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our nation with renewed dedication. Bring back the glory to America. Bring back the If my people, which are called
by my name, shall humble themselves, shall humble themselves and pray,
I will forgive their sin. I will forgive their sin. I will forgive their sin and
heal their land. Bring back the glory. all right now it's good to have
the young people in here today that are normally in another
service uh... revelation chapter one and um... i've been for a long time now
preaching on sunday morning on the doctrine of the church and
i'm gonna continue that this morning and then at least one
more on sunday morning after this this morning now i'll always
tried to point out home as we have been i guess we've been
talking about the church on sunday morning for the last seven or
eight months but always uh... try to make it clear salvation
is not found in the church not in this church not in any other
church including the ones that claim you can find salvation
that now you can find salvation here but it won't be through
the church will be through the person of the lord jesus christ
uh... he's the one that died for our
sins all of us are sinners uh... and uh... in the same boat as
sinners sinners owe a sin debt the wages of sin is death which
includes physical death and what revelation twenty in verse Verses
14 and 15 call the second death the lake of fire. We normally
call it hell. It means that if we got what
we, you know, something, I just want what's coming to me. No,
you don't want what's coming to you. If we all, if we got
what's coming to us, all of us being sinners, we'd all have
to, if we had to pay our own debt, we'd have to go to hell
forever and pay on the debt, never get it paid off. But that's
why Jesus came and died on the cross. He took our debt himself
on the cross and paid it in full. And then three days later arose
from the dead, demonstrating his power over death, hails in
in the grave. and demonstrating the fact that
he has the power to give life to whoever will trust him for
it. And if you've never received him personally as your personal
Savior, I hope that you will today. And I'm not preaching
on salvation. I'm preaching on the church.
After you're saved, then you ought to get in a good church
and serve the Lord there. But the church itself doesn't
save anybody. Jesus saves. That's what the
songwriter said, and he was right. Jesus saves. At the end of the
service, we'll have an invitation. We'll invite you to come if you
would like to. And if you're not saved, not
sure you're going to heaven, if you'll come at that time,
then we'll have somebody show you some scriptures, a few verses
from the Bible. about salvation and you can be
saved before you leave here today and my hope is that you will
be if you're not already. Revelation chapter 1 and notice
here John tells us in verse 9 about some things about himself and
where he was when he received this book from the Lord. He said,
I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation
and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle
that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony
of Jesus Christ. The isle of Patmos is a rocky,
barren, desolate island out in the Aegean Sea and it was used
by the Romans as a prison island and John was there, not because
he had committed some uh... uh... crime well it might have
been a crime but it wasn't it wasn't a criminal crime it was
a it was a it was a a good crime uh... because what he was there
for was his faithfulness to the word of god and the testimony
of the lord jesus so they put him there the prisoners on patmos
worked in the mines there uh... but john was there because of
his testimony and and because of his spying on for the word
of god and he tells us something that happened to him on a certain
sunday while he was there he says in verse number two and
i was in the spirit on the lord's day and heard behind me a great
voice as of a trumpet so you know this voice that sounded
like a trumpet that john heard behind him said we lost I am
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." Now, Alpha, you probably
know, is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega is
the last letter of the Greek alphabet. And so those two expressions
go right hand in hand with each other, Alpha and Omega, first
and last. And the first and the last, Isaiah
three times used that and said that that was one of the titles
of Jehovah God, the first and the last. And that's who this
is. This is the one that's speaking to him. This is Jehovah God manifested
humanly in the person of Jesus Christ. So the voice said, I'm
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and the voice also
said this. what thou seest, write in a book,
and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia." So he tells
John, I want you to write these things in a book and send it
to seven churches over in the Roman province of Asia. And then
he lists the cities, the seven cities that these churches are
found in. unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna,
and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,
and unto Laodicea." So those are the seven cities where these
seven churches that the Lord instructs John to send this message
to are located. Now, the actual messages to these
seven churches are found in chapters 2 and 3. Now, let me do this
right quick. Chapter 2, verse 1, unto the
angel of the church of Ephesus." Right. And then down through
verse 7 is the message to the church at Ephesus. Verse 8, "...and
unto the angel of the church in Smyrna." Right. Now, are you
comparing these to where he told them to send the messages? Back in chapter 1, verse 11,
he said, send the message to the seven churches. And he said
Ephesus. Well, chapter 2, 1 through 7,
there's Ephesus. Now, then he said to Smyrna,
chapter 2, verse 8, unto the angel of the church in Smyrna
write, and the message to Smyrna goes down through verse 11. Then
you get to verse 12 of chapter 2, and to the angel of the church
in Pergamos write. The third city in chapter 1 verse
11 was Pergamos. Now the message to Pergamos beginning
there in chapter 2 verse 12 continues down through verse 17. And then
the fourth city back in chapter 1 verse 11 was Thyatira in chapter
2 verse 18. And unto the angel of the church
in Thyatira, right? And the message to Thyatira continues
through the end of chapter 2. Then chapter 3 and verse 1, the
5th of the cities mentioned in chapter 1 verse 11 was Sardis. Now chapter 3 verse 1, and under
the angel of the church in Sardis, right? And down through verse
6 is the message to Sardis. The 7th city mentioned in chapter
1 verse 11 was Philadelphia, and that's not Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. I've had people ask me that.
