Revelation: Part 6

When anyone anywhere responds to this knowledge by having a desire to know this God, God will move heaven and earth to get the message to him.

You don’t find anything more emphatic and more direct than that Jesus himself was walking among these churches and showing. During the whole Church age, he’s gonna be doing this walking among these churches with the true messengers of these churches in his right hand. Now, I believe the first application is this. There’s a personal message from the Lord Jesus to each Church and it has an application that covers the needs of the churches throughout the entire Church age.

So these churches, first of all, were chosen because they had problems and strengths, which would be characteristic and useful to learn to understand things that would happen to the Church all the way through. So as a minister, I can study this and I can find certain tendencies that lead to certain dangers just by looking at these letters to these seven churches ’cause they’re applicable. They’re literally written to them, but they’re applicable to churches all the way through. So if I see certain things developing in a Church, I can look in here and I can find and what Jesus said to these churches, certain things that will help me understand it and will help me know what to do about it.

So that’s number one. All right, the second application, you’ll find this all the way through here. The second application is that there are things that he sees that apply to the Church local, that also apply to individuals. For instance, in the beginning of the letter to the ephesians, he says, he commends them for having a knowledge of the Word of God.

He commends them that they have fought heresy and so forth. But then he comes to the part where he analyzes their problem and rebukes them. He says but I have this against you in that you have left your first love. I’ve had the Lord convict me on this in the past.

Because, you see, you can get so wrapped up in knowledge of the word, and, by the way, you must have knowledge. People, as a believer, you must study. You must be taught. There’s a great pastor in this Church, mark ceder.

He’s a great teacher. But christians need to be taught. And they need to be taught the deeper things of the word. Not just a couple of jokes, three points and a poem and a close.

The average sermon. That’s what people are taught in seminary that that’s what you’re supposed to do, you know. Don’t give them too much, they won’t be able to digest it. You’ll give them spiritual indigestion.

Well, I don’t see that as the major problem. But these people are well-taught, but Satan is gonna get you one way or another. You can get to where you’re well-taught and you know the word and so forth. And, yet, you lose the heart of everything when your devotion to Jesus Christ personally begins to dwell back.

Now I’ve been rebuked by that. See, it has a personal application. And there’s another application the Church at Laodicea, that’s where in Revelation 3 says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will fellowship with him and he with me.

I use that as a way of explaining people how to receive Christ. He stands at the door of your heart. He’s knocking. And if you just say, Lord, I want you to come into my life.

I want you to forgive me, then he’ll do it. He will come in and he’ll stay and there will be fellowship. So each one of these has things that can really hit you personally. So that’s the second application.

All right, then there is the third application, and this is an application particularly important to those who are pastors. Pastors can study these various things that Jesus analyzed with these seven churches and they can analyze the problems in their own Church and apply the solutions that Christ gives to correct them. So they’re very powerful. The fourth application is something that frankly was not really known until maybe a couple of hundred years ago when we could look back over Church history.

But that’s part and parcel of what the Bible teaches about prophecy. It says that prophecy would be sealed until the time of the end. And that people would gain knowledge, he told Daniel and so forth, and many will go to and fro. But he says that the time of the end, the book will be opened and the wise shall understand.

Well, a couple of hundred years ago when, for the first time, the Church really began to study prophecy. It’s only been a couple hundred years. And for the first time, since the first century, the Church leaders began to take prophecy literally and not just as some allegory. And that’s when they began to notice that there is a prophetic application of these seven churches.

In other words, the Holy Spirit chose these churches to put in a book of prophecy. And he even shows the order to put them in, because they show seven stages of Church history. And you can look back in Church history and you can see how each one of these churches chronologically shows the chief characteristics of a certain era of Church history and you can spot it. We live, now when I say that, by the way, each period of the Church age has, you can always find churches that were similar to anyone of these seven churches.

But what I’m saying is you can see, as you look at Church history, that chronologically each one of these churches showed what would be the predominant characteristic of that stage of Church history. You understand what I’m saying? Okay. For instance, and I can only give you a brief outline here because we’re almost out of time.

