, to edify the church there by teaching, instruction, and exhortation, or sharing of revelation that they receive from the Holy Spirit. About their times and prophecy, so they could. They were easily transported from one location to another. It wasn't hard.
These roads were the best in the world then. Many of them still remain today. If you look up Roman road making, you will be amazed to see the number of layers, the different materials they used. These roads were amazing.
So this region was. Blessed, advantaged because of these roads, there it expedited evangelism, made it quicker and easier, and subsequently also instruction.
Next, it was the economy. In Asia, all shared a wonderful economy. It's one of the best provinces in the Roman Empire for agriculture. They had tremendous wheat production, viticulture. They had grape vines that produced both, obviously, wine and other products of the grape.
And then trade, trade was abundant in this region. It was between the east and the west, and the north and the south. Right there, in what is modern-day Turkey. Was sort of the center of that Roman world. Everything passed through there.
So many things were bought and sold in these cities. Thus, they became very rich, like the Laodiceans. Travel also was very easy to them. There were ports in at least two of the cities. Particularly, Ephesus had a very active harbor, and you could just hop on a ship there and go anywhere you wanted to go in the ancient world if you paid the fare.
So travel was easy, and also the economies which were interwoven there. This travel made the economy, particularly, particularly strong in Asia.
So the two are really connected. Without the travel being so easy, the economy would not have been built up as much as it was. You see, they could also take their grains and easily ship them to Rome in the tremendous Egyptian grain ships that sailed in those days, and upon which surely Paul himself sailed. Then there was peace. All this was an important factor, maybe bigger than anything else.
All of these churches shared in the Roman Empire's greatest period of peace and stability, the Pax Romana, approximately 27 BC to AD 180.
Now, during these roughly 200 years, the Roman Empire was not challenged in war by any significant power. There was the Jewish rebellion in eighty sixty six, but that in no way challenged Rome's hegemony, its empire. No, it was a trouble that they had to put down, but it didn't challenge the empire.
So, for two hundred years, the Roman Empire itself, including this area of Asia Minor, was at peace. They were not threatened by or attacked by foreign powers. That would change later. We know. And but for this period, there was peace throughout the land.
You see, when war came, it would not only disrupt the nation there, but the economy. It would disrupt travel. It would bring danger to everyone in the region. When attacking countries came through, they raped and pillaged. It was a terrible time.
So all these factors—apostolic founding, apostolic instruction, special revelation, transportation—that was excellent. A great economy, and above all, peace throughout the land. These provided great advantages to these churches that others did not have.
So was this why Christ reckoned with them so thoroughly and rigorously? Because to them so much was given. You know, he taught this. In Matthew twelve forty-eight, for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. I believe this is why he dealt with them thoroughly and rigorously, because so much had been given to them.
Pause, my friend, and consider this: We American Christians today. Have been so similarly advantaged in our time, blessed in so many ways naturally, blessed with all these things that I just mentioned. Apostolic teaching through the Bible, revelation through the Bible, transportation. Look at how we have a wonderful system of transportation in our nation and throughout the world. The economy, America's economy, is stronger than in any other.
Peace, we've had peace within our continental nation for many, many, many years. All this has been given to us, including Bible translations of every kind. What have we done with it? Christ will require it of us. Oh, He's a loving God, but when He acts in judgment mode.
He's looking at us for accountability, and dependability, and faithfulness. Have we been faithful? Have we done what he told us to do? Do we realize how advantaged we are? And that to whom much is given, much will be required.
When we stand before Him at the Bema, and this is my passion, my friends, to let you know this now, so you can prepare now, by fulfilling the Lord's will, serving Him, and working in His mission field in love. And your mission begins every time you step out your front door. We see here that Christ is serious about our lives, bringing Him fruit, honor. Spiritual maturity and pleasure—pleasure to Him. Far, far too long, far too many American churches have been casual, even apathetic, about giving Christ the return on His spiritual investment in our lives.
Oh, friend, it's time! It's time that you hear my voice. That we get serious about this issue of bearing fruit and giving a wonderful return spiritually to our Lord. It's time that we become very serious, dead, sober, serious. It's time because Christ is now moving among us, and He is working in His judgment mode, and He will be in that mode when we see Him next.
Let's prepare now. If this message has blessed you, tell your friends, and please consider helping us stay on the air by sending your tax-deductible donation to Greg Hennett Ministries. Also, remember you may download the "Until He Comes" podcast from your preferred podcast app. May you walk closely with Christ and trust and obey Him in your daily tests of faith and patience until He comes. This is the Truth Network.
