Revelations - Book 1: The Dangerous Church

The 7 Letters to the Churches

Let's be honest for a moment. We aren’t in any danger of having to stand before a Roman official and be told to worship the emperor with some incense and words of loyalty on pain of death. Obviously.

Even in Roman times, not everyone who stood before the authorities gave a “true and faithful witness” unto death. Some insisted on becoming martyrs which invalidated their witness.

Many others recanted and went home in safety. It even became an issue in those early years whether a pastor could give communion if he had renounced Christ before the authorities.

Were they even believers? Should they be allowed back into the church? Do they become the focus of evangelistic efforts once again? Not every situation resulted in a witness for the gospel neither then nor now.

Even so, the secret weapons of God are those who are willing to live and die as "martyrs" or witnesses to the transformation within them. The Hour of Trial was upon them and they needed reassurance straight from God that this suffering and persecution had some meaning, had some purpose in the grand scheme of things, in the Redemptive Plan of God. And it did.

In the Hour of Trial we must embrace the power of the priorities of God and become radical discipleships willing to lay down our lives for the gospel just like Jesus did.

Whether you are part of a Leadership Church or a Political Church, a Poor Church or a Rich Church, Jesus is talking to you. Whether you attend a Libertine Church or a Charismatic Church, it is the Missionary Church that gets his approval and is given an "open door" for ministry.

We either have to become a dangerous church to the society around is by becoming radical disciples, or the church will become dangerous for us. There is no middle ground. The choice is up to you.