Seven hundred years before this letter was written, Sardis was one of the greatest cities in the world. It is reputed to be one of the oldest cities of Asia. Aeschylus, Thucydides, and other Greek writers mention it as a city of renown. It probably dates back to before 2000 BC Sardis was the ancient Capital of the Lydian empire (1200 BC) and residence of the royal dynasty of the Mermnades.
A strategic travel location between Pergamos, Smyrna, Ephesus, Philadelphia and Phrygia, Sardis favored commerce and it became a very wealthy city. Gold and silver “Lydian Staters” were the first coins in the world—in about the sixth century BC
At its zenith, Croesus, its king, (and also its river, Pactolus) became proverbial for riches. Its patron deity was the goddess Cybele, (known as Diana in Ephesus) whose son, Midas, was the wealthy but effeminate king of Phrygia. He is fabled as the one whose touch turned everything to gold, etc.
Sardis was situated on a hill 1000 feet above the broad valley of the Hermus at the foot of Mt. Tmolus. It appeared to be impregnable. However, the sheer precipitous cliff was clay, which suffered continual erosion and the untrustworthy mud left occasional cracks which could be exploited.
This false confidence was reflected in the character of the inhabitants: false confidence, appearance without reality, promise without performance, outward appearance of strength betrayed by want of watchfulness and diligence.
An example: When besieged by the Persians in 549 BC, Croesus, then king of Lydia, left unguarded the precipitous cliffs on three sides of the city. After a 14-day siege, Cyrus offered a reward to any man who could find a way of scaling the apparently unscalable cliffs. One of his soldiers, Hyeroeades, noticed a Lydian soldier accidentally drop his helmet over the battlements and noted his path to retrieve it, thus revealing an unguarded oversight. In the darkness of the following night, Hyeroeades and a Persian party climbed the cliff and clambered over the unguarded battlements to take the city. But the Sardians did not learn their lesson: in 214 BC the formidable cliffs again proved susceptible to a hazardous climb when Lagoras repeated the exploit of Hyeroeades and the city was similarly taken by Antiochus. Hegel said “History teaches that man learns nothing from history.” The Sardians were not watchful.
By the New Testament time, most of its earlier dignity and splendor had disappeared. An severe earthquake in 17 AD caused major damage. Today the little town of Sart has only fragments of its proud history.
[1] “Seven Spirits of God”: The Old Testament idiom of the Holy Spirit. Why does Jesus use this title with this particular church? Most denominations today are very uncomfortable with the Holy Spirit—it’s one cause of division within the church.
Sardis = “Remnant” [?] A word of uncertain derivation.
“Name”: This word appears several times in this letter. The greek is onoma {on’-om-ah} = labeling, being covered by a name = denominationalism?]
The Reformation was a heroic period in church history. “Salvation by faith, not works.” But its failures persist unto this day. The allegorization of Scripture (especially those concerning Christ’s rule in the Millennium) is at the top of the list. The Reformation did not go far enough. The Millennium and the Rapture of the Church are not accepted literally in most mainline denominational churches today.
“...art dead!”: One of two without commendation (with Laodicea). “Not everyone...I never knew you” (Mat 7:21-23)...
Their earlier enthusiasm—and blessings—passed away and was replaced with cold formalism.
[2] “Works”: Their works are inadequate. Nothing good is said.
“Be watchful”: Be vigilant. [10 virgins of Mat 25?]
Watchfulness: Rom 13:11; 1Cr 16:13. We watchful of:
•; The wiles of the devil (1Pe 5:8)
•; Temptation (Mat 26:41)
•; His Coming (Mat 24:42-43; Mar 13:37; 1Th 5:6)
•; False Teachers (Acts 20:29-31). Ephesus did.
“...things which remain” = Grace (cf. Ishmael vs. Isaac).
The great truths of the Reformation are being lost: the justification by faith alone, the inerrant Word of God, the depravity of man, etc.
“...works not complete”: Christ is looking for something from us. Our love, our loyalty, our service. Without Him, we can’t. Without us, He won’t.
[3] “Repent”: Aorist imperative; a definite action, a decisive moment.
“Hold fast,” keep: Present imperative; continuous action. Beware a spasmodic Christianity.
“...thou shalt not know...”: Sardis (historically as well as spiritually) didn’t know when the enemy was coming. But what of those who do watch?
“Looking for that blessed hope”: Titus 2:13. Sardis was not like the “Children of the Day” of 1Th 5. He who walks hand-in-hand with Christ cannot be taken unawares by the Coming of Christ (cf., Enoch, Gen 5:22, 24).
[4] “Names” again...It is always a remnant (cf. Noah). “Little flock” (Luk 12:32).
[5] “Clothed in white raiment”: Garments (James 1:27). (Covered with light: Psa 104:2.)
“Book of Life”: A register of the citizens of heaven. Christ confesses them here and in Matthew 10:32-33 and Luke 12:8-9.
There are only two books of genealogies:
•; Generations of Adam (Gen 5:1) — one of death.
•; Generations of Jesus Christ (Mat 1:1) — one of life.
Psalmist expresses the hope that the wicked will be blotted out of the book of the living: Psa 69:28 (cf. also Dan 12:1).
Some believe that the book of life is a list of those for whom Christ died (cf. Rev 13:8; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:12. 15,15; Rev 21:27; Rev 22:19 (7 total). Is your name here? How do you know? Is there anything in your life more important than making sure your name is in the book?
[6] “He...ear”: Closes the letter (the last four letters end this way).
Sardis was untroubled by any heresy. (Orthodoxy can be an excuse for laziness.) Ultimate fragmentation and denominationalism replaced apostolic teaching and practices. Sardis was untroubled by any attack from the outside. It had ceased to matter (2Ti 3:5). A truly vital church will always be under attack. If the world finds no fault in it is a dead church.
Each of the Seven Churches had a misperception of themselves.
The youngest of the cities, now known as Alashehir, was built in the area acquired by Pergamos in 189 BC King Eumenes II, King of Pergamos, had a younger brother, Attalus II, who was his successor, and won the cognomen Philadelphus (“One who loves his brother”), after which the city was named, for his loyalty and affection for Eumenes. Philadelphian coins show the two brothers as completely alike in height, features, and dress.