That's not Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That's Philadelphia that used
to be over in, well, what's now Turkey. Verse 7, and to the angel
of the church in Philadelphia, right? And down through verse
13 is the message to the church in Philadelphia. And then the
final city that he mentioned back in chapter 1, verse 11,
the seventh city was the city of Laodicea. And in verse 14
of chapter 3, and unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans,
right? And the message to the church
in Laodicea continues through the end of chapter 3. And so
then you have these seven churches. Now, I've been preaching for
the last couple of months about these seven churches. We've looked
at each of the churches individually and the message that the Lord
gave to them. Now, I'm going to do something
this morning that you're going to have to listen on purpose
and pay close attention, because it deals—you know, if you want
to sleep, the best thing to do is get up and go back home and
get in bed. I said, by listening. I'm serious. Church ain't the
place to sleep. though many people take it as
that. We're not a hotel, you know. If you're really, really bad
off and so sleepy, you just absolutely cannot hold your eyes open. Maybe
we can find a cot somewhere around here for you or something. But,
seriously, I never understand, you know, why go to church to
sleep? Wouldn't you be more comfortable in bed? Now, I'm talking both
to young people and old people. You get a certain age, you kind
of earn the right to sleep. Curtis Hudson told me, don't
worry about them that sleep. They trust you. Worry about those
that stay awake. but but seriously you are going
to have to follow me closely and on purpose because i'm going
to uh... now if you're a preacher or a
serious bible student you probably may already know this uh... some will never have heard of
what i'm going to talk about today but uh... using uh... these churches i'm going to uh... and by the way what i'm going
to give you is i think you know that this is not Something that
up now What Jesus said here to these churches obviously is the
Word of God But the viewpoint that I'm going to look at it
through this morning I'm not a hundred percent convinced of
it but i'm i'm i'm i'm moving up on the left you know long
time i've changed my view actually when i first got so i started
studying this i thought there was nothing to this but now i
think there may be you just you listen to all your own conclusion
but again be aware if you're not so you've none of us has
anything to do with you really you need jesus is who you need
and you can trust him today and be safe father would you please
Forgive my sins now and help me as I try to bring this message. Help me to say what I ought to
say and leave out what I shouldn't say. I pray that you might edify
and uplift and strengthen those who are your people. And I do
pray that if there are those with us this morning that have
never had a time in their life when they personally trusted
Christ as Savior, that they might do so today. Please now help
us to focus our minds on the Word of God. and remove from
our minds that which would distract. I pray that the Holy Spirit will
give me unction and power and help me to preach with clarity
this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. And so the Lord then commanded
John to write to the seven churches in the Roman province of Asia,
as we saw in chapter 1, and then in chapters 2 and 3, the messages
to these churches are given. Now remember the seven churches,
the first one Ephesus, the second one in Smyrna, the third one
in Pergamos, the fourth one in Thyatira, the fifth one in Sardis,
the sixth one in Philadelphia, and the seventh one in Laodicea. Now, in a previous study, probably
seven, eight weeks ago, we learned that there are three viewpoints
concerning these messages and how to approach them, and so
follow me here now. In fact, I preached a sermon
just on this. when we first started looking
at these churches, but three ways of viewing them. First,
there's the contemporary view, and let me say that that view
is 100% accurate. The contemporary view simply
says that there were seven local churches in the Roman province
of Asia in the seven cities indicated, which were in existence at the
time John wrote, And these messages are first and foremost messages
to these seven literal churches in these seven literal cities.
