Closer To Heaven
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Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr. Clinton Wahlen, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson,
View an in-depth discussion of Persecuted but Not Forsaken in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.
Click on the image below to view the video:
With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 31st of December 2025
We have no record of Paul ever visiting Colossae, which again tells us something about the effectiveness of his evangelistic strategy. First, it was Epaphras, a resident of Colossae (Colossians 4:12), who brought the gospel to that city (Colossians 1:7). But how was he converted? Most likely, it was in the mid-50s, when Paul was in nearby Ephesus and “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:10; compare Acts 20:31).
Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com
The book of Revelation witnesses to how widely the gospel spread throughout this area (Revelation 1:4). The most plausible explanation for this success, including its spread to Colossae, is as a result of the work of Paul’s converts, who first heard the message in Ephesus, the most important city in Asia Minor and a major port. Epaphras heard Paul’s preaching in Ephesus and, becoming one of his coworkers, he took the gospel back to his hometown of Colossae.
The city itself, about nine miles (15 kilometers) southeast of Laodicea, is only now being excavated, so we know less about it compared to more prominent cities of the region. We do know it had a sizable Jewish population with “as many as ten thousand Jews living in that area of Phrygia.”—Arthur G. Patzia, New International Biblical Commentary: Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1990), vol. 10, p. 3. Coins minted at Colossae indicate the people there, as in many Roman cities, worshiped a variety of gods. The pagan practices and strong cultural influences obviously presented Christians there with tremendous challenges, not only in evangelizing the city but also just remaining faithful to the pure faith of the gospel. Another prominent Christian in Colossae was Philemon, who may have been converted about the same time as Epaphras.
Although Roman law required Paul to return Onesimus to Philemon, Paul appeals to Philemon’s heart and conscience as a fellow believer and urges him to treat Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother (Philemon 1:16).
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However much we detest the idea of slavery in any form, and wish that Paul would have condemned the practice, how do we come to terms with what Paul says here? (How fascinating that, during slavery in the United States, Ellen G. White specifically told Adventists to defy the law that ordered people to return escaped slaves.) |
Key Thought: Paul faced many circumstances, but he saw a large purpose for what happened to him. And we can learn from him when we face our own trials.
January 3, 2026
(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared. ”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 30th of December 2025
During Paul’s second missionary journey, shortly after Timothy was added to the team, they are forbidden by the Holy Spirit to continue across Asia Minor (Acts 16:6). So, during a vision of the night, Paul sees a man pleading with him to “ ‘come over to Macedonia and help us’ ” (Acts 16:9, NKJV). So, immediately they head to the seaport nearest Macedonia and sail from Troas across the Aegean Sea to Neapolis, on the European continent. But rather than evangelize there, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke, who joined them at Troas (as indicated by the use of “we” in Acts 16:11), head to Philippi.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
In his evangelistic activity, Paul always thought strategically. Philippi was “the chief city of that part of Macedonia” (Acts 16:12). In fact, it was one of the most honored cities of the Roman Empire, being given the status of Ius Italicum—the highest possible designation a city could be granted. Its citizens had the same privileges as if the city were located in Italy, including exemption from the land tax and the poll tax, and anyone born in the city automatically became a Roman citizen. It was also an important stop along the Via Egnatia, which was the main overland road connecting Rome with the East. Establishing an important Christian presence there enabled them to bring the gospel to many other nearby cities, including Amphipolis, Apollonia, Thessalonica, and Berea (see Acts 17:1,10).
Interestingly, the official language in first-century Philippi was Latin, evidenced by the predominance of Latin inscriptions. In Philippians 4:15, Paul even addresses them with a Latin-sounding name, Philippēsioi, apparently in recognition of their special Roman status. Nevertheless, Greek was the language of the marketplace and of the surrounding towns and cities and the means by which the gospel was spread. Luke describes how Paul and his team joined people for prayer by the riverside, where Lydia and her household were converted (Acts 16:13-15). Being a businesswoman (“a seller of purple”), she would have been one of the major financial supporters in Philippi of Paul’s ministry. The time Paul and Silas spent in prison there led to the conversion of another entire household—that of the jailer.
The Holy Spirit knew that Philippi would be the ideal beachhead for the spread of the gospel through Europe, even though there would also be persecution. However evil it is, persecution can, in certain circumstances, enable the gospel to reach people who otherwise might not be reached.
Read Acts 9:16. How does this help us understand some of Paul’s trials? How might this help us understand some of our own? |
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