The area was well favored for wine production (Dionysys, the god of wine, was the principal deity) and the city well situated also on the imperial post road from Rome and Troas to Pergamos, Sardis and to the interior of Phrygia. It was a virtual gateway to the high central plateau of Asia Minor and thus became a missionary center for spreading the Greek language and manners into the eastern parts of Lydia and Phrygia. This missionary character of the city seems to be stressed in the letter to the church of Philadelphia.
The area (called Katakekaumene, “the Burned Land”) was a highly volcanic region and suffered repeatedly from earthquakes. It was almost completely destroyed in the disaster of 17 AD, which devastated Sardis and ten other cities. (Tremors were reported for years afterwards). Civic and economic disruption lasted for more than twenty years.
Generous assistance and financial relief from Tiberius caused the citizens to name the rebuilt city Neo-Caesarea (“New City of Caesar”). Later, in the time of Vespasian, it was changed to Flavia, his family name. The name changes were short-lived and the old name Philadelphia was soon revived. Prosperity was never fully regained. The city was under a legal jurisdiction of which Sardis was the center.
The church suffered at the hands of the large Jewish community in the city. Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, writing to the Philadelphian church a few years after John’s Revelation referred to the Jews, who had so long persecuted the Christians there, as being converted and turning in contrition to those whose adversity they had caused. This trend is reflected in the letter itself.
[7] “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write”: Philadelphia = “Brotherly Love.”
“Holy” (Also, Rev 6:10): Lev 11:44; Lev 21:8; Isa 57:15. Song of the Seraphim, Isa 6:3 (3X = Trinity?).
He was Holy at His birth (Luke 1:35);
Holy at His death (Acts 2:27);
Holy in His present priestly office (Heb 7:25).
“True”: Alethinos, real, genuine; vs. alethes, truth in contrast to falsehood (Jhn 17:3; 1Jo 5:20). Prophecy of Zecharias (Luk 1:75). His kingship rests upon the bedrock of His character (Psa 2; Psa 24, etc.)
Same words of Eliakim (when Shebna, Hezekiah’s treasurer was deposed and superseded): Isa 22:22 (Isa 22:19-24).
Full administrative authority. Eliakim carried a heavy key on a loop slung over his shoulder, indicating his power to grant or deny others an audience with the king. Hence, access. He alone can admit to the presence of God.
Kingdom term: Isa 9:6-7; Luk 1:32-33; Mat 28:18; Rev 1:18.
Janus, god of doors and hinges (also called Patulcius and Chusius, “opener and closer”). Later assumed by the Pope; and cardinals (from cardo, a hinge).
[8] “(1) I know thy works: behold, (2) I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: (3) for thou hast a little strength, (4) and hast kept my word, (5) and hast not denied my name.”
“Open doors”: 1Cr 16:9; 2Cr 2:12; Col 4:3.
Door(s) of deliverance: “I Am the Door,” Jhn 10:7, 9; Noah’s Ark (Gen 7:16) was closed by God, seven days before the flood. The door at the wedding (Mat 25:1-10).
“...kept my word”: In a day when there was a denial of the inspiration of the Scriptures, this church believed the Bible to be the authoritative, inspired Word of God. They were measured by faith, not works (Josh 1:8).
“...and not denied my name”: In a day when the deity of Christ is blatantly denied by seminary and pulpit, they proclaimed the God-man and His substitutionary death for sinners. He will be in no man’s debt and loyalty has its sure reward.
[Hasn’t the door to America reopened with the current awareness of problems and disillusionment of our profligate and corrupt society?]
[9] “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; (6) behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee”: False Jews = Reconstructionists? Legalists? (same as Rev 2:9). They will be compelled to worship (Phil 2:10-11).
Vengeance: Isa 61:2 (vs. Luke 4:18-20); 2Th 1:7-8.
[10] “(7) Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”
“Word of His patience”: 2Th 3:5. He awaits the millennial kingdom (Psa 110; Heb 10:12-13). [One of the principal truths recovered by the evangelical movements of the nineteenth century was the Lord’s return for His Church.]
Kept from the time of tribulation: From the period of, not only the actual tribulation (Luk 21:35-36) vs. Thyatira (Rev 2:28).
“Time”: hora {ho’-rah}: Used 108 times: “hour” 89, “time” 11, “season” 3, miscellaneous words, 5.
“Tribulation”: peirasmos {pi-ras-mos’}: Trial, temptation, adversity, affliction, trouble, tribulation.
Tribulation = relying on other gods (Judg 10:14). Revelation Chapters 6-19, in contrast to those sealed out of the 12 tribes of Israel in Rev 7:4.
Wrath? Read Rev 6:17 and 1Th 1:10; 1Th 5:4, 9 vs. those who dwell on the earth (Rev 13:8; Rev 6:10; Rev 8:13; Rev 11:10; Rev 12:12; Rev 13:8, 12, 14; Rev 14:6; Rev 17:8).
“Dwell” = not oikeo, katoideo = identified with it (Phil 3:20; Heb 11:13).
epi teo oikoumenes holes: In the Greek it is very clear; upon all mankind; geographically comprehensive.
[The concept of the rapture will be discussed as background for Chapter 4. Another reference is Gerald B. Stanton’s book, Kept From the Hour. )
[11] “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown”: Jesus will return, just as He promised (Jhn 14:3).
“Quickly” = “suddenly” in the Greek.
[If the gathering of His own were to occur after the 70th week of Daniel, there would have to be an intervening period of seven years... no “imminent” return!]
“Thy crown”: They already have it!
“Hold fast”: Let no man rob you, Colossians 2:18: “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind” (1Cr 9:24).
Esau lost his place to Jacob (Gen 25:34; Gen 27:36); Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob, lost his place to Judah (Gen 49:4, 8); for his action at Meribah, Moses was superseded by Joshua (Num 20:12; Deu 3:26-28); Saul lost his place to David (1Sa 16:1, 13); Shebna lost his place to Eliakim (Isa 22:15-25); Joab and Abiathar lost their places to Benaiah and Zadok (1Ki 2:25); for his lack of faith, Elijah was superseded by Elisha (1Ki 19:13-16).
After Peter’s denial, it was to the younger John that our Lord entrusted His mother (Jhn 19:26-27).
[Nowhere are we told to prepare for the Great Tribulation...]
The city of Philadelphia, during the 14th century, stood alone against the entire Turkish empire as a free, self-governing Christian city in the midst of a Turkish land. Twice besieged by great Turkish armies, its people reduced to the verge of starvation, they had learned to defend themselves, and resisted to the end. At last, about 1379-1390, it succumbed to a combined Turkish and Byzantine army. Until then, Philadelphia had held fast. In 1922, Turkey and Greece fought in Philadelphia. Today, the few remaining Christians remain underground, as they generally have to in an Islamic country.
