Greek for the Week

In Revelation 3:15–16, Jesus indicts the Laodicean church for being “lukewarm” (chliaros). The best way to describe “lukewarm” is to describe what it doesn’t mean: cold or hot. “Cold” (psychros) often...

18 Sep 201912min

Philadelphia was located in the Lydian valley where earthquakes were abundant. It wasn’t unusual for people in Philadelphia to cower in fear and to bolt from the city into open spaces when they felt s...

11 Sep 201915min

Jesus tells the church in Sardis to, “Wake up!” (ginou grēgorōn) in Revelation 3:2. The word “wake up” (gregoreo) means “to be watchful; to be in constant readiness; to be on alert.” The Sardians need...

4 Sep 201912min

The believers in Thyatira were faced with a choice: if they didn’t participate in pagan feasts risked losing their place in their guilds; if they did participate, they would let God down. To instruct ...

28 Aug 201917min

Pergamum was the center for Caesar-worship and a place where world-views met. Because of this, Christians didn’t have an easy time in Pergamum. Jesus reassures the believers by saying his words are a...

21 Aug 201913min

The name Smyrna (also Smyrna in Greek) means “bitter” because myrrh was the city's chief export. It also served as a prophetic label for the Christians. Times had become harsh. While the rest of t...

14 Aug 201911min

The Ephesian church was a mighty church. Here Christianity experienced some of its first great victories. The Greek word for toil, kopos, tells us the church labored intensely, the Greek word for pati...

7 Aug 201918min

Rejoicing is a choice. We see this in Philippians 4:4. Paul was writing to the Philippians from prison and he tells the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” The Greek...

31 Jul 201916min