In other words, this contemporary viewpoint simply says that there
actually was, when John wrote the book of Revelation, there
was a local church in the city of Ephesus that had left its
first love. There was a local church in the
city of Smyrna that was suffering from poverty and persecution.
There was a literal local church in the city of Pergamos that
was worldly and overly tolerant. There was a literal local church
in the city of Thyatira that was dominated by false doctrine
and error which centered around a woman that was promulgating
it. Then there was a literal local church in the city of Sardis
that had a better reputation than was her true condition.
There was a literal local church in the city of Philadelphia that
had an open door of God's blessing, and there was a literal local
church in the city of Laodicea that had become lukewarm in their
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so that's the contemporary
viewpoint, that there were these seven literal local churches
in the cities indicated that had the problems indicated in
the messages sent to them. That is the contemporary viewpoint. And then secondly, There's what
they call the composite viewpoint. Now this view is also 100% accurate
and there's a twofold way of applying this viewpoint. Number one, the messages to these
seven churches are to be applied as needed by all churches throughout
the New Testament age because these types of churches or churches
with the characteristics of these churches will always be in existence
somewhere throughout the New Testament age. And so then, and
then the second way of making application of this composite
viewpoint is that the messages to these churches are to be applied
by individuals in all churches throughout the New Testament
age because there will be individuals in the churches that correspond
to the various characteristics of these churches here in Revelation. And then we come to the third
viewpoint. Now, follow me here and stay
with me. That's known as the chronological
viewpoint. Now, again, I'm not dogmatic
about this interpretation and viewpoint, but I think and am
becoming more and more convinced that there's something to it.
The chronological viewpoint says that in addition, listen now,
in addition to the other two viewpoints which are accurate,
that God also does a third thing in these messages to the seven
churches And that is that he sets forth a prophetic chronology
of the church as a whole throughout the New Testament age from the
time John wrote Revelation at the conclusion of the apostolic
age at the end of the first century until the time of Christ's return. Or stated another way, the Lord
gives a foreview of seven stages in the development of the church
as a whole throughout the New Testament age until the end time. Now again, I'm not dogmatic about
this viewpoint. It's not something I'd argue
about or fight about. But as I've studied these messages
to the seven churches through the prism not of church history
but of secular history, I've become more and more convinced
and persuaded that there probably is truth to this view. Now then, before I show you the
seven stages, I'm going to have to move quick, in order to get
through. Let me say several things about
this viewpoint and about how to approach it. Number one, this
viewpoint is a very, very general viewpoint. It paints with a very
broad brush and we can't be too rigid in how we view these things. You know, some people try to
pinpoint things too specifically using this view. You know, the
Smyrna Age, that began on October the 6th, 97 AD, and it ended
on June the 4th, 313 AD. Now listen, you can't be that
specific. You can't be that rigid. This
viewpoint looks at matters from the standpoint of giving a very
general and broad overview of things, not a steadfast and rigid
rule where there's no room for fluctuation. So that's the first
thing to keep in mind. Second thing, There is a good
deal of overlapping in this viewpoint. This viewpoint does not mean,
for example, that the Sardis age ended on some specific date
and on that same date the Philadelphia age began and that all of the
Sardis-type churches then became Philadelphia-type churches on
that day. That's not that and that's not
the idea. There's a good bit of overlapping
in several, if not all, of these types of churches will exist
up to the end time, and that's especially true of the last four
churches. Then the third thing that I need
to point out is that in making application of these messages
to the churches, don't try to make every little minute detail
mean something. rather approach it like you approach
the parables where the main things are emphasized and not every
little minute detail. And then the fourth thing is
this, the key to using this method is to see it as representing,
listen to me, the dominant feature of the church as a whole during
the time period that I'm talking about. And so then in a nutshell,
here's what this viewpoint says. It says that in a broad general
overview of church history, there are seven stages in which the
dominant and prevailing features of the church as a whole paralleled
the dominant and prevailing features of the seven churches of Revelation
2 and 3. Now, exceptions to the dominant
feature could be found in all ages, but the emphasis is on
what was the dominant feature during the age that is spoken
of. And so now, let's get to it,
and I'll move as quickly as I can. So pay attention, try to anyway. and let's see what we can learn. First then would have come the
Ephesus age, chapter 2, verses 1 through 7. I'm going to try
to read these messages as I go very, very quickly. So chapter