[12] “Pillar”: 1Kgs 7:15-22; Jachin = “He shall establish,” “In His counsel”; Boaz = “In him is strength.” No tremors here; no need to vacate in fear again.
Remain in the spirit, not in the flesh (Gal 3:3). Those that are God’s are to be manifestly marked (Rev 7:3; Rev 9:4; Rev 14:1; Rev 22:4).
“New name (Rev 2:17; Rev 19:16; Jer 23:6; Rev 21:2)”: A name written which no one knows but He Himself (Rev 19:12): YHWH Shammah, “The Lord is there” (Eze 48:35); Yeshua name is preeminent (Phil 2:9).
“My God” = Used four times (cf. Psa 22:1).
David, the anointed King of Israel, was for a time exiled from his kingdom and took refuge in a cave in Adullam (1Sa 22:1; 2Sa 23:13; 1Ch 11:15). David, refused by his people, gathered three classes of people around him: men in debt, men in danger, and men that were discontented. He transformed them into mighty men. He ultimately left Adullam for his crowning. (G. Campbell Morgan) Today Christ is earth’s rejected King, but the Anointed King will soon return to take His rightful throne. He will give His city—the New Jerusalem—its new name, and each of His own will be marked with His new name: a badge of triumph.
[13] “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches”: Both Smyrna and Philadelphia have no criticism; both of these cities are the ones remaining still today.
Let’s remember that each of the churches had a different perception of themselves than what the Lord Himself had. How sobering to us in our own conceits.
South of Philadelphia, not far from Colossae, stood the large and prosperous city of Laodicea on the banks of the river Lycus, a tributary of the Meander.
It was the twin of Hierapolis, six miles away, which was renowned for its hot springs. (The Turkish government is attempting to harness this geothermal power source.) Laodicea stood midway between the hot springs of Hierapolis and the cold waters of Colossae. (It was fed by an aqueduct from Hieropolis, the water being lukewarm when it arrived.)
A highly successful commercial and financial center, remains of a theatre, aqueducts, baths, gymnasium and stadium still survive to testify of its former luxury.
It was never militarily defendable, so its strategic posture was one of compromise.
The city was originally founded by the Ionians about 2000 BC as a relatively small town of Diospolis, but in the 19th century BC the Hittites added it to their expanding empire. A thousand years later it was captured by the Phrygians and soon afterwards by the Lydians. It was renamed Rhoas, but in about 250 BC it was taken by the Syrians, and Antiochus II rebuilt the town and renamed it after his wife, Laodice.
It became part of the Kingdom of Pergamos about 190 BC and ultimately passed into the hands of the Roman Empire. According to Josephus, there was a large Jewish colony there.
The church there was probably founded by Epapras. Col 2:1 implies that it was not visited by Paul, although he addressed a letter to it (Col 4:12-14), which may very well have been a circular letter, a copy of which has been preserved for us as the epistle to the Ephesians. On the other hand, Paul’s first letter to Timothy was written by him from Laodicea (1Ti 6:21). Some 30 years earlier Paul had warned Archippus (thought by some to have been the son of Philemon) to be more diligent in fulfilling his ministry (Col 2:1; Col 4:16-17). There is a tradition that Archippus had become the bishop of Laodicea. It may have been his weakness which contributed to the spiritual condition of the church here.
At the junction of roads leading from Ephesus and Smyrna and handling caravan trade as far east as the Yellow River in Punjab by the China Sea, much wealth flowed through Laodicea. It was a city of merchants, bankers, and gold refiners. Cicero held court there and did his banking there.
Textile manufacturing was also a source of considerable revenue. Laodicea was also known for the quality of black wool produced from a particular strain of sheep bred in the Lycus valley and for the cloth and carpets manufactured from it.
A famous school of medicine was there, especially known for an ophthalmic ointment (a mixture of oil and the collyrium powder—described by Aristotle as “Phyrgian powder”).
[14] “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write”: Laodicea = “rule of the people ” (vs. God). The “Self-Satisfied Church”!
Amen = true; verily (Rev 1:6, 7, 18; Isa 65:16). “The God of the Amen,” (Jhn 14:6) Faithful and True witness (Isa 55:4; Jhn 18:37).
“Beginning of creation of God”: Arche, Origin, source; used of rank and honor. (Unique expression here and in Col 1:15. Paul specifically instructed that Colossae and Laodicea exchange epistles. A rebuttal to the gnostic errors beginning to make their appearance in the Lycus valley.)
2Pe 3:4 warning. Isn’t it interesting that this letter corresponds to the era when a denial of the creation (evolution) characterizes society?! Do you prefer (contrary to fact) speculation or the revelation of the One who actually did it?
[16] “...thou art lukewarm”: Lukewarm water is an emetic. Indifference is not tolerable. This is the only church for which our Lord expresses a form of disgust.
The certain barrier to truth is the presumption that one already has it. [How many of the major denominations manifest a true passion for the Gospel today?]
2Ti 3:5: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” [Is the Laodicean church included in Jhn 14:2-3?]
[17] Contrast with Smyrna: poor, but rich (all churches suffer from erroneous self-perceptions...). This is the ultimate rebuttal to affluent contentment and the spiritual complacency that usually results. This church was worse off than any of the previous! It is spiritually poverty-stricken.
[18] “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire”: He speaks to the businessmen in their own terms. The ultimate Refiner’s fire
“Gold”: Psa 19:7-11; Psa 12:6; cf. 1Cr 3:12.
The Bridegroom offers His covering: White raiment, vs. glossy, raven colored (black) wool.
“Anoint thine eyes”: The Great Physician offers His remedy to really open their eyes—the Holy Spirit. Their blindness and nakedness are not incurable.
[19] “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent”: Are you being rebuked and chastened? Are you zealous (“hot”) enough to repent? An inscription on the cathedral in Lubeck, Germany:
Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us:
Ye call Me Master and obey Me not.
Ye call Me Light and see Me not.
Ye call Me Way and walk Me not.
Ye call Me Life and choose Me not.
Ye call Me Wise and follow Me not.
Ye call Me Fair and love Me not.
Ye call Me Rich and ask Me not.
Ye call Me Eternal and seek Me not.
Ye call Me Noble and serve Me not.
Ye call Me Gracious and trust Me not.
