Messianic Perspectives

Guest (Female): They say prophecy is history written in advance. Today we'll be looking at a remarkable series of prophecies in the book of Revelation that outlines 2,000 years of church history, all predicted centuries before it ever happened. Stay tuned as Dr. Gary Hedrick discusses "The Mystery of the Seven Churches," right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Liz Aiello: Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the Scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today Dr. Gary Hedrick is teaching on "The Mystery of the Seven Churches" in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about two special resources we're making available during this series, so be sure to have a pencil and paper ready. Now with today's study, here is Dr. Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: All right, thank you, and welcome, listening friend, to another edition of the program. We're glad to have you with us today as we continue this series of studies on "The Mystery of the Seven Churches."

Now today we come to Revelation chapter 2 beginning in verse 8. This is the message to the church at Smyrna, which represents the second period of the church age. Here's what the Lord says: "And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive."

Now let me stop there because I want you to notice something that's very significant. Each time the angel gives a message to one of these churches, how does he preface it? Have you noticed? Before he says anything, he identifies the source of the message. He wants these people to know who's talking. When he addressed the Ephesian church, the angel said, "These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks." You see, he identified himself.

And now when he addresses the church at Smyrna, he says, "These things saith the first and the last, who was dead, and is alive." You see, at the beginning of each message, he identifies himself. It was important for these people to know where the messages came from and who was doing the talking. Let me tell you something, my friend: we need to be reminded from time to time who Jesus is, especially in these perilous times in which you and I live.

Listen, there's major warfare being waged right now on the battlefield of Christology, even by people who call themselves Christians. Someone just the other day sent me a clipping from a newspaper telling about a Catholic scholar at the University of Chicago, I believe it was, who says that Jesus of Nazareth was never raised from the dead. He says the body of our Lord was eaten by wild dogs, and that's why the body disappeared three days later.

You see, for years now, we've had all sorts of subtle things going on in the background, like termites who are underneath the surface eating away at the foundations, and you know they're there, but they never really come out into the daylight where you can see them. But now it's different. Now we have these direct frontal attacks that strike at the very heart of the gospel.

Listen, my friend, the Apostle Paul defined the gospel as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's the gospel. That's the good news that we're to preach to all the world. In 1 Corinthians 15:19, Paul says that if there's no resurrection, then we are of all men most miserable. So these are issues that go to the very heart of the gospel: the question of who Jesus is and whether or not he was raised from the dead.

And now there's the so-called B'nai Noah movement. "B'nai Noah" is Hebrew for "Sons of Noah." And some of these folks are trying to resurrect the old theory that Albert Schweitzer put forth almost 100 years ago—1909, I think it was—in his book, *The Quest of the Historical Jesus*, where he says that the early church edited the New Testament and inserted fictional accounts of the miracles of Jesus Christ. Schweitzer said that the historical Jesus of Nazareth never claimed to be God and never performed the miracles that are attributed to him in the New Testament.

Now, what's interesting about all this is if the historical Jesus never performed miracles, then why did the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem accuse him of possessing the power of the devil? In Matthew chapter 12, the Pharisees said that he was casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. In John chapter 11, verse 47, the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Jewish council, and they said, "What should we do? This man is performing many miracles." That's what some of the members of the Sanhedrin were saying about him.

You say, "Well, that's because the early church changed the New Testament documents, and they put words in the mouths of the Pharisees." All right, if that's what you think happened, then why don't you explain why the Jewish Talmud says that Jesus of Nazareth was a magician who seduced the Jewish people with sorcery? That's in the Mishnah, which is part of the Talmud. If you want to look up the reference, it's Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a. It says "Yeshu Pandera"—that's what the Talmud calls him—was a worker of "sorcery."

Well, if he didn't work miracles, why did they accuse him of being a sorcerer? You see, this is one of the oldest documents in Judaism, parts of it dating back to the time of Jesus and even before. Some of the source material for the Mishnah was no doubt written by Pharisees and rabbis who actually had seen and heard Jesus Christ. And they knew he worked miracles. They thought it was sorcery. So if he wasn't a worker of miracles, then why do the Jewish sources have these references?

