Much has been written concerning end times events according to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, as recorded by the Apostle John. If you turn to the beginning of the book, John identifies himself and it is believed that it is John the beloved, the apostle whom Jesus loved. In this historical and prophetic opening chapter, John hears a voice and gives a description of our risen Lord that sends him to his knees and on his face.  Revelation 1:12

1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Jesus lays His hand on John and proceeds to give a warning to each of the present day churches that were located in Asia Minor what is now modern day Turkey. Each church were given praise for what they were doing right, but a dire warning for what they were doing wrong, except two churches.

People look at these descriptions of the early 1^st century churches and have to tried to figure out what Jesus was trying to convey to them, and to us. The warnings were for them, but is applicable to anytime in history when God’s church forgets where they have come from, what they have been saved out of, and following after God’s Holy instructions for His disciples. Or sadly, they are just going through the rituals and motions.

Let’s briefly review each church and what they were doing in this particular period of time Jesus was talking about.

(1)Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) - the church that had forsaken its first love (2:4).

(2) Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) - the church that would suffer persecution (2:10).

(3) Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17) - the church that needed to repent (2:16).

(4) Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) - the church that had a false prophetess (2:20).

(5) Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) - the church that had fallen asleep (3:2).

(6) Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) - the church that had endured patiently (3:10).

(7) Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) - the church with the lukewarm faith (3:16).

For lack of space, I’m going to only focus briefly on four of these churches apart from the whole list. Notice that each had their problems and sin in their congregations that Jesus warned them about, right after He told them what they were doing well. He encouraged them, until He rebuked them, as we all have a ways to go to learn the ways of our Lord.

The above list can apply to any church in all of our past history after Jesus was resurrected. But many try to explain that these descriptions can apply to a certain periods of time in history when this church’s attitude or need for repentance was in being played out. I think we can make too many leaps of faith in trying to explain what each church stands for, but miss the broader issue. And of course they reason, that we are in the Laodicean age, as the church is in a real mess. 

It is man’s sinful nature that leads him/her away from their first love as spoken to the church in Ephesus. Remember how you first felt when you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? I know I do. It was like the weight of the world was lifted off your shoulders and you were so in love with your Savior that you couldn’t get enough of Him, talking about Him, or reading His Word.  Your every thought was “what can I do to please Him?” Do we still feel that way?

We let the cares of this life, and the daily grind of our jobs and the sinful world around us wear us down and we left our first love. Sometimes, even when we are deep in church activities, we go through the motions, but our hearts are not in it or you’re just using church for a social gathering. Meaning, as Jesus said Matthew 15:8  

“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

15:9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Paul said in Romans “7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me., then further down:

7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

 

Man is prone to wander. His heart is not naturally tuned to the things of God. We are mortal and born into sin and will continue to sin, as long as we are in this body. As it is written:  Romans 8:7  

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

See what Jesus said concerning leaving our first love. Jesus said, “Revelation 2:5 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.”

There is a remedy for falling away from our first love, remembrance. It is the greatest gift of spiritual renewal. Living for God is a struggle, I’ll admit, as Satin walks about “as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We must be honest with ourselves. Are we doing the things that were our first love and were pleasing in the sight of our Lord and Savior? I find it easy to get a person to admit that their lifestyle is not pleasing to God and search for a way to change it, but on the other hand, it’s almost impossible to get a “church going” believer convinced that their fervor for following the ways of our Lord and Savior have waned and that they are just plodding along in vain repetitions.  A person must do more than just repent  when confronted by saying “I’m sorry,”…or “Lord forgive me” if there is no change in the heart and the mind. There has to be a change of attitude and a desire to follow the commands of our Savior who died for us.  That is what restoration is all about…to remember, to repent, and then just DO IT! It is not enough just to make a resolution to do better, but we must follow through.

As with many statements in the bible-there is a flip-side to the coin. Most people don't like conditional statements in the bible (I call them If/Then statements),  because we have been brainwashed into believing that God only demonstrates love, and that judgment is not one of His attributes. Nothing could be further from the truth. He warns the churches that a failure to remember, repent, and do the first works, will result in a judgment. Christ says that He will remove the candlestick out of its place unless repentance happens. There are various opinions as to what it actually means for a candlestick to be removed, but remember that the candlestick represents the church. Do you want your place in the church removed? The church is the bride of Christ- if you're not in the church-you're not part of the bride. These are sobering words indeed. 

There is a difference, in my way of thinking, between being in the church and being of the church. The church is not a building with a pretty steeple and has gatherings that turn out to be nothing more than social events and preaching that is nothing more than sermons of personal growth. The church is a group of people that have taken Jesus for what He said He was. Collectively, they have believed on His name by faith, and follow Him in whatever He wrote down as literal for their lives in His Word, everyday. Take that for whatever it is worth to you, as I’ll not try and interpret what Jesus said and take it at face value. I wouldn’t want to test Him.

In the first part of this message, I said there were warnings for all the churches, except two. The church of Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia are unique among the 7 churches of Revelation in that there was no warning or condemnation for them. For this reason alone, it behooves us to learn from their example.

Of the church of Smyrna, Jesus says this: “Rev 2:9 I know thy works, and 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.