2, verse 1, unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
these things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right
hand. who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks,
I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou
canst not bear them which are evil. And thou hast tried them
which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them
liars, and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake
hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat
against thee, because thou hast left thy first love, Remember,
therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the
first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove
thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this
thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which
I also hate, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches, to him that overcometh, will I give
to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise
of God." And so then, here you have the message to the church
of Ephesus and the way we're looking. And it was a literal
church that had the problem of having left its first love and
the message is to be applied by all churches throughout the
New Testament age. But in the way that we're looking
at it this morning, the Ephesus age represents the church as
it was at the time John wrote the book of Revelation, which
would be of the church at the close of the apostolic age, at
the end of the first century. Now, it's interesting the word
Ephesus is a word that means desirable or beloved, and that's
a good description of the church at that time, at the end of the
first century. When John was writing this book,
in the message to this church, Jesus says more specific and
particular good things in praise of it than he says to any of
the seven churches, and this is the only one of the seven
messages to mention the word apostles in it. The rebuke from
Jesus to this church was that while this church was a good
and a praiseworthy church, yet the church had left her first
love. Now, you contrast the church
at the beginning of the apostolic age, which you can read about
in the early chapters of the book of Acts. And what you find
is that at that point the church was absolutely fervent and passionate
in their love for Christ, in their love for one another, and
in their love for the lost. But as the apostolic age continued
through the decades of the first century, you can tell by reading
the New Testament epistles that various problems came into the
church so that by the time John, the last apostle to still be
alive, wrote the book of Revelation at the end of the first century,
the church as a whole still loved the Lord and was a good church,
but that passionate, fervent, some would say fanatical love
for the Lord Jesus Christ that characterized the church earlier
had cooled off somewhat. The church had left her first
love. And so then the age of Ephesus,
the Ephesus age, represents the church as a whole
as it was at the time John wrote the book of Revelation at the
end of the Apostolic Age, at the end of the first century. And then secondly comes the Smyrna
Age, if you'll notice chapter 2 and beginning in verse 8. And
under the angel of the church in Smyrna, right, These things
saith the first and the last, which was dead and is alive. I know thy works in tribulation
and poverty, but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of
Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold,
the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may
be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that
overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Now, the
Smyrna Age represents the church as it was from the end of the
Apostolic Age, the end of the first century, up to the time
of the Roman Emperor Constantine around 312-313 AD. This was the
time of the terrible sufferings of the church under the persecutions
of pagan Rome. Now, the word smyrna is a form
of the word myrrh. Myrrh was a substance that came
to be associated with suffering. It was used as a pain-killing
drug, and it was also used for embalming the dead. And so then,
smyrna, a word which has to do with suffering, And in this message
to the church, we find that this age was the age of the suffering,
poverty-stricken, persecuted church. Jesus spoke in the verses,
as we read, of 10 days of tribulation for this church. Now, first and
foremost, That means that that church in Smyrna that existed
at that time would have ten days of special suffering that they
would have to endure. But applied in the way we're
looking at it chronologically, John Fox, the author of Fox's
Book of Martyrs, says that there were ten specific times of official
persecution of God's people by the Roman Empire and many see
these ten days that Jesus talks about that they would suffer
persecution related this way that it represents the day that
the ten edicts went into effect calling for persecution on God's
church. It was during this period of
church history that multitudes of God's men and God's people
were put to death by pagan Rome in this very city of Smyrna,
some probably fifty-five, sixty years after John wrote this,
one of his converts, a guy by the name of Polycarp, was the
bishop, the pastor of the church in Smyrna, and they took Polycarp
and bound him to the stake to take his life, and someone asked
him as he was bound to the stake if he would renounce Christ Polycarp
answered, eighty and six years have I served the master, and
he never did me wrong. How shall I then deny him? And he gave his life as a martyr. And understand, by the way, what
a martyr isn't somebody that flies a plane into a building.