You see, Albert Schweitzer's theory comes unraveled at the seams. Let me tell you something, my friend: Yeshua Ben-Yosef of Nazareth was no ordinary man. What ordinary man could heal the sick? What ordinary man could give sight to the blind, cause the lame to walk, and even raise the dead? What ordinary man could walk on the Sea of Galilee? What ordinary man could predict the future with such uncanny accuracy?

I told you a few months ago about the rabbi who was speaking to one of our tour groups on the Temple Mount in Israel. And he was explaining the extent of the destruction that took place in AD 70 at the hands of the Romans. Foundation stones that weighed 100 tons were knocked over like toothpicks. And the rabbi was the one who brought up this subject. He said, "That's what Jesus of Nazareth was talking about in his Olivet Discourse, the destruction of the temple in AD 70."

And so someone in our group raised his hand and said, "Well, then, if Jesus was just an ordinary man, how could he have predicted 40 years before it happened the destruction of the temple?" And the rabbi thought for a moment, and then this is what he said: "You know, it's a problem. It's a problem for us." He said they had no explanation for the fact that Jesus knew 40 years ahead of time that the temple would experience such utter destruction. Not even one of those huge stones would be left upon another.

Well, I can tell you how he knew. He was the God-man. You say, "Wait a minute, Gary, you're getting that stuff out of the New Testament. I don't believe the New Testament." Well, then, do you believe the Tanakh, the Jewish Bible? Because Jesus is the Prophet of prophets referred to by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15. To King David, he's the one whose enemies are made his footstool in the 110th Psalm. To King Solomon, he's the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley, the altogether lovely one.

Jesus is the one Isaiah was talking about when he said, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." It's Jesus. No, my friend, the gospel didn't just suddenly appear in the New Testament. Jesus is the one whose coming was prophesied by the ancient sages of Israel in the Old Testament, in type, in figure, and in simile.

Christ is everywhere presented. The offering up of Isaac by Abraham is a picture of the offering up of the Son of God on Calvary's tree. The lifting up of the brazen serpent in the wilderness is a type of the lifting up of the Messiah for the healing of his people. Joseph sold into Egypt is a type of the betrayal of our blessed Lord. Jesus of Nazareth—his full Hebrew name is Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He's the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, who is and who was and who is to come. In Jeremiah 23:5, he's the branch of David. In Isaiah 53, he's the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. In Revelation 22:6, he's the bright and morning star. He's our prophet, he's our priest, and he's our king: the Messiah of Israel, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And one of these days, my friend, the Bible says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, Adonai.

And we'll see what the skeptics have to say then, won't we? I'd like to be there when that priest stands before the Judge of the universe, his voice like the roar of the ocean. And he looks down with eyes that are like a flame of fire, and he says, "Now what's this about my having been eaten by wild dogs?"

So here in Revelation, he wants them to know who's speaking. And each of these seven messages is prefaced with an identification of the speaker. And here in the message to the church at Thyatira, he's the first and the last, which was dead, and now he's alive. That's the resurrection. He's alive forevermore. Well, that's all of our time for today. We'll continue with the church at Smyrna on the next program. Until then, this is Gary Hedrick saying God bless you. Take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. If you liked what you heard today, you will be pleased to know we've taken all of the programs in this series and placed them on one convenient CD entitled "The Mystery of the Seven Churches." It's available for your contribution of just six dollars or more to help us keep this program on your station.

Also available is the companion chart, adapted from the original drawn by Clarence Larkin in the early 1900s, entitled "The Messages to the Seven Churches Compared with Church History." This interesting chart shows how the messages to the seven churches in Revelation correspond to the seven successive periods of church history. It's the perfect companion for this series of studies on "The Mystery of the Seven Churches."

So that's the CD for six dollars and the chart for three dollars, or both for a total of nine dollars. Just visit our secure online store at MessianicSpecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397.

Have you enjoyed this edition of Messianic Perspectives? Why not continue to learn about the Jewish roots of your Christian faith by inviting a speaker from CJF Ministries? Call our toll-free number, 1-800-926-5397, and we'll be happy to handle all of the details. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on "The Mystery of the Seven Churches," right here on Messianic Perspectives.