Ye call Me Might and honor Me not.
Ye call Me Just and fear Me not.
If I condemn you, blame Me not.
[20] “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock”: Note the placement here is the ultimate indictment! Where is He? Outside! There is no promise of corporate delivery to this Body! This appeal is to the individual!
The English artist Holman Hunt painted Christ standing at the door. A critic noted that he had left off the handle of the door. Hunt replied, “This door is a picture of the human heart. The only handle is on the inside.” Jesus will not force His entry. [In the romance of Ruth 3, no matter how much Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer, loved Ruth, it had to be her move!]
“Sup”: (He never appears after His resurrection without eating!)
Has the church failed to tell you that you are a sinner? Has the church failed to deal with you as a lost individual? Has the church failed to offer you salvation in Jesus Christ alone? Has the church failed to proclaim the horrible consequences of sin, the certainty of hell, and the fact that Jesus alone can save? We must bring a message, not of culture, but of rebirth.
[21] “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne”: On whose throne? Israel (Luk 22:30); Angels (1Cr 6:3); Reign (2Ti 2:12).
1Jo 5:4: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
1Jo 5:5 “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? (Jhn 16:33; Heb 1:3).
[22] “He that hath an ear...”: 7X in Revelation, 7X in the Gospels (Mat 11:15; Mat 13:9, 43; Mar 4:23; Mar 7:16; Luk 8:8; Luk 14:35).
We have reviewed two final churches. One will be raptured. One will go into the Tribulation. For a final review read Matthew 13 and be prepared for some surprises.
[This is a speculative study which explores the possible similarities in design between the Letters to Seven Churches in Revelation and the Seven Kingdom Parables of Matthew 13.]
What is the purpose of Parables? (Mat 13:10-17). In Matthew 12 an event happens which seems to “flip a switch” in Jesus’ ministry. At that point on, Jesus spoke in public only in parables (Mat 13:34-35). The things that are contained in the following parables are not included in the OT! What things? Things involving the Mystery of the Church (Eph 3:1-7).
The Sower and Four Soils (Mat 13:3-9)
[Interpretation in private (Mat 13:18-23)]
The Tares and the Wheat (Mat 13:24-30)
[Interpretation in private (Mat 13:36-43)]
The Mustard Seed (Mat 13:31-32)
The Woman and the Leaven (Mat 13:33)
The Treasure in the Field (Mat 13:44)
The Pearl of Great Price (Mat 13:45-46)
The Dragnet (Mat 13:47-50)
Conclusion (Mat 13:51-52)
Denouncement (Mat 13:53ff.)
Seven Churches of Rev 2 & Rev 3 vs. Seven Churches of Paul.
[10] And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
[11] He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. [To reveal to those with spiritual discernment (only).]
[12] For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
[13] Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
[14] And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias (Isaiah), which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: Quote from Isaiah 6:9-10 (cf. also Eze 12:2; Mar 4:12; Luk 8:10; Jhn 12:39-40; Acts 28:25-27; Rom 11:8-10; 2Co 3:14.)
[15] For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
[16] But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
[17] For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things] which ye hear, and have not heard [them].
What was not revealed in the Old Testament: The Church. (Eph 3:3ff)
[19] Soil #1. Unfruitful. Vulnerable to the interference of the Enemy. (Notice: the birds were the agents of the Wicked One.)
[21] Soil #2: No depth of root. Unfruitful.
[22] Soil #3: Worldly cares. Unfruitful.
[23] Soil #4: Fruitful. (Us?) Yet notice the decrease in yields. Disturbing.
[25] “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way”: The enemy is always involved. It’s a warfare, after all.
[30] “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn”: Why is it that we are prematurely anxious to root up the ostensible “tares” in our midst?
[Only the first two parables are given explicit interpretation.]
[31] Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
[32] Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Problem: The common shrub in Israel—the yellow flowers which are seen along the roadside—are bushes which normally grow to 3-4 ft. Have you ever seen birds make nests in small shrubs? This one is a monstrosity. And remember, who were the birds in Mat 13:4? (cf. Mat 13:19; Jer 5:27).
[33] Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
These were Jewish disciples being taught by a Jewish “Rebbe.” “Three measures of meal” are recognized as the Fellowship Offering—in both Jewish and Arab cultures—which had its origin with the arrival of the three visitors to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre (Gen 18:6).
They are to be unleavened. Leaven is a “type” (or model) of sin: it corrupts by puffing up. (Exd 12:15, 19; Exd 13:7; Exd 34:25; Lev 2:11; Lev 6:17; Lev 10:12; Lev 23:17; Amos 4:5; Mat 16:6, 11-12; Mar 8:15; Luk 12:1; 1Cr 5:6-8; Gal 5:9.)
The insertion of leaven by the woman would shock an orthodox listener. [It is interesting that among the 7 Feasts of Moses, each of which is also prophetic, the 4th is the Feast of Pentecost, which appears to be prophetic of the church (Acts 2). This is the only feast featuring leavened bread.]
[34] All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
[35] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Key insight: These parables contain things which are not in the Old Testament. (i.e., the Church. See Ephesians 3:3-5).
[36] Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
[37] He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Note the consistency of idioms between the parables. (“The Principle of Expositional Constancy.”)
[38] The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one];
Note the consistency: The field, the seed, etc.
[39] The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
[40] As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
[41] The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
[42] And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
[43] Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
[44] Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Who is doing the buying? Not us! Our Lord. He is the one that did the purchasing. We are the treasure. The field is the world. Jhn 3:16 (cf. Mal 3:17).
[45] Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
[46] Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Problem: Oysters are not kosher! (Lev 11:9-12; Deu 14:9-10). Pearls were characteristically a Gentile item. The pearl is the only gem which is grown in response to an introduced irritation, grows by accretion, and is removed from its place of growth to become an item of adornment!
[47] Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
[48] Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
[49] So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
[50] And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
This 7th parable seems to correlate with the 7th church in Revelation. [It is interesting that Isaiah 4:1 speaks of “7 women” pleading with a man to be called by his name. Could this also have a cryptic meaning?]
[51] Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. [Oh, how I wish they had asked for interpretations of the other parables!]