Even though they were poor, spiritually they were rich. The text lets us know that they were being persecuted by the surrounding Jewish population, but were standing strong. We know that if we follow the biblical example set by Jesus Christ, we will be persecuted, even by main stream religions that profess Jesus Christ, but have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. They substitute what is commanded of our Lord and substitute the traditions of men. Or they proclaim a feel good gospel of personal development and riches in this life, but fail to lay up treasures in the next one, the one that counts.

Rev 2:11 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. That would be eternal death.

As with the other churches, we have a promise to the faithful "overcomer." The one who overcomes, will not be hurt by the "second death." Man, is a mortal being and he will indeed one day stand before His maker. Those who have a living relationship with Christ will appear at the judgment seat of Christ to receive his/her reward there for the things done in the body. Those that have rejected Christ and His teachings will meet God at the White Throne judgment. This will be a sentencing hearing (not a place for a plea-bargain). All those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire. This, my reader, is the second death, eternal death.

Now take a moment to focus on the Philadelphia church.

Rev 3:7 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.”

Most everyone thinks they belong to this one church style. They are the true church and everyone else has got it wrong. Don’t we esteem ourselves a little too highly? Philippians 2:12  “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

This is the other church that God had no condemnation for.

Rev 3:8 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.

I’ve always believed that at the end of time, that the church will have little strength. There will be a minority of mankind that will be faithful to the very end. Some will profess, but it will be with their mind, and not with their heart. “They profess with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” His church will have "little strength" which no doubt is under persecution from those of the "synagogue of satan" would take great comfort in knowing that God is in control of the door being open or shut. In this context we see that the open door would refer to these true Christians who have access to the presence of God and refuge under the shadow of His wings. Psalms 91: 4 “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. The closed door represents the line which God would not allow the enemy to cross- praise God that there is a limit to what He will allow any of us to suffer! And still others feel that this open door is the same door that John saw in the beginning of the 4^th chapter of this prophetic book and I’m inclined to agree, that it shows an entrance into God’s kingdom at the removal of His church.

We know that there is coming a time of trouble on our earth in our time, soon. This means that the situation is not a local problem, but the temptation is a global one.

Rev 3:10 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

I believe a time is rapidly approaching when the beginning of the tribulation is due to begin. How long?  It is not revealed, but the signs say that the birth pangs are growing intense and the baby is about to be born. I personally believe that this is a reference to the tribulation period that indeed will come upon the whole world "as a snare" just like Jesus said. Now we come to the more controversial aspect of this passage. While I do believe that this is a promise or reference to true Christians being removed prior to the commencement of the tribulation- I also see that there is a condition which is implied here. Notice that Jesus says, "Because thou has kept the word of my patience...I also will keep thee….." So what is the alternative? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that what He’s saying, that if you are just going through the motions, have not really believed in your heart that Jesus is raised from the dead, or just belong to a church and live like the rest of the world where you can’t tell the difference between you and drunk in a bar accept on worship time, one day a week, then  you are ripe for being cast headlong into tribulation that is coming.

Now let’s briefly deal with the last church that Jesus warns most sternly. The church of Laodicea was the “bad boy” church. What did Jesus say of them?

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

They are neither cold which could imply refreshing, as a cold drink, or hot, which would /could be medicinal, but they were lukewarm made the Lord God sick to His stomach. The word in this verse “spue” would be better served to say “vomit”.

Those who choose to be indifferent to the commands of Christ and yet remain "on the church pew" do so at their own peril. We see that perhaps the greatest danger lies in a "mediocre" type of faith. Sadly this is the predominate condition in these last days. We find (especially in the West) that almost everyone professes to be a "Christian." Most people base this profession not on the fact that they have actually repented of their sins and been saved, but rather because of such faulty logic as "I'm a member of such-and-such church", or "I was raised in a Christian home", or "I was baptized as a child." None of this means anything, if Jesus is not truly in your heart and you made a confession of faith and live that faith in your everyday life. It’s a condition of the heart (the inner man that dies to the world), not of the mind which can be deceived.

But at the end of this chapter, Jesus gives a calling to each of us that are sitting on the sidelines and watching the action and not making any type of commitment, except to belong to “a church”. Jesus said,

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

This is perhaps the most beautiful picture that comes to mind, and many artists have painted the image showing Jesus Christ standing at a door knocking, which is  outside the door of a man’s sinful nature and asking for entry into that life. God desires fellowship with man and pursues you and desires your company, not the other way around.

We love Him because He first loved us- while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

If you belong to a church and think that it’s just good enough to sit in a pew and listen to a stale sermon that disinterest you, or rely on your parent’s religion, your priest, or anyone but what really counts, then I ask you to make a decision today to change that. It is the error of the majority of church going folks that think they are doing alright and that they have a ticket to “heaven” because they live a good life and pay their taxes. THEY DON’T. It takes more, but it’s so simple that even a child can believe.  Matthew 18:2,

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

18:3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

18:4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Humbly come before the throne of the Lord of the Universe, the King of Kings, and ask forgiveness of your sins and failures and ask God to cleanse your from all unrighteousness. And my friend, He will do just as you ask.

If there is anything I can help you with, pray with you about or give more details on how to become a truly converted Christian, or just listen to your concerns, then email me at realteam1999@sbcglobal.net, or visit me online at www.churchofgod-usa.org. This is Mike Taylor, wishing you God speed till we meet at Jesus feet.