But Polycarp gave his life as a martyr and went home to heaven
through the fiery stake and set that example for us in this age
of suffering. It was during this age of the
suffering church that the great preacher Tertullian made the
statement that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. And so then you have the Ephesus
age, representing the church at the conclusion of the apostolic
age, the end of the first century, We have the Smyrna Age, representing
the next couple of hundred years after that, during the persecutions
of pagan Rome. And then thirdly, we come to
the Pergamos Age. Now, notice in chapter 2, verse
12, and to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, These things
say of he which hath the sharp sword with two edges, I know
thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is. And
thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even
in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was
slain among you where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against
thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the
children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to
commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold
the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or
else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with
the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white
stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth,
saving he that receiveth it." Now, the Pergamos age represents
what the church became, starting with the time of the Roman emperor
Constantine, 312-313 AD, and then for the next couple of centuries
thereafter. The word Pergamos is a word which
means exalted, elevated. The word for marriage comes from
the root word that the word Pergamos comes from. Now what happened
was that the Emperor Constantine, he exalted and he elevated Christianity by officially recognizing
and favoring it as the religion, the religion of the Roman Empire. But in receiving this temporal
and worldly exaltation and elevation, the Church compromised her purity
and became married to the present world system. Jesus rebuked this
Pergamos church for tolerating what he calls the doctrine of
Balaam, which if you study it, what you'll realize is that the
doctrine of Balaam is the doctrine of no separation. It's a breakdown
of separation to the point that you can't tell the difference
between God's people and the devil's crowd. And so then, this
church in Pergamos and in this Pergamos age was exalted and
favored by the Roman emperor, but in receiving the temporal
and worldly exaltation and elevation, the church compromised her purity
and became married to this world system. Jesus said they tolerated
the doctrine of Balaam, the breakdown of separation, and during this
age of church history, separation broke down between the church
and the world as the church received the approval of the world and
became part and parcel of this present world system by being
married to the state. And then Jesus also rebuked them
for tolerating the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Now, the next
time I preach, I'm going to preach on the Nicolaitans. At this point,
suffice it to say, that the doctrine of the Nicolaitans refers to
priestly domination of the laity. And it was during this age of
church history, as Catholicism developed, that the doctrine
of priestly rule came to the forefront and became commonplace. And so then you have the Ephesus
age, the Smyrna age, the Pergamos age, and then the Thyatira age. Notice chapter 2, verse 18. And unto the angel of the church
in Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God, who hath
his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine
brass. I know thy works, and charity,
and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works, and
the last be more than the first, notwithstanding I have a few
things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel,
which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants
to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols,
and I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented
not. Behold, I will cast her into
a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation,
except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children
with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he which
searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give unto every one
of you according to your works, but unto you I say, and unto
the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine and
which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak, I will
put upon you none other burden but that which you have already.
Hold fast till I come. and he that overcometh and keepeth
my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations,
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a
potter shall they be broken to shivers, even as I received of
my Father, and I will give him the morning star. He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
Now, the Thyatira Age represents what we might call the Church
of the Dark Ages as it developed in Catholicism, both Roman Catholicism
and Eastern Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. And so the church
of the Thyatira age would represent what the church was from around
500 AD to around 1500 AD. Now, the word Thyatira comes
from two words which together mean continual sacrifice. Interestingly, during this Thyatira
age, the doctrine of the sacrifice of the mass became prominent. Some interesting things about
the message to this church. The Lord Jesus brags on this
