An Exposition of the
THE PHILADELPHIAN CHURCH AGE
Revelation 3:7-13
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 will write upon him My new
Name.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
287-2
287-3 The mintage of the coins suggests
the deity of the city to be Bacchus. Now Bacchus is the same as Ninus or Nimrod. He is the 'lamented one', though most of
us think of him in terms of revelry and drunkenness.
288-1 What illumination this brings to
our minds. Here is a coin with the god on one side and the priestess or
prophetess on the other. Now flip a coin. Does it matter which way it comes
down? No sir, it is still the same coin. That is the Romish
religion of Jesus and Mary.
288-2 But we are not thinking of
288-3 How remarkable is the fact that
this age is characterized by the coin. For the mother and daughters are all
buying their way to heaven. Money and not blood is the purchase price. Money
and not Spirit is the power that moves them ahead. The god of this world
(mammon) hath blinded their eyes.
288-4 But their dealings in death will
end soon, for this is the age that the Spirit cries, "Behold I come
quickly". Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
THE AGE
288-5 The Philadelphia Church Age
lasted from 1750 to about 1906. This age, due to the meaning of the name of the
city, has been called The Age of Brotherly Love, as
THE MESSENGER
288-6 The messenger to this age was
without doubt John Wesley. John Wesley was born at Epworth, June 17, 1703 and
was one of nineteen children born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley. His father was
a chaplain in the Church of England; but it is more than likely that the
religious turn of John's mind was based more upon his mother's exemplary life
than upon his father's theology. John was a brilliant scholar. It was while he
was at Orford that he and Charles became part of a
group who were spiritually exercised to worship on the basis of experientially
living the truth rather than making doctrine their standard. They drew up a
spiritual guide of works, such as giving to the poor, visiting the sick and the
imprisoned. For this they were called Methodists, and other derisive titles.
Now John was sufficiently imbued by his vision of the need of religion for the
peoples of the world that he went to
289-1 Back in
289-2 Wesley now began to preach the
Gospel in those pulpits in
289-3 The work soon took on such
proportions that he began sending out numerous laymen to preach the Word. This
seemed like a parallel to Pentecost where the Spirit raised up men with power
to preach and teach the Word almost overnight.
289-4 There
was violent opposition to his work but God was with him. The workings of the
Spirit were mightily manifested and often such a spirit of conviction took hold
of the people as to take away their strength and they would fall to the ground
crying in great distress over their sins.
289-5 Wesley was a remarkably strong
man. He says of himself that he could not remember to have felt lowness of
spirits for even a quarter hour since he was born. He slept no more than six
hours a day; arose in time to start preaching at five practically every day of
his ministry; preached up to four times on a single day so that in a year he
would average over 800 sermons.
290-1 He traveled multiple thousands of
miles as did his circuit riders who carried the Gospel near and far. In fact
Wesley traveled 4500 miles per year by horse.
290-2 He was a believer in the power of
God and he prayed for the sick with great faith and wonderful results.
290-3 Many of his meetings saw the
manifestation of Spiritual gifts.
290-4 Wesley was not in favor of
organization. His associates did have a "United Society" who were, "a company of men having the form, and seeking
the power of godliness, united in order to pray together, to receive the Word
of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each
other to work out their salvation." The only condition of those entering
was they should be of those, "who had a desire to flee from the wrath to
come, and to be saved from their sins." As time went on they worked out a
strict set of rules to be used in self discipline for the good of their souls.
Wesley recognized that after his death the movement could be organized and the
Spirit of God leave them to dead form. He once
remarked that he did not fear that the name of Methodist would leave the earth
but that the Spirit might take His flight.
290-5 During his lifetime he could have
acquired vast wealth; but he did not. His favorite saying on the subject of
money was, "Get all you can, save all you can, and give all you can."
How strange it would be for Wesley to come back and see the denomination that
bears the name of Methodist today. They are rich--vastly rich. But the life and
power of John Wesley is missing.
290-6 It should also be mentioned that Wesley never did desire
to build a work upon a denominational or sectarian basis. Though he was an Arminian in his beliefs, he did not want to separate
himself from brethren on the grounds of doctrine. He was a good candidate for
James: He based his eternal life on faith and works, or the living of the life,
rather than simply accepting a creed or a doctrinal statement.
John
Wesley died at the age of 88 having served God as few men would dare to even
think they might.
THE SALUTATION
Revelation 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;"
291-2 Oh, how beautiful are those
words. How majestic is even the sound of them. How thrilling
to think that all those attributes can be applied to one person. Who
would dare to say such things about himself but Jesus Christ, the Lord of
Glory? I believe the key to interpreting exactly what each of these wonderfully
descriptive phrases means is found in verse 9, "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." I say this verse is the key because it deals
with the Jews who have always called themselves the children of God to the
exclusion of everyone else. They crucified and killed the Lord Jesus Christ.
