Sardis is the fifth of the seven churches addressed by Jesus through the Apostle John, while John was on the Island of Patmos. In summary, Jesus’ assessment of the church there was, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Rev. 3:2).
Archaeologists have uncovered and identified many structures and other items of interest at Sardis, including a Byzantine chapel in the southeast corner of the temple of Artemis.
Dr. Mark Wilson writes, “The inner western chapel dates to the 4C [4th century AD] and is one of the earliest preserved churches in western Asia Minor; the larger, outer apse dates to the 6C” (Biblical Turkey, A Guide to the cJewish and Christain sites of Asia Minor, p. 291).
The temple of Artemis, whose partial ruins are in view here, would have been in use when those Christians of the 1st century AD at Sardis received the letter (Rev. 3:1-6). It’s hard to overemphasize how pervasive idolatry was in the biblical world!
We have previously posted several articles on Sardis: click hereherehere and here.
In our local congregation we are continuing to explore the Seven Churches of Asia, of Revelation 2-3. John the Apostle received the Revelation on the Island of Patmos.
While we cannot know the exact spot on the island where John was when he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” and told, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia” (Rev. 1:10-11), visitors to Patmos are shown a “traditional” location, known as the “Cave of the Apocalypse.”
The church at Pergamum lived “where Satan’s throne is . . . where Satan dwells (Rev. 2:13). There have been many suggestions as to the basis of this designation. Pergamum was known for its worship of Asklepios (god of healing), Serapis, Athena, Dionysus, Demeter, as well as being a center for the Imperial Cult (emperor worship).
David A. DeSilva suggests: “[T]he distinctive altar of Zeus on the brow of the acropolis may have been more in John’s view” (The Social and Geographical World of Pergamum (Revelation 1:11; 2:12–17). In B. J. Beitzel, J. Parks, & D. Mangum (Eds.), Lexham Geographic Commentary on Acts through Revelation (p. 638). Lexham Press).
The altar of Zeus, located on the southern crest of the acropolis, was without a doubt the most distinctive and most prominently visible structure overlooking Pergamum. Construction was begun in the early- to mid-second century BC under Eumenes II, possibly in connection with his victory over the invading Galatians. The massive throne-like altar complex resembled an open-air temple, complete with columned porticoes surrounding its staircase and inner courtyards. The whole had a footprint of about 120 by 110 feet (36.5 × 33.5 m), and it rose to a height of 40 feet (12 m). The sacrificial altar proper sat within the inner courtyard, which was approached by a wide, grand staircase. The reconstructed monument now sits in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin. The altar was adorned with nearly four hundred linear feet (122 m) of frieze, its scenes carved about seven feet (2 m) high. The frieze around the structure’s perimeter depicted the mythological battle between the Olympian gods and the giants, with Zeus and Athena prominently featured on the front side. An interior frieze told the story of Telephus, the mythic founder of Pergamum. An L-shaped agora or forum was set just below the precincts of the altar of Zeus. The identification of some of the buildings as warehouses makes it likely that this particular forum served as a commercial center in the old city.
deSilva, D. A. (2019). The Social and Geographical World of Pergamum (Revelation 1:11; 2:12–17). In B. J. Beitzel, J. Parks, & D. Mangum (Eds.), Lexham Geographic Commentary on Acts through Revelation (pp. 645–646). Lexham Press.
Here is a photo of the acropolis of Pergamum, with the Asklepion at our back. Sometimes it gets windy on our tours (as my granddaughter can attest).
Our preaching theme for January in our local congregation is a study of the Seven Churches of Asia (Rev. 2-3). I’m looking forward to this study. Ephesus is the first of the cities addressed (Rev. 2:1-7).
It is helpful to understand somewhat of the local conditions in which these 1st Century Christians lived. Ephesus was the city which featured the temple to the goddess Artemis (Diana), which at that time was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Here is a model of the temple which is housed in the museum at Ephesus:
The 8th century BC prophet Micah identifies himself as “Micah of Moresheth” (Mic. 1:1). As his message continues in chapter one, he references “Moresheth Gath” (1:14). Moresheth Gath is tentatively identified by many scholars as Tel Goded (Tell ej-Judeideh).