church for many good works. Interestingly, during these years
of the Thyatira Age, many good works were performed by the church. Hospitals were founded, homes
for the destitute, things like that were founded during this
Thyatira Age. In Thyatira, you have an intensification
of the Pergamos error of the doctrine of Balaam. And you can
see that if you simply compare chapter 2 and verse 14, what
he said to the Pergamos church, In chapter 2 and verse 20, what
he says about the Thyatira church, so things continued on out of
the Pergamos age into the Thyatira age, only the errors were intensified. in Thyatira, and then the false
teaching and error in the Thyatira church centered around and were
promulgated by a female, the Lord calls her Jezebel, and points
out that she called herself a prophetess, which means that she was claiming
infallibility when speaking for God. Now, it's interesting that
during this Thyatira age, of church history, false doctrines
of the cult of the female came to the forefront. It was during
this age that the cult of Mary, Mariolatry, and worshipping Mary
came to the forefront and became the big thing. Maybe that's why
to this church and to this church only, In the entire book of Revelation,
it's to this church that Jesus refers to himself as the Son
of God. See, he understood that during
this age, Mary, his mother, was going to be exalted to an unscriptural
position, not only an unscriptural position but an anti-scriptural. position, and Mary began to be
worshipped during this. Now they'll tell you they don't
worship her, but when you start to break it down what they actually
believe about Mary, they believe you can't go directly to Jesus
because Jesus is mean. You've got to get the heart of
wonderful Mary and get her to go to Jesus for you and all this
kind of stuff. Absolutely unscriptural. Mary was a godly woman, but Mary
was a who had to be saved by the son that she gave birth to,
just like everybody else. And she said that in that prayer
she prayed, that prayer of praise called the Magnificat. She said,
My soul doth rejoice in God my Savior. You know who needs a
Savior? a sinner and that prayer indicates
that Mary understood herself to be a sinner just like the
rest of us but God used her to bring his son into the world
and Mary got saved by trusting her son just like we get saved
by trusting her son. It was during this age of church
history that the concept of Holy Mother Church came about and
the claim that the church is infallible. That's what the infallibility
of the Pope is about. When the Pope speaks on behalf,
in his official capacity, as the head of the church, which
he's not, but that's what they call him, that he's infallible. Holy Mother Church cannot be
wrong in her interpretation. That's why you can't interpret
the Bible for yourself. You've got to find out what all
the holy fathers and everybody said it meant 5 and 6 and 7 and
8 and 9 and 1,000 and 1,500 years ago. in order to know what it means.
All of this came about during this church age of Thyatira. And many Bible students see this
expression of the church as being what ultimately morphs into the
one-world religious system of Revelation chapter 17, where
the Lord refers to it as the mother of harlots and abominations
of the earth. And then, fifthly, comes the
Sardis age, chapter 3, verse 1. Under the angel of the church
in Sardis write, These things saith he that hath the seven
spirits of God and the seven stars, I know thy works that
thou hast to name, that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful
and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die,
for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember,
therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and
repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee
as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon
thee. Thou hast a few names, even in Sardis, which have not
defiled their garments, and they shall walk with thee in white,
for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same
shall be clothed in white raiment, and I'll not blot out his name
out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before
my Father and before his angels, he that hath an ear, let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Now the church
in Sardis, this age, represents the church of the Reformers and
the Reformation, the Protestant groups beginning around 1500.
The word sardis means remnant or escaped ones. The Reformation
church escaped the clutches of Thyatira, a Thyatiran Catholic
heresy, to a large extent. But the message to this church,
this church is rebuked for, number one, having a good reputation
but a bad condition, They had a name of being alive, but they
were in reality dead. That's a pretty good description
of most Protestant groups and most Protestant churches. And
then he rebuked this church because he said, I've not found thy works
perfect. The word perfect means complete. before God. You see, they stopped
short of where they should have been. The Reformers escaped some
of the more blatant errors of Catholicism, but they didn't
complete the job. They didn't go far enough. They
stopped short. If the Bible position is over
here, And the Roman Catholic position or Eastern Catholic
position is over here. The Reformers started over here
and they moved toward the Bible but they didn't come all the
way to the Bible. They stopped short. Their works
weren't complete. And that's why you go into a
Protestant church today and you'll find a lot of trappings that's
left over from Catholicism. That's why they have the high
church ritual. Well, they got that from the
Roman Catholicism. That's why they baptized babies.