Compare these Seven Parables with the Seven Letters to Seven Churches in Revelation 2 and Revelation 3. Any similarity of design should not surprise us: the author of both was Jesus Christ.
| The Sower | Ephesus: The Apostolic Church. | |
| The Tares | Smyrna: The Persecuted Church. | |
| Mustard Seed | Pergamos: Marriage to the World. | |
| Woman/Leaven | Thyatira: The Papacy in the Medieval World. | |
| The Field | Sardis: Denominationalism/Dead Orthodoxy. | |
| The Pearl | Philadelphia: The Rebirth of the Missionary Church; Anticipation of His Appearing. | |
| The Dragnet | Laodicea: The Apostate 20th century Church. | |
| However, compare them with the seven churches to whom Paul wrote. | ||
| Ephesus: | Ephesians | |
| Smyrna: | Philippians (joy through suffering) | |
| Pergamos: | Corinthians (married to the world) | |
| Thyatira: | Galatians (call out of religious externalism) | |
| Sardis: | Romans (Salvation by faith) | |
| Philadelphia: | Thessalonians (the Rapture) | |
| Laodicea: | Colossians (told to exchange letters with Laodicea) | |
The “fingerprints” of the Holy Spirit are over them all!
[Optional Assignment: There are seven remaining epistles in the New Testament: John, Peter, Jude, James, Titus, Timothy, and Philemon. Do they also map against the original seven letters?]
One cannot understand the present (the prophetic future) without a perspective of history. One cannot understand the Protestant Reformation without an appreciation of the history that led up to it.
Roman Empire: Persecution, Martyrs, Church Fathers, Controversies, Christianization of the Empire.
Medieval Period: Growth of the Papacy, Inquisitions, Crusades.
Modern Period: Reformation, Open Bibles, Religious Freedom, Separation of Church and State.
The 9th century: Eastern Church (Byzantium) separated itself from the West (Rome). East: Primitive Christianity + Greek & Oriental paganism. West: Primitive Christianity + Greek & Roman paganism.
16th century: The Reformation. Effort to restore primitive Christianity free of all paganism.
Rome founded in 753 BC Subdued Italy, 343-272 BC; Carthage, 264-146 BC; Greece, Asia Minor, 215-146 BC; Spain, Gaul, Briton, Teutons, 133-31 BC Conquered Judea, 63 BC In its zenith, it spanned from the Atlantic to Euphrates and from the North Sea to the African Desert. Population: 120 million.
(* = persecuted Christians)
Constantine, 306-337. Became identified with Christians himself. Eve of battle of Milvain Bridge, just outside Rome, Oct 27, 312 AD, claimed he had a vision. His Edict of Toleration established freedom of religion; favored Christians at court; exempted Christian ministers from taxes. Issued a general exhortation (325 AD) to all his subjects to become Christians. Since the Roman aristocracy persisted in adhering to their pagan religions, Constantine moved his capital to Byzantium, calling it Constantinople (“New Rome”), which became the capital of the empire (330 AD).
Reforms included Sunday worship, forbidding work on Sunday (a big deal to the slaves); reduced slavery, gladiatorial fights, and killing of unwelcome children; crucifixion as form of execution was abolished.
Julian, 361-363 (“The Apostate”) sought to restore paganism.
Jovian, 363-364. Re-established the Christian religion.
Theodosius, 378-395. Made Christianity the state religion. Forced conversions filled the churches with unregenerates. Ambition to rule, heathenism, pomp, emerge in the worldly church.
| West | East |
| Honorius, 395-423 | Arcadius, 394-408 |
| Valentinian III, 423-455 | Theodosius II, 408-450 |
| Anastasius, 491-518 | |
| [Western Empire fell in 476 to the Barbarians, ushering in the Dark Ages.] | |
| Justinian, 527-565 | |
| [Eastern Empire fell, 1453.] |
Pope means “Papa,” or “Father.” Initially it applied to all Western bishops. About 500 AD it began to be restricted to the Bishop of Rome. For 500 years the Bishops of Rome were NOT popes.
The Roman Catholic tradition that Peter was the first pope is fiction, without any historical (or Biblical) basis whatsoever. There is no evidence that Peter was ever a Bishop of Rome. [His own foreboding over successors appears in 1Pe 5:3: “Neither as being lords over [God’s] heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”]
Early Roman Bishops attempted to influence and control other bishops, but with no significant effect.
Silvester I (314-335) was Bishop of Rome when Constantine virtually made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Constantine regarded himself as head of the church, calling and presiding over the Council of Nicaea (AD 325). The Bishops of Alexandria and Antioch were accorded full jurisdiction over their provinces, as was the Roman Bishop over his, without even a hint that they were subject to Rome.
By the end of the 4th century the churches and bishops had come to be largely dominated from five primary centers: Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria. These Bishops had come to be called Patriarchs, of equal authority, each in control of their own province. After the division of the Empire (395 AD), Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexander came to acknowledge the leadership of Constantinople. Subsequently, the struggle between Constantinople and Rome began.
This struggle remains to this day: it is the root of the current bloodshed in the Croatia-Bosnian conflict in the region of Yugoslavia today.
Siricius (395-398), Bishop of Rome, in his lust for worldly power claimed universal jurisdiction over the church. But unfortunately for him, in his day the Empire divided (395) into two separate empires, East and West.
These “jawbone” attempts continued until Leo I (440-461), who some historians regard as the first pope. The east was beset with controversies; the west, under weak emperors, was breaking up before the barbarians. He obtained from Emperor Valentinian III imperial recognition for his claim as Primate of All Bishops (445). In 452 he persuaded Attila the Hun to spare the city of Rome. In 455 he induced Genseric the Vandal to have mercy on the city. His reputation was made. He declared himself Lord of the Whole Church, advocated exclusive universal papacy, proclaimed that resistance to his authority was a sure path to Hell, and advocated the death penalty for heresy.
However, the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451), composed of bishops from all over world, gave the Patriarch of Constantinople equal prerogatives with the Bishop of Rome.
Simplicius (468-483) was the Roman “Pope” when the Western Empire came to an end (476). Free of civil authority, the fragmented kingdoms of the barbarians left ample opportunity for individual advantageous alliances, and the Pope became the most commanding figure in the West.
Gregory I (590-604) is regarded as the first Pope. He appeared at a time of political anarchy throughout Europe. His conspicuous leadership over the various kings stabilized the times. He labored unceasingly over the purification of the church, deposed neglectful or unworthy bishops, opposed the sale of offices (“simony”), etc. In his personal life he was a good man, one of the purest and best of the popes. If more had been as he was the world would have a different estimate of the papacy.
Zacharias (741-752) was instrumental in making Pepin, father of Charlemagne, King of the Franks (a Germanic people occupying western Germany and northern France.