The geography of Israel is defined by four longitudinal zones: The Coastal Plain, the Central Hill Country, the Jordan Valley, and the Transjordan Plateau. As one goes east from the coastal plain, before arriving in the hill country, one passes through the Shephelah (שְׁפֵלָה, usually rendered “lowland” in Scripture), which consists of gently rolling hills (see Deut. 1:7, etc.). See map here:
We are currently studying 1 Peter in our local congregation. Peter’s first letter was written to Christians in five Roman districts in Asia Minor, which today comprise much of modern Turkey. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Pet. 1:1, ESV). Dr. Mark Wilson has provided Bible students with a great resource in his book, Biblical Turkey.
Peter’s Communities. Map by Dr. Mark Wilson.
Christians in five Roman districts are addressed in Peter’s letter. The starting point was Pontus.
In the midst of this letter which was designed to equip/strengthen Christians who were suffering fiery trials for their faith, Peter spoke to them about enjoying life and seeing good days! (1 Pet. 3:10). It would seem that “loving life and seeing good days” would be something that everyone desires. It is also apparent that this is what God wants for us! It does not follow, however, that “whatever makes you happy” is okay. For example, some have reasoned that “God wants me to be happy, but I am not happy in my present marriage, but I’ve found someone else.” Thus they contract a marriage that God’s word says is adulterous, but have convinced (deceived) themselves that it is okay because God wants them to be happy. You can be sure that God does NOT want you to be happy by doing something He has condemned in His word! First and foremost, God wants you to be holy; God wants you to be saved.
Every passage has a context. “For ‘He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.'” The first word in our verse, “For” (Greek gar)is often “a marker of cause or reason between events.”[i] Here it links the goal of “loving life and seeing good days,” with what has just been said in the previous verses. “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing” (3:8-9). Additionally, the greater context, which includes God’s directives to wives and husbands (3:1-7) must be considered. That is, if you want to truly love life and see good days, it flows from the behavior just described in the above verses. In this article I want to explore some important lessons.
God wants us to enjoy life and see good days. Peter has previously called this life on earth “the time of your sojourning” (1 Pet. 1:17, KJV; “your temporary residence” NET). We often sing, “This world is not my home.” Christians recognize we are “sojourners and pilgrims” (1 Pet. 2:11). We are in the world, but “not of the world” (John 15:19; 17:14-16). Yet we see that it is right to enjoy life and see good days. Our trust is not in “uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). God intends for us to enjoy the good things He gives us, as we give thanks to Him from whom all blessings flow!
God wants us to enjoy our family. “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun” (Eccl. 9:9), NASB). “. . . And rejoice with the wife of your youth . . . And always be enraptured with her love” (Prov. 5:18-19). “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them” (Psa. 127:3-5). “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers” (Prov. 17:6, ESV). I mention the family relationship as just one example of blessings from God which He wants us to enjoy, and can contribute so much to “loving life and seeing good days.”
Hindrances to Joy. Satan has many devices (2 Cor. 2:11). He is a great “joy-stealer.” He does not want us to “rejoice in the Lord” because “the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:6). One hindrance can be to fail to seize the present moment; to always be thinking that once I get past this problem, or after I get this done, then I can enjoy life. That tends to always put it out of reach. God wants us right now, right here, in our present circumstances, to enjoy life and see good days, and not be waiting on something else to happen before we can do so.
Another hindrance may be what I call the “Haman complex.” Haman gathered his wife and friends. “Then Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king. Moreover Haman said, ‘Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. ‘Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate’” (Est. 5:11-13). Here was a man who “had it all” so to speak, but he could enjoy none of it because there was ONE thing that displeased him! It’s so easy for us to do the same.
Worry can so distract us and upset us that we fail to enjoy life and see good days. See Matthew 6:25-34.
