Luke, in his book of Acts, told of the church’s missionary advance into six areas. He finished each section of his report with a statement of how well the mission went in spite of all the difficulties.3 In much the same way, John, in his book of Revelation, several times traced the progress of the church from the beginning of the mission to the end of time. Under varied imagery, we see Christ’s church in the struggle of being true to Christ’s command while being opposed at every