They got that from Roman Catholicism. And so then, they came toward
the Bible, but they didn't come to the Bible. Okay, now, so the
Sardis age. Then comes the Philadelphia age. Can you stay with me for just
a few more minutes? Okay, I'll take that as being
enthusiastic enough. Chapter 3, verses 7 through 13. and to the angel of the church
in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy,
he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth
and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, I know thy
works. Behold, I have set before thee
an open door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little
strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say
they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them
to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have
loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word
of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,
which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell
upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly. Hold
that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and
he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him the
name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which
is New Jerusalem. which cometh down out of heaven
from my God, and I'll write upon him my new name. He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
The church at Philadelphia, this represents the Bible-based Christ-confessing
church of the end time, the so-called evangelical movement. The beginning
of this started with the missionary movement, the modern-day missionary
movement, around the mid to late 1700s and continues up to the
Rapture. As you know, the word Philadelphia
means brotherly love and the message to this church, one,
was that they had an open door of God's blessing as the end-time
church has sent out missionaries all over the world. God has opened
doors of blessing and opportunity and has brought salvation to
millions of people across the world. And then it's this church
that gets the great pre-tribulation rapture promise of verse 10 where
the Lord said, "...because thou hast kept the word of my patience,
I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall
come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Behold, I come quickly." The pre-tribulation rapture promise,
you see, the church of the Philadelphia age is the church, or at least
one part of it, that will be raptured out before the tribulation
begins. Now let me say, that much of
the time period of the Philadelphia Age overlaps and runs concurrently
with the next time period, that of the Church of Laodicea, with
the Philadelphia Church providing the true witness for Christ and
his Word in the midst of the end-time apostate, lukewarm Laodicean
mindset. And that brings us then to the
seventh and final stage, and that's the Laodicean Age, verses
14 through 22 of chapter 3, and under the angel of the church
of the Laodiceans, right? These things saith the Ammon,
the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation
of God, I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot,
I would thou wert cold or hot, so then, because thou art lukewarm
and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth, because
thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable
and poor and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold
tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou
mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I'll come in to him and will sup with him and
he with me. To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am
sat down with my Father, in his throne, he that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." Now,
the Laodicean Age, this represents the apostate, lukewarm church
of the last days beginning with the so-called modernist movement
of the late 1800s and continuing to the end time, running much
of the time on a parallel track with the Philadelphia church
age, the word Laodicea comes from two words which together
mean people's rights or people's opinions or people's customs. Brother, you couldn't find anything
better than that to describe the modern-day expression of
the church overall. People's rights, that seems to
be what's the concern about this type of church nowadays. What do the people want? might
I remind you that the church is supposed to belong to the
Lord Jesus Christ and the question is not what do the people want?
The question is supposed to be what does the Lord want? Now, this Laodicean church is
described as being materially rich spiritually apathetic and
self-satisfied and completely unaware of their spiritual poverty. Jesus is pictured with this church
as being on the outside of the church knocking to come in. But only some individuals will
open their heart's door to let Jesus in. Do you notice the change
in number? It changes from plural to singular
in verse 20. He's talking to this church and
he says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock if any man, talking
about an individual, hear my voice and open the door, I'll
come into him and will sup with him and he with me." In other
words, the church was in such terrible spiritual condition,
Jesus knew he couldn't expect the church as a whole to open
the door and let him in, so he extends this invitation to the
individuals on the inside saying, if you'll open your heart's door,
I'll come into you and bring salvation and fellowship, you
see. There's no second coming promise
given to this church of Laodicea. Apparently in the end time Laodicean
age, which I take to be the age we're living in, that the church,
and I'm talking about the church as a whole, not any one particular
church, is so filled with unconverted people that most of them will
be left behind when Jesus comes again, so he doesn't even give
a second coming promise to this church. I know I've given you
a whole lot of material, too much for you to remember. I'm
aware of that. But I hope you at least kind
of got the idea. of how this view works. And again, some people think
that this viewpoint's invalid. And I used to think that myself.
But the more that I've studied it and compared it to secular
history, which by the way, you can't study secular history without
church history entering into it. It's impossible. It can't
be done. And so it's interesting how well
this view fits church history. Now, let me finish by saying
what I said at the start. If you're not saved, if you can't
go back in your mind at some point in your life when you purposely
and deliberately called upon the Lord Jesus Christ and asked
Him to come into your heart and be your Savior, you need be saved,
and you don't get saved by coming to church. Now, I'm glad you
come to church. I'm glad you're here. I hope
you come back. But whether you come to church or don't come
to church, Jesus is the one that saves. And he's the only one
that can say, he said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And if you're not
saved, I hope that you'll come today and trust Christ and get
that matter settled. Father, I pray now that you'll
take these things that we have brought forth this morning, and
I pray that you'll make them understandable to your people
and build them up as a result. I do pray, if there's anybody
here who's never trusted Christ,
A Chronology of Church History
Series The Doctrine of the Church
| Sermon ID | 73161321500 |
| Duration | 55:19 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - AM |
| Bible Text | Revelation 1:9 |
| Language | English |
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