Sinful behavior. Getting back to 1 Peter 3, a failure to conduct oneself in keeping with the imperatives of the passage will only result in envy, strife, and unhappiness. We can’t be guilty of doing the things that God hates, and expect to enjoy life and see good days (see Prov. 6:16-19).
Nothing should eclipse this joy. The seventy disciples returned from the limited commission” with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name” (Lk. 10:17). Of course this was important, and showed Jesus’ coming victory over Satan, but Jesus said, “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Lk. 10:20). The primary cause for our rejoicing, that exceeds all else (even the miraculous gifts of the 1st century), is our salvation in Christ Jesus!
I am enjoying perusing the newly published Photo Companion to Genesis, the latest addition to the Photo Companion to the Bible, by Dr. Todd Bolen and his team. As with the other volumes in this set, each chapter in Genesis (all 50!) is treated separately with its own PowerPoint. For example, chapter one has 225 slides; chapter two has 171 slides, chapter 10 has 604 slides! Another helpful feature: the slides include notes with further explantion, suggested resources, photo credits, etc.
I have been using Dr. Bolen’s materials for more than 20 years, and highly recommend this new addition. Knowing the geographical, archaeological and cultural context of the Bible enhances our understanding of the biblical text, and can help fortify one’s faith. This collection of photos, maps, and explanation chapter by chapter is a great resource.
In 2 Chronicles in the context of the Divided Kingdom during the reign of Jehoram, king of Judah, the statement is made, “Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever” (21:7). (The NET Bible reads, “But the LORD was unwilling to destroy David’s dynasty because of the promise he had made to give David a perpetual dynasty”).
To say that Jehoram was very wicked would be an understatement. His first act when his co-regency with his father Jehoshaphat (good king!) ended was to murder all six of his brothers! (21:4). Jehoram was married to Athaliah, the wicked daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and greatly swayed by them. Though King of Judah, “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done” (21:6).
Lamp, dating to the time of the Divided Kingdom. Author’s personal collection. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
Our inspired historian is stating that although Jehoram deserved destruction, as had indeed been meted out to several dynasties in Israel, that Yahweh, the faithful God of the Covenant, would insure that the lineage of David would continue. The use of the word picture of a lamp which continues to burn, and is not extinguished, was a fitting metaphor. The Davidic lineage (here seen in the kings of Judah, both good and bad) would continue until the Messiah came to earth, God Incarnate. This fulfilled the promise made in 2 Samuel 7; cf. 1 Chron. 17, and etc.). Indeed, “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
I have earlier written about Judah’s King Jehoram here.
My first opportunity to do some aerial photography in Israel was with Ferrell Jenkins, as he and I were on a personal study trip in 2009. Among the sites we photographed from that (tiny) plane was biblical Joppa.
Here in the foreground you can still see some of the ruins of the ancient harbor, an ancient Mediterranean harbor of Canaan and Israel, dating back to Old Testament time. At center is the old city, the geographical setting for many biblical events:
When Solomon was to construct the temple, the king of Tyre offered, “We will get all the timber you need from Lebanon and bring it in raft-like bundles by sea to Joppa. You can then haul it on up to Jerusalem.” (2 Chron. 2:16, NET).
Joppa was again used in this same manner when the second temple was rebuilt (Ezra 3:7). It’s about 35 miles from Joppa to Jerusalem.
Joppa figures in with the narrative of Jonah, who, when God told him to preach to Nineveh, “Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the LORD. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish far away from the LORD” (Jonah 1:3, NET).
In NT times, there were disciples of Christ at Joppa. It was here that Peter raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-43). Peter remained at Joppa for “many days” (Acts 9:43) and was there when the Gentile Cornelius, a Roman centurion stationed at Caesarea, sent for him, that he could hear the Gospel message of salvation (Acts 10; 11:1-18; see esp. 11:14).
I visited Joppa for the first time in 1999. It gives a different perspective to see such sites from above.