Stephen II (752-757) requested Pepin to lead his army to Italy and conquer the Lombards which had pillaged Italy. He succeeded and gave a large part of central Italy to the Pope, which was the beginning of the Papal States, a temporal dominion which continued for 1100 years (until King Victor Immanuel returned these lands to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870).
Pepin’s son, Charlemagne, (who was also the grandson of Charles Martel, who had saved Europe from Islam by his victory at the Battle of Tours in 732) was one of the great rulers of all time. He reigned 46 years with many wars and conquests of vast magnitude. His realm included what is now Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, and parts of Spain and Italy.
He helped the Pope and the Pope helped him. He was one of the greatest influences in bringing the papacy to a position of world power.
After his death, the Treaty of Verdun (843) divided his empire into what became the foundations of Germany, France and Italy, and a ceaseless struggle between the Popes and the German and French kings began. The “Holy Roman Empire” lasted 1000 years until Napoleon brought it to an end in 1806.
Nicholas I (858-867) was the first Pope to wear a crown. About this time (857) a book appeared, “The Isidorian Decretals,” which purported to be letters and decrees of Bishops and Councils of the second and third centuries. (Centuries later they were discovered to be deliberate forgeries.)
They were designed to exalt the power of the Pope, stamping the Papacy with the authority of antiquity, ante-dating the Pope’s temporal power by five centuries. They are regarded as the most colossal literary fraud in history.
Until 869 all Ecumenical Councils had been held in or near Constantinople, and in the Greek language. Nicholas undertook to interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Church. He excommunicated Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who in turn excommunicated him. The claims of the Roman Church became unbearable and the East finally separated itself. (The breach became wider through the centuries. The brutal treatment of Constantinople by the armies of Pope Innocent II during the Crusades and the creation of the dogma of Papal Infallibility in 1870 deepened the chasm even more.)
The 200 years between Nicholas I and Gregory VII (870-1050) are called the “midnight of the Dark Ages.” Bribery, corruption, immorality, and bloodshed mark this blackest chapter of the church.
Sergius III (904-911) had a mistress, Marozia. She, her mother Theodora, and her sisters filled the papal chair with paramours and bastard sons and turned the papal den into a den of robbers. This is called in history “the Rule of the Harlots” (904-963).
Jhn X (914-928) was brought from Ravena to Rome and made Pope by Theodora for her more convenient gratification. He was smothered to death by Marozia, who then in succession raised to the Papacy Leo VI (928-929), Stephen VII (929-931), and John XI (931-936), her own illegitimate son. Another of her sons appointed the four following Popes: Leo VII (936-939), Stephen VIII (939-942, Martin III (942-946), and Agapetus II (946-955). John XII (955-963), a grandson of Marozia, was guilty of almost every crime; violated virgins and widows, lived with his father’s mistress, made the Papal Palace a brothel, and was killed while in the act of adultery by the woman’s enraged husband.
Benedict VIII (1012 -1024) and John XIX (1024-1033) bought the Office of the Pope with open bribery.
Benedict IX (1022-1045) was made Pope as a 12-year-old boy through a money bargain with the powerful families that ruled Rome. He committed murders and adulteries in broad daylight and robbed pilgrims on the graves of martyrs. A hideous criminal, the people drove him out of Rome. Some call him the worst of all the Popes.
There were three rival Popes in 1045 - 1046: Benedict IX, Gregory VI, and Sylvester III. Rome swarmed with hired assassins; the virtue of pilgrims was violated.
Clement II (1046-1047) was appointed Pope by Emperor Henry III of Germany “because no Roman clergyman could be found who was free of the pollution of simony and fornication.”
The cry for reform was answered by Hildebrand who led the Papacy into its Golden Age (1049-1294). He controlled five successive administration prior to his own: Leo IX (1049 1054); Victor II (1055-1057); Stephen IX (1057-1058); Nicolas II (1059-1061); and Alexander II (1061-1073). He became Gregory VII (1073-1085) and undertook a major reform, especially simony. Practically all bishops and priests purchased their offices from the kings and this brought him in conflict with King Henry IV, Emperor of Germany. Devastating wars followed and Italy was devastated by the opposing armies. Gregory was eventually driven from Rome and died in exile. But he had succeeded in making the Papacy independent of Imperial power.
Innocent III (1198-1216) was the most powerful of all the Popes. He claimed to be “Vicar of Christ,” “Vicar of God,” “Supreme Sovereign over the Church and the World.” “All things on earth and in heaven and in hell are subject to the Vicar of Christ.” The kings of Germany, France, England, and practically all the monarchs in Europe obeyed his will, including the Byzantine Empire. Never in history has any one man exerted more power. He ordered two crusades; decreed transubstantiation, confirmed auricular confession, declared papal infallibility, condemned the Magna Carta, forbade the reading of the Bible in the vernacular, instituted the Inquisition, ordered the extermination of heretics, etc. More blood was shed under his direction and that of his immediate successors than in any other period of church history (except in the Papacy’s effort to crush the Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries.)
Called “The Holy Office,” the Inquisition was instituted by Pope Innocent III and was perfected by Pope Gregory IX. Under it everyone was required to inform against heretics. Anyone suspect was liable to torture, without knowing the name of his accuser. The proceedings were secret. The Inquisitor pronounced sentence and victim was turned over to civil authorities to be imprisoned for life or to be burned. The victim’s property was confiscated and divided between the church and the state.
The Inquisition claimed vast multitudes of victims in Spain, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands and did its most deadly work against the Albigenses.
The Albigenses, or Carthari, in southern France, northern Spain and northern Italy preached against the immoralities of the priesthood, worship of saints and images, completely rejected the clergy and their claims, opposed the claims of the Church of Rome, made great use of the Scriptures, and lived self-denying lives with a great zeal for moral purity. By 1167 they embraced a majority of the population of southern France and were very numerous in northern Italy. In 1208 Pope Innocent III ordered a crusade in which the bloody war of extermination utterly wiped out town after town—the inhabitants murdered without discrimination—until all of the Albigenses were utterly wiped out.
The Waldenses, a similar but not identical group in the same region emphasizing Bible reading and rejecting clerical usurpation and profligacy, were similarly wiped out (but for the few survivors in the Alpine Valleys southwest of Turin who are now the leading Protestant body in Italy). It is recorded that in the 30 years between 1540 and 1570 no fewer than 900,000 Protestants were put to death by the Pope’s war for the extermination of the Waldenses. For 500 years the Inquisition was the most diabolical thing of human history. For its record none of the subsequent line of “holy” and “infallible” Popes have ever apologized. Rather, their leadership and instigators have been elevated to sainthood.