Their terrible deed brought their own blood upon their own heads for centuries.
All because they refused Jesus as their Messiah, Which indeed He was. To them
He was not the Coming One, or the Son of David; to them He was Beelzebub, or
some unrighteous one fit only for destruction. But not so.
He was indeed Emmanuel, God manifest in the flesh. He is indeed, Messiah.
Surely, He was exactly as He now sets Himself forth to be. There He is, THE
SAME JESUS--Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever. That Holy
One in the midst of the lampstands is the very same
Jesus Who walked the shores of
291-3 The Jews did not call Him holy
then. They do not call Him holy now. But He is the HOLY ONE. Psalms 16:10; "For
Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt Thou
suffer Thine HOLY ONE to see corruption."
291-4 They
sought their righteousness after the law and failed miserably, for by the law
can no flesh be justified. By the law can no man be made holy.
Holiness is of the Lord. I Corinthians 1:30, "But of HIM are ye in
Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption." II Corinthians 5:21,b,
"That we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." It
was Christ or perish, and they perished for they
refused Him.
292-1 And men of that age as even today
were making the same mistake. As the Jews took refuge in the synagogue form of
worship, so in the Philadelphian Age they were taking refuge in the church. It
is not joining a church that counts. The life is not in the church. The life is
in Christ. "This is the record that God hath given us eternal life and
this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not
the Son hath not life." Man is made holy by the Spirit. It is the
Spirit of Holiness that raised Jesus from the dead that in-dwells us and makes
us holy with His holiness.
292-2 There He stands, the HOLY ONE.
And we will stand with Him clothed in His righteousness, holy with His
holiness.
292-3 Now this age is the sixth age. In
the eyes of God, time is drawing to a close. He will soon be coming back. Soon
the cry will go forth as He comes, "And he which
is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be
righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still."
Revelation 22:11b
292-4 Oh, I am so glad that my holiness
is not of myself. I am glad that I am in Christ, with all His wonderful
attributes of righteousness imputed, yea imparted unto me. Blessed be God
forever!
292-5 "These things saith He That is true." Now this word, 'true', is a very
wonderful word. It does not mean true in just the sense that it is opposite to
false. It expresses the Perfect Realization of an idea as contrasted with its
Partial Realization.
For example we recall that Jesus said in John 6:32,
"Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven."
John 15:1, "I am the true vine."
Hebrews 9:24, "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with
hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear
in the presence of God for us."
I John 2:8, "Because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth."
292-6 Since this word, indeed,
expresses Perfect Realization as against the idea of Partial Realization as
illustrated in these verses, we can now understand as never before Antetype contrasted with type, and substance with shadow.
Take the example now of manna from heaven. God sent down angel bread from
heaven for
293-1 No one could deny that
293-2
293-3 But the Jews back there in the
time of Jesus did not want to accept that sacrifice. The blood of bulls and
goats made nothing perfect. It was once God's ordained method. But now Christ
having appeared in the flesh, and by the shedding of
His own blood has put away sin and by that offering of Himself has made us
perfect. The Jews would not take that. But what about that Philadelphian Age,
and, yes, the other ages, too? Did they really accept this reality in Christ?
No sir. Even though Luther brought the truth of justification, the Romish Church, and its eastern counterpart, the Orthodox
Church, still clung to works. Now works are fine, but they don't save you. They
don't make you perfect. It is Christ or perish. And it
is not even Christ AND works. It is Christ alone. This age began the years of Arminianism that does not believe in Christ as the REALITY.
It does not sing of "Nothing but the Blood," for it sings of "Nothing
but the blood AND my own conduct". Now I believe in good conduct. If
you are saved you will do righteously. We have already gone over that. But let
me tell you now, salvation is NOT Jesus PLUS. It is Jesus ALONE. SALVATION IS OF
THE LORD. From start to finish it is all GOD. Let His life be in me. Let it be
His blood that cleanses me. Let it be His Spirit that fills me. Let it be His
Word in my heart and mouth. Let it be His stripes that heal me. Let it be
Jesus, and Jesus Alone. Not by works of righteousness which I have done. No
sir. Christ is my life. Amen.
294-1 I feel I could just go on and on about these truths, but
I will give you one more thought. It is about that wonderful hymn that A. B.
Simpson wrote:
"Once it was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord.
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His Word.
Once His Gift I wanted,
Now the Giver own.
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself Alone.
All in All forever,
Jesus will I sing.
Everything in Jesus,
And Jesus everything."
294-2 There
isn't anything in this life, satisfying as it may be, as good and as fine as it
may be, but you will find the sum total of all perfection in Christ. Everything
fades into insignificance beside Him.