A helpful resource, Chronicles of the Land: Archaeology in the Israel Museum Jerusalem, regarding the above artifact, simply notes, “Head of a statue depicting an Ammonite deity, late 8th century BCE” (p. 87). That date would fit in the bibilcal period of the Divided Kingdom, or perhaps Judah Alone (Israel fell in 722 BC).
The inside BAR article notes,
Ancient inscriptions tell us that the people of Ammon called themselves the bene ammon (“children of Ammon”), a designation also found in the Book of Kings (1 Kings 11:7,33). The Ammonites had their own language and script, which developed from Proto-Canaanite and was closely related to Phoenician, Hebrew, and Moabite. They worshiped their own chief deity, Milkom [spelled “Milcom” in most translations], who is mentioned in both Ammonite inscriptions and the Bible (e.g., 1 Kings 11:5,33).
(BAR/Winter 2023, p. 50).
The Ammonites had their origin in Lot, the nephew of Abraham. The sad story is told in Genesis 19:30-38. In time to come, during the biblical period of the Judges, Israel worshiped “the gods of the people of Ammon”, among other gods (Judges 10:6). Later during the days of the United Kingdom, Saul fought (successfully) against the Ammonites (1 Samual 14:47). They were also subdued under King David (2 Samuel 8:11-12). Unfortunately, Israel’s forces were besieging Rabbah, Ammon’s capital, when David “tarried in Jerusalem” and committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-5). Another sad event: “Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom” (1 Kings 11:7, NET Bible).
Our map here below shows the location of Ammon.
Location of Ammon, beyond the Jordan. Map by BibleMapper.com.
The wording of our titles comes from 2 Chronicles 12:2, “And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD.” As most readers know, “Pharaoh” was not a personal name but a dynastic title designating the king of Egypt. The first biblical mention of a Pharaoh is Genesis 12:15, in the days of Abraham’s sojourn into Egypt. Other subsequent pharaohs are mentioned as time goes on, including the events in Joseph’s life, and later in the time of Moses and the Exodus. But the first Pharaoh mentioned by name is Shishak (cf. 1 Kings 11:40; 14:25-26). Shishak reigned during Egypt’s 22nd dynasty, which was a Libyan dynasty. His reigned 946-924 BC. He invaded Judah in his 19/20th year, which was 927/926 BC. This lines up with the 5th year of Rehoboam, 926/5 BC (2 Chron. 12:2), r. 931/930-913 BC.
In the days of Solomon’s adversary Jeroboam (who would become Israel’s first king when the kingdom divided into Israel and Judah after Solomon’s death, 931 BC), “Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon” (1 Kings 11:40). Solomon was succeeded by his son Rehoboam (1st king of the southern kingdom of Judah), and Pharaoh Shishak was again mentioned in scripture: “It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made” (14:25-26). God allowed this invasion of Jerusalem because of Judah’s unfaithfulness (2 Chron. 12:2). The text explains, “Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak'” (2 Chron. 12:5).
It was the 21st year of his reign when Shishak returned to the capital of Thebes (ESV, “No” in NKJV), at Karnak he recorded his victory, including the listing not only of cities of Judah, but of many Israelite cities as well. Our photo shows the Shishak Inscription. Here he lists conquests, including Yuda Melchi (kingdom of Judah). This hieroglyphic inscription contains the names of ca. 50-60 localities in Israel and about 100 in Judah which were captured on this expedition.
The site of Tanis/Zoan is to be associated within the area of Goshen where the Israelites had lived for some time and were living at the time of the Exodus. “Psalm 78:12 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan” (Psa. 78:12). Tanis is the site where Shishak was entombed. Our photo here shows the entrance into Tanis:
This is a fascinating example of how archaeology can enhance our understanding of the biblical text, as well as underscore the fact that the Bible is factual. While we do not depend on archaeology to “prove” the Bible, as it stands on its own merit, this “intersection” of biblical history with secular records has an important place in the discipline of apologetics.
Posted by Leon Mauldin 
leonmauldin.blog 