But just going over it quickly. And by the way, if you get that book, and I’m not trying to sell books. I just want you to learn something. And that is you get a copy of “there’s a new world coming.”

You will get a full explanation of this. For instance, the first Church he addresses is the Church of Ephesus. Now there is a certain formula that he has that he goes through with each one of these letters. And the first one is to the Church of Ephesus.

And here are the things that he has as a regular formula here. First of all, there is an announcement that it’s addressed to to the addressee, okay, to the Church of Ephesus, all right. Then there is a — Jesus himself reveals certain attributes about himself, about his person. And you’ll find that each time he does this, his attributes that he gives, he tells them about, at the beginning of the letter, are the answer to the problems that Church has.

That’s a wonderful lesson. Because it shows Jesus himself is the answer to everything. If you understand his person, his attributes, you can figure out the answer to everything. And so he reveals certain things about himself that if they believe them, it will help them overcome problems.

So there is that second part of this formula, which is he gives them the applicable attributes. Then there is a commendation and that’s wonderful because God, you know, God is so gracious. If he’s going to discipline us, he will always start out with something that he can commend us about. And so that’s the next part of this letter to each one of the churches.

He commends them for what they’re doing right. You know, it’s terrible to always be told what you’re doing wrong, but never be told what you’re doing right. Parents, remember that when you’re talking to your children. Wives remember that when you’re talking to your husbands.

And husbands remember that when you’re talking to your wives. All right, now it’s interesting that in this part that the commendation, everyone gets a commendation but Thyatira. The Church of Thyatira does not get one good thing said about them. You’ll see that.

Don’t worry about it. You’ll see it. Then Jesus gives an analysis of the Church. An analysis of what they’re -how they’re failing.

And then he gives a rebuke for that failure, all right. It’s interesting that every Church gets a rebuke except two. The Church of Smyrna does not get any rebuke. And it is the Church, it’s the period of Church history when the Church was being persecuted and the Church was suffering.

And it shows that when the Church is suffering, there’s very little rebuke. They’re purified. And guess who the other one was that does not get a rebuke. Philadelphia.

Right. The Church of Philadelphia. Because the Church of Philadelphia is the missionary stage of Church history. It’s the time of revival and it’s a time of evangelism and a time of missions.

And there’s no rebuke for that stage of the Church. All right, then after that, after the rebuke, Jesus gives each one of them a promise. He gives them promises actually, and he gives them promises that directly apply to their need. And you know what?

The most important thing you can learn as a believer in Jesus Christ is not just to believe generally, believe specifically. That’s why I wrote the back “combat faith.” Which I rewrote and made “faith for earth’s final hour.” That book is probably the most important book I wrote because it came out of personal experience.

I had to learn that there are times in my life I was under such pressure and such attack that I couldn’t even talk to God. All I could do was point to a promise and look up and God knew by me tapping on that promise, I believe it. Now put up or shut up. God likes that kind of boldness.

Do you know that? God can’t lie. You get a promise that applies to your situation, God’s gonna keep it. And he gives promises to these churches that apply to their situation.

And so you’ll find that formula goes through each one of the letters. Now, I’m gonna quickly run over this. The first letter is to the Church of Ephesus. The characteristic here, the Church of Ephesus was one of knowledge without love and the filling of the spirit.

They had knowledge, but they had lost their first love and that was evident that it was not really counting on the Holy Spirit, depending on the Holy Spirit, to guide and teach and to put them in action. That was ad 33 through 100, that period. Then there’s the Church of Smyrna. The Church of Smyrna is the persecuted poor, but rich Church.

It lasted from 100 ad until 312 ad when Constantine made the Church a part of the government. And that came to the letter to Pergamos, the Church of Pergamos lasted from — that characteristic lasted from ad 312 to ad 590. This is the Church that compromised with the world’s system. The Roman catholic Church began to develop during that period.

I’m not saying there are not believers in the catholic Church. Don’t get me wrong. I’m just saying that that was when it developed and when problems began to develop. A hierarchy developed that became -that put themselves between God and the believer.

