Revelation Series—Part 8: Missed Opportunities

In Part 7 of this Revelation series, we went back in time to the Middle Ages and the Thyatira era. The major labor for God’s people during that time was focused on spreading physical copies of the Bible. First they translated it, copied it over by hand, and then distributed it to as many people as possible. They were diligent and faithful in doing this work, but they were severely limited by technology and continual persecution. This meant that God’s truth remained virtually unknown to the broad masses during the Middle Ages.

During this period, the European continent was swept up in religious wars. Many refugees from those wars fled to England, which was comparatively safe and tolerant. Among the refugees were members of God’s true Church. They brought God’s doctrines and beliefs with them—which were vastly different than the beliefs of the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches—causing them to stand out. Observing the biblical, seventh day Sabbath brought particular persecution to God’s small Church. Despite the rising tide of opposition, there were still several small Sabbath-keeping congregations that managed to survive through the centuries in England. These few people were the start of the fifth era of God’s Church known as Sardis.

For the first time in centuries God’s people lived in a land with a relative amount of freedom. They had access to a new piece of technology—the printing press. They had the King James translation of the Bible so that the average person could read the Holy Scriptures. This era, unlike any preceding it, was given incredible advantages to aid in doing God’s work. Watch today’s episode to learn why you don’t hear more about this era that had the potential to do great works for God.