In the letter to the church in Sardis in Revelation 3:1-6, Jesus had a surprise announcement for the church and promised a surprise visit if things did not change for the better. The announcement was that, in spite of appearances of vitality, the church was really quite dead, which would have fallen as a huge surprise to the church itself and to everyone who knew the church’s great reputation. Jesus had called the church in Ephesus to remember its earlier works, but Jesus called the church in Sardis to remember something even more foundational: how they received and heard the gospel. His call to them forces us to ask ourselves how we are hearing it today.
Although the Kingdom of God started imperceptibly small, it will cover and fill the whole earth.
Sooner or later every kingdom that opposes God will be “all gone,” but there is a kingdom that will not pass away.
At first glance, it looked like Matthew made a big mistake in his genealogy of Jesus by placing him in the line of David,...