Boniface VIII (1294-1303) in his famous Bul, “Unam Sanctam” said, “We declare, affirm, define, and pronounce that it is altogether necessary for salvation that every creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” (However, he was so corrupt that Dante, who visited Rome during his pontificate, called the Vatican a “Sewer of corruption,” and assigned him, along with Nicolas III and Clement V, to the lowest parts of Hell.)
The Papacy had been victorious in its 200-year struggle with the German Empire, but met their match in Philip the Fair, King of France, with whom the history of modern France begins. After the death of Pope Benedict XI, the Papal Palace was removed from Rome to Avignon on the south border of France and for 70 years the Papacy was the mere tool of the French Court (1305-1377).
For the next 40 years there were two sets of Popes, one at Rome and one at Avignon, each claiming to be “Vicar of Christ,” hurling anathemas and curses at each other.
Jhn XXIII (1410-1415), called by some the most depraved criminal who ever sat on the Papal throne, was guilty of almost every crime. As Cardinal in Bologna, 200 maidens, nuns and married women fell victim to his amours; as Pope he violated virgins and nuns, lived in adultery with his brother’s wife, was guilty of sodomy and other nameless vices, bought the Papal Office, sold Cardinalates to children of wealthy families, and openly denied the future life.
Pius II (1458-1464) was said to have been the father of many illegitimate children. He spoke openly of the methods he used to seduce women and encouraged young men, even offering to instruct them in methods of self-indulgence.
Paul II (1464-1471) “filled his house with concubines.”
Sixtus IV (1471-1484) sanctioned the Spanish Inquisition, decreed that money would deliver souls from Purgatory, was implicated in a plot to murder Lorenzo de Medici and others who opposed his policies, and used the Papacy to enrich himself and his relatives. He made eight of his nephews Cardinals while as yet some of them were mere boys. In wealth and pomp he and his relatives surpassed the old Roman families.
Innocent VIII (1484-1492) had 16 children by various married women. He multiplied church offices and sold them for vast sums of money, decreed the extermination of the Waldenses, appointed the brutal Thomas of Torquemada Inquisitor General of Spain, and ordered all rulers to deliver up heretics to him.
Alexander VI (1492-1503) is called the most corrupt of the Renaissance Popes: licentious, avaricious, and depraved, he bought the Papacy, made many new cardinals for money, had a number of illegitimate children whom he openly acknowledged and appointed to high church office while they were yet children, and murdered cardinals and others who stood in their way. He had for a mistress a sister of a cardinal who became the next Pope, Pius III (1503).
In 1483 a baby boy is born to a coal miner. He grows up and decides to become a lawyer. In 1504, an event occurred that changes his life—he was caught in a violent thunder storm. Instinctively he cried out to the patron saint of the coal miners, “St. Anne save me! If you do I’ll become a monk.” After the storm, he withdrew from law school and entered a monastery where he obtained a Doctorate of Theology.
But the more he studied, the more troubled he became. He decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome in hopes of finding the peace he needed. On the way he becomes deathly ill, and is nursed back to health at a monastery. There one of the brothers encourages Luther to read the book of Habakkuk. He does and reads Habakkuk 2:4: “The just shall live by faith.”
Martin Luther visited Rome and was appalled at what he saw. After visiting Rome, the Hab 2:4 verse resounding in his mind, he went back to Wittenburg to explore this issue: “The just shall live by faith.”
Luther ultimately nailed 95 theses on Oct 31, 1517, starting the Reformation:
1520: Bull excommunicated Luther, “retract within 60 days or death.” Luther burned it publicly (Dec 10, 1520).
Diet of Worms: 1521; Charles V, Emperor of “the Holy Roman Empire” (Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Austria) summoned him to appear. “Here I stand; I can do naught else; so help me God.”
The Centuries of Wars began. The war on the German Protestants (1566-1609); War on the Protestants of the Netherlands (1566-1609); Huguenot Wars in France (1572 1598); Philip’s attempt against England (1588); Thirty Years War (1618-1648); all started by Roman Catholic Kings urged on by the Pope and Jesuits for the purpose of crushing Protestantism. The thousands killed at the hands of the Caesars of Pagan Rome are dwarfed by the millions killed at the hands of the Vatican.
Julius II (1503-1513) was called the Warrior Pope. The richest of the cardinals with vast income from numerous bishops and church estates, he bought the Papacy. He maintained and personally led vast armies and issued indulgences for money.
Leo X (1513-1521) was Pope when Luther started the Protestant Reformation. He was made an Archbishop at 8; a Cardinal at 13; was appointed to 27 different church offices which meant a vast income before he was 13. He appointed Cardinals as young as 7. He maintained the most luxurious and licentious court in Europe. This voluptuary re-affirmed the Unam Sanctam, in which it is declared that every human being must be subject to the Roman Pontiff for salvation. He issued indulgences for stipulated fees and declared the burning of heretics a divine appointment.
Adrian VI (1522-1523).
Paul III (1534-1549) had many illegitimate children. A determined enemy of the Protestants, he offered Charles V an army to exterminate them.
Rome’s answer to the Lutheran secession—the Inquisition under the leadership of the Jesuits, an order founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spaniard, on the principle of absolute and unconditional obedience to the Pope, having its object the recovery of territory lost to Protestants and Muslims, and the conquest of the entire heathen world for the Roman Catholic Church. Their supreme aim was the destruction of heresy—that is, thinking anything different from what the Pope said to think. For this accomplishment anything was justifiable: deception, immorality, vice, even murder. In France they were responsible for St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre; persecution of the Hugenots, revocation of the Toleration Edict, and the French Revolution. In Spain, Netherlands, south Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Poland, and other countries, they led in the massacre of untold multitudes, and thus saved the Papacy from ruin.
[St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre: Catherine de Medici, mother of the King, an ardent Romanist and willing tool of the Pope, gave the order, and on the night of August 24, 1572, 70,000 Huguenots were massacred. There was great rejoicing in Rome. The Pope and his College of Cardinals went in solemn procession to the Church of San Marco and ordered the Te Deum to be sung in thanksgiving, then struck a medal in commemoration of the massacre and sent a Cardinal to Paris to bear the King and Queen-Mother the congratulations of the Pope and Cardinals.]
