Alliance Witness, 1969.06.25, P. 5-6.

OPPORTUNITIES hide in challenges. Challenges, when taken in a victorious spirit, produce opportunities. When unrecognized, they become destructive blows.

The seven churches in Asia Minor had at least five kinds of challenges which have counterparts in our generation.

There was the challenge of pagan religions. The first temple of the imperial cult in the Roman Empire was built about 29 B.C. It was erected at Pergamos in honor of Augustus. Thus Pergamos was the center of official Roman religion, a religion mixed with politics.

Pergamos was also the center of four popular pagan cults: Zeus, Athena, Dionysus and Asclepius. The famous temple of Artemis and shrines for three Roman emperors were in Ephesus. Both the imperial religion and the oriental mystery religions were expanding.

These religions affected Christianity in three ways. The educated people and philosophers dismissed Christianity as another mystery religion. It suffered by competition with accepted customs and it was persecuted. In a word, the expansion of pagan religions was at once a threat and a challenge to the Christian church.

The churches in turn reacted to the challenge. They accelerated their evangelistic outreach, strengthened their doctrinal base and were stead­ fast to the point of adding to the number of martyrs.

Today a number of oriental religions have revived. Buddhism and Islam, for instance, have learned from Christianity to be missionary. The resurgence of ethnic religions has had much to do with the rise of nationalism. All of this constitutes a great challenge to the Christian church. We must buy up time and opportunities for aggressive witnessing. We must make effective plans for a powerful evangelistic thrust before it is too late.

Then, too, there was the challenge to fulfill the highest aspirations of pagan culture and religion. It is evident that the Lord, in His letters to the seven churches, referred to the cultural and religious backgrounds of their cities. It is not an overstatement to say that inherent in these letters is the idea that Christianity is the fulfillment of the best aspirations in pagan culture and religion. The Christian churches were challenged to prove it so.

Ephesus was called “The Light of Asia.” But its academic learning, its philosophy, religion, arts and luxury did not constitute the real light of the human soul. Our Lord challenged the Ephesian church to continue to prove that it was a true light-giving candlestick.

At Thyatira there were trade unions or guilds which functioned, according to W. M. Ramsay, as social welfare services to those within the restrictive unions. The Lord com­ mended the Thyatira church for being love-centered, not interest­ centered, and for fulfilling the aspiration of service in a pagan culture, reaching out beyond their bounds to all in need.

Pergamos had a cult which worshiped Asclepius, the god of medicine, and attempted to discover the hidden sources of life. The Lord said to the Pergamos church that He was the hidden manna for the true life of man, the fulfillment of man’s quest for the springs of life.

Philadelphia (literally, “brotherly love”) was built by a king in memory of his brother, The king’s love and loyalty toward his brother earned for him the name Philadelphus, The church in Philadelphia was reminded of her love both to her Brother-King,

the Lord, and to her fellowmen. We show our real love to our fellowmen by giving them through evangelism the best possible gift — eternal salvation and fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

Laodicea, a city famed for its eye medicine, had a church which was “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (3: 17), The Lord challenged the Laodiceans to apply the vision of Himself to them­ selves, then to others who needed to see the riches of faith in Jesus Christ.

There was also the challenge of the faithful minority. The prophet Elijah turned pessimistic when he was persecuted by Jezebel. He thought he was the only one left to stand for Jehovah. But God told him that He had kept seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed to Baal.

Compared with one lone prophet. seven thousand seems a large number; compared with all the host of Israel it was very small. Both in the history of Israel and in church history the truly faithful people of God are a minority. Nevertheless, they are always an influential force, vital to the carrying out of God’s divine plan.

The Lord commended the “few names” the small minority in the church at Sardis who had not defiled their garments by the deadness of the church. They were the salt and light in that church. They were the Gideons, Elijahs, Calebs and Joshuas who had withstood strong under­ currents of conformity. They defied the pressure put on them to compromise. They walked in firm step with the Lord and they called on the whole congregation to follow them.

Evangelicals today are challenged to follow the Lord in unfaltering devotion and loyalty and to stand in the best tradition of the historic Christian church.

That tradition is sevenfold: (1) purity of character, indicated by the white garments of Sardis; (2) an emphasis on spirituality rather than form, indicated by the victorious few; (3) purity of doctrine, exemplified by the Ephesian church; (4) “first love” devotion, which the Ephesian church at one time had; (5) bravery in the face of persecution. expressed by the church in Smyrna and by Antipas; (6) obedience and faith in evangelism, testified to by the church in Philadelphia; (7) good works, shown by the church in Thyatira.

This is “mainstream Christianity” in the real sense of the term. We are called to follow the mainstream as represented by the faithful Christians in the seven churches.

Further, there was the challenge of the open door. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (3:8) These are most precious words.

But everything depends on the One who spoke them. Who was He? “He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.” The Lord of Harvest, the Lord of opportunities, the Lord of the keys, the Lord of all situations, the Lord of all laborers, the Lord of all impossibilities — He spoke them!

The Lord has indeed opened a wide door for us today. We cannot name any time in history when there were more favorable opportunities to witness for the Lord. People are more ready to listen. We have modern means of mass communication, an unparalleled challenge to us.

But let us note that, although the door is surely open, we must be prepared to pay the price of spiritual war. Open doors and adversaries are always twins. Yet even when there is adversity God sees to it that His purpose is carried out. He promised victory over the enemy to the church in Philadelphia. Let us lay hold on His promise and grasp every opportunity as it comes.

Finally, there were the exhortations of the Lord. These fall into two main categories: to return and to hold fast. To return to their earlier state of spirituality and to hold fast to currently possessed ground

To the Ephesian church the Lord said, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works” (2:5). This is return — return to their first love.

To the Sardis church He said, “Remember… how thou hast received and heard” (3:3). This is return to the original message of the gospel, return to their original vitality.

The Lord said to the faithful in the Thyatira church, “That which ye have already hold fast till I come” (2:25). He said to the Philadelphia church, “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (3:11)

In these two chapters the Lord gives seven calls to His churches, each one introduced by the word “Behold!”

“Behold, I come quickly” (3:11) The Lord is coming back again! His return is the great incentive to evangelism.

“Behold, I will cast her into a bed” (2:22). The Lord will judge the unfaithful. Our failures will be judged by the Lord. We are servants who must give account in the judgment day.

“Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (3:8). It is a  comfort to know we will always have some kind of opportunity to witness for the Lord. We must seize every possible advantage to proclaim the gospel.

“Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison… be thou faithful unto death” (2:10). This is a call to prepare for times of persecution.

“Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet” (3:9) This is a call to faith for victory over our enemies. God will give us victory! We are made “more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock” (3:20). This is a call to fellowship with our Lord. Before He opens the door of opportunity for us, we must open our door to Him. He must enter our hearts and lives and have His way in our midst before He can reach out through us.

The seventh is in verse 15 of chapter 3, though the word “behold” is not actually there. The Chinese rendering is much stronger than the English. “Oh, that thou   wert cold or hot” — a strong call to be zealous for the Lord.