And it was as if you can’t go to God directly. You got to go through the hierarchy. And then we come to the Church of Thyatira. This lasted from ad 590 to ad 1517.

This is when the Church became the great counterfeit, whore Church. And it lasted from 590 ad until 1517 in the reformation. And that started the Church of Sardis. The Church of Sardis is characterized by orthodoxy without the filling of the spirit.

But orthodoxy became very important and many things were learned and many benefits came out of it. That’s ad 1517 until 1750. And then in 1750, the dominant stage of that period of history was the Church of Philadelphia, revival, evangelism, missions. Great men of God developed during that period.

Hus who was from the slovakian areas. He was a great reformer. John wesley, John whitfield. I mean, there were great, great men of God that came during that period.

John Calvin was helpful, but he was actually in previous. So that lasted from ad 750 until 1900. And that is, it was during the period of the philadelphian dominated characteristic of the Church age that not only revival evangelism and missions developed, but for the first time, eschatology became important and began to be studied and carefully systematized. Eschatology means the study of prophecy.

It was only during that period that the Church really began to take prophecy literally. So that was from 1750 through 1900. And a great deal of what I know about prophecy today, I know because of men who wrote back in that period. Now the last stage of Church history is the period that is characterized by the Church of Laodicea.

The Church of Laodicea is dominated and characterized by compromise and apostasy. And that lasts from ad 1900 until the Rapture. Now you see what is the chief characteristic does not mean there aren’t these other churches that are like the others here. You understand that, okay?

I’m talking about the predominant characteristic, not the exclusive characteristic. We live in the age of Laodicea. And we’ll go through that and look at it. We are almost at the end of the age of Laodicea or the stage of Church history of Laodicea.

And it was to the Church of Philadelphia, by the way. Look at Revelation 3:10, because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. Now when we get to that, I’ll show you how that absolutely shows that the Rapture comes before the Tribulation. Because that hour is used over and over again in the book of Revelation.

It always refers to the Tribulation. He says I will keep you not just from, but the Greek preposition is ek. Not apo, which means away from. But ek, he will keep us out of that hour of testing that’s coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth.

Those who dwell upon the earth is mentioned seven times in the book of Revelation. And every time it’s a reference to unbelievers, not to believers. So it shows that he’s gonna keep us out of that time of testing that is aimed at those who dwell on the earth, the unbelievers. He’s gonna keep us out of it.

Praise God!

That’s coming. That’s coming. Keep your eyes open, keep your heart full of faith and prayer, and don’t be afraid. I’d rather be alive right now than any moment in history.

Blessed are the eyes -blessed are your eyes that see what you see. Many prophets would love to have lived now. They predicted what you’re seeing. They would have changed places with you any time.

And above all, make sure that you have received the gift of pardon that Jesus Christ willingly went on the cross to pay for with his own blood in your place. He purchased a pardon with your name on it. And the saddest thing I can ever think of is that the great white throne judgment where only unbelievers will stand, there will be this enormous pile of pardons that have people’s name on it, that never claimed them. You’ve got to claim it.

Jesus could die for every sin you’ll ever commit, but he could not die for one sin. And that was that you would not receive what he died in your place to purchase for you. You’ve got to receive it. It’s a choice that has to be made.

You don’t get it by osmosis because your parents took you to Church. You don’t get it because you’re sitting in a Church. You don’t get it because you’re a Church member. I’m talking about local churches now.

You can only get it personally, by telling God I realize I’m a sinner. I fall short of your character, and I want to receive my gift of pardon that Jesus purchased for me. Make sure that you’ve done that because the time is now. Let’s pray.

Father, in Jesus’ name, if there is one here who has never received this pardon, don’t let anyone walk out of this auditorium without making that choice right now. You may say I don’t understand all this. I don’t feel anything. You don’t have to do that.

You will get plenty of feeling after you make that decision. But you must make the choice. Just say right now, thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for dying for me. I’m a sinner.

Thank you for the pardon and thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for eternal life because you promised and you can’t lie. If you prayed that prayer, you have right now entered God’s forever family. Not because you feel something, but because he can’t lie.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.