Leo XIII (1878-1903) claimed that he was appointed to be head of all rulers and that he held on this earth the place of Almighty God. Emphasized Papal Infallibility and pronounced Protestants “enemies of the Christian Name." He proclaimed the only method of cooperation was complete submission to the Roman Pontiff and denounced “Americanism.”
This sweeping reform occurred across Europe, and was subsequently exported to America. But various segments of Protestantism became Denominations: Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, et al., and within them various factions developed, so the early vitality of the church (even with the persecutions) eventually becomes “forms without substance,” a “comfortable” church.
Bible Reading: Innocent III; Gregory IX; Clement XI; Leo XII, Pius VIII, Gregory XVI and Pius IX all condemned Bible reading and Bible societies.
Tolerance: Clement VIII, Innocent X, Leo XII, Pius VIII, Pius IX, Leo XIII all condemned, rejected, annulled and protested religious freedom. They cried “tolerance” only in countries where they were in the minority. They fought religious freedom at every step.
Indulgences (and the doctrine of purgatory): Key source of revenue. Pope Sixtus IV (1476) was first to apply them to souls already in Purgatory. Even retailed (1517): John Tetzel came to Germany selling certificates, signed by the Pope, offering pardon of all sins to buyers and their friends without confession, repentance, or absolution by the priest.
The most significant event in 500 years of church history happened on March 29, 1994: A joint declaration was signed, called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium.”
The compromise of the Gospel lies at the heart of the agreement. The Catholics and Protestants agree, basically, to “get along.” But the Gospel hasn’t changed.
The persecution of Protestants is still the official policy of the Vatican—enforced only where their domination permits.
The evangelicals signed a truce. Rome is stepping up its evangelization of Protestants into the Catholic Church with its “Evangelization 2000.”
On May 21, 1995, the Pope asked forgiveness for all wrongs and crimes committed and permitted by the Catholic Church throughout their history.
Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Zondervan,1927,et al.
Hislop, The Two Babylons,
Hunt, David, A Woman Rides the Beast, Harvest House, 1994.
Strong, James, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, NY, 1890
Wigram, George V., Greek Concordance of the New Testament, (Numerically coded to the Strong’s),
Wigram, George V., Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament, (Numerically coded to the Strong’s),
Tenney, et al, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 5 Volumes, Zondervan Publishers, Grand Rapids, MI.
Barclay, William, The Revelation of John, 2 Volumes, St. Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1959.
Barnhouse, Donald Grey, Revelation, An Expository Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971. (My personal favorite.)
Bloomfield, Arthur E., All Things New, A Study of the Revelation, Bethany Fellowship, Minneapolis, MN, 1959.
Bullinger, E.W., The Apocalypse, Samuel Bagster & Sons Ltd., London, 1902.
Bullinger, E.W., Commentary on Revelation, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984.
Charles, R. H., The Revelation of St. John, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary, 2 Vols., T&T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1920.
Cohen, Gary G., Understanding Revelation, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1978.
Criswell, W. A., Expository Sermons on Revelation, 5 Vols., Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1962.
Dake, Finis Jennings, Revelation Expounded, Dake Bible Sales, Lawrenceville, GA, 1950.
DeHaan, M. R., Revelation, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1946.
Epp, Theodore H., Practical Studies in Revelation, 2 Vols., Back to the Bible, Lincoln, NE, 1969.
Gaebelein, Arno C., The Revelation, Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, NJ, 1961.
Hendriksen, William, More Than Conquerors, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1940.
Ironside, H. A., Lectures of the Book of Revelation, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., NY, 1920.
Jenkins, Ferrell, The Old Testament in the Book of Revelation, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1972.
Jensen, Irving L., Revelation, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL, 1971.
Knoch, A.E., The Unveiling of Jesus Christ, Concordant Publishing Concern, Saugus, CA, 1935.
Knotek, James Howard, Unlocking the Mysteries of Revelation, R.C. Law & Co., Fullerton, CA, 1986.
Larkin, Clarence, The Book of Revelation, Larkin Estate, Philadelphia, PA, 1919.
Lilje, Hanns, The Last Book of the Bible, translated by Olive Wyon, Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1955.
Lindsey, Hal, There’s A New World Coming, a commentary on Revelation, Harvest House, 1973.
Marlin, H. C., The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Postscript Press, Covington, OH, 1945.
McDowell, Edward A., The Meaning and Message of the Book of Revelation, Broadman Press, Nashville, TN, 1951.
McGee, J. Vernon, Reveling Through Revelation, 2 Vols., Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles, CA, 1962.
Morris, Canon Leon, The Revelation of St. John, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1969.
Morris, Henry M., The Revelation Record, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL, 1983.
Newell, William R., The Book of the Revelation, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1935.
Newton, Benjamin, Thoughts on the Apocalypse, F.W. Sargent, London, 1904.
Ryrie, Charles Caldwell, Revelation, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1968.
Scott, Walter, Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Fleming H. Revell Co., Westwood, NJ.
Seiss, J. A., The Apocalypse, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1964.
Smith, Chuck, What the World is Coming To, Maranatha Evangelical Association, Costa Mesa, CA, 1977.
Strauss, Lehman, The Book of the Revelation, Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, NJ, 1964.
Swete, Henry Barclay, Commentary on Revelation, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1977.
Talbot, Louis T., The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1937.
Tenney, Merrill C., Interpreting Revelation, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1957.
Walvoord, John F., The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1966.
Bournis, Archimandrite Theodoritos, I Was in the Isle Patmos, Monastery of Patmos, Athens, 1968.
Ford, W. Herschel, The Seven Churches of Revelation, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids MI, 1959.
Meinardus, Otto F.A., St. John of Patmos, and the Seven Churches of Apocalypse, Caratzas Brothers, New Rochelle, NY, 1979.
Morgan, G. Campbell, The Letters of Our Lord, Pickering & Inglis Ltd., London, 1945.
Papadopoulos, St. A., Patmos, Monastery of St. John, The Theologian, Athens, 1967.
Tatford, Fredk. A., The Patmos Letters, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1969.
(Other specialized references will be included in the bibliographies of subsequent volumes.)
Next Volume: Revelation Chapters 4 - 11.
Preparation: The Book of Ruth; Matthew 24; Daniel 2; Daniel 7; Daniel 9. (Also, Briefing Packages: Daniel’s 70 Weeks, Coming Temple, Signs in the Heavens, Footprints of the Messiah.)