294-3 "He That hath the key of
David." This beautiful phrase follows and comes out of the preceding
phrase, "He that is true".--Christ, the Perfect Realization,
contrasted with Partial Realization. Here it is. Moses was a prophet of God,
but Jesus (like unto Moses) was THE Prophet of God. David (a man after God's
own heart) was king of
Now it says in Isaiah 22:22, "And the key of the
house of David will I lay upon His shoulder; so He shall open,
and none shall shut; and He shall shut, and none shall open."
The Spirit
uses this Old Testament reference concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and His
ministry in the church. What the key of David signified at that time is mere
shadow, which is now fulfilled in Jesus standing in the midst of the lampstands. It has to do with our Lord AFTER His
resurrection and not His earthly pilgrimage. But what does this key signify?
The answer lies in the POSITION of the key. It is NOT in His hand. It is not
worn around His neck. It is not placed in the hands of other men, or the verse
could not be saying that HE ALONE HAS THE USE OF THAT KEY--FOR HE ALONE OPENS
AND SHUTS, AND NO MAN has that right but Jesus Himself. Isn't that right? But
where is the key? IT IS ON HIS SHOULDER. But what does SHOULDER have to do with
it?
Read
Isaiah 9:6, "And the government shall be upon His shoulder."
But what does this mean? The answer is this. The phrase, "government
upon His shoulder" comes from the wedding ceremony of the East. When
the bride has been committed to the groom she takes off her veil and places it
over the groom's shoulders, signifying that not only is she under his
dominion--that she has transferred her rights to him--that he is the head--but
also that he bears the responsibility and the care and that HE AND HE ALONE--NO
ONE ELSE--NO OTHER MAN--NO OTHER POWER--HAS ANY RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY. And
that, beloved, is the KEY of David. God being Sovereign, He foreknew by Divine
decree exactly who would be in His bride. He chose her. She did not choose Him.
He called her. She did not come on her own. He died for her. He washed her in
His own blood. He paid the price for her. She belongs to Him and to Him alone.
She is wholly committed to Him and He accepts the obligation. He is her head,
for Christ is the head of His church. As Sarah called Abraham, Lord, even so
the bride is happy that He is her Lord. He speaks and she obeys for that is her
delight.
296-1 But have men heeded this truth?
Have they esteemed His Person Who alone has the full
sovereign authority over His church? I say, "NO". For in every age
the church has been governed by a hierarchy--a priesthood--an apostolic
succession--closing the door of mercy and grace to whom it will, and instead of
assuming the love and responsibility of the church it has with mercenary lust
preyed upon her and destroyed her. The clergy lived in luxury while the poor
church fed on the husks of abuse. And not one age did any different. Each bound
itself to organization and put the government upon men and committed the church
to that government. Dare let the people rise up, and they were brutally
suppressed or cast out. Every denomination has the same spirit. Every
denomination swears that it has the key to the government of the church. Every
denomination claims that it opens the door. But that is not true. It is Jesus
and Jesus, alone. He sets the members in the Body. He endows them with their
ministries. He puts the gifts at her disposal. He cares for her and guides her.
She is His sole property and He has no other one but her.
296-2 What a far cry from reality is
this church age in which we live. And one day soon these men that even now
purport to speak for the church will be rising up in the ecumenical move to
place a living antichrist at the head of their organization which deposes the
Lord and we will find Him (Christ) outside the church saying, "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."
Revelation 3:20.
296-3 But let me say this. Our Lord is
not defeated. Men claim to open the door to God and shut that door, but they
are liars. All that the Father has given Him will come to Him, and he that
cometh to Him in no wise will be cast out; He will lose NONE of them. John
6:37-39. And when that last elected member to the body of Christ comes in, then
will our Lord appear.
296-4 The key of David. Was not David
the king of
297-1 How wonderful that our Lord has
all the answers. Truly in Him are all the promises of God fulfilled. Truly by
being IN Him we are heirs to what He has purchased for us.
297-2 Yes, there He stands, the Lord of Glory. Once as the
Father, He was surrounded by the angels, the archangels, the cherubims, and seraphims and the
whole host of heaven, crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of
Hosts". Such was His holiness that no man could approach unto Him. But
now we see Him in the church, sharing His own holiness with us, until in Him we
have become the very righteousness of God. Yes, and there He stands,
"Jesus, Perfect Everything,"--Lily of the Valley, the Bright and
Morning Star, the Fairest of Ten Thousand, Alpha and Omega, Root and Offspring
of David, Father, Son and Holy Ghost--the All and in All.
Isaiah 9:6, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us
a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall
be called Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God, The
Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
In Him is
perfect fulfillment. Though once we esteemed Him not, now we love Him with joy
unspeakable and full of glory. In the midst of the church He stands, and we
will sing His praise, for He the Mighty Conqueror is
head over the church which is His bride. He bought that bride. He owns her. She
is His and His alone and He cares for her. He is our king and we are His
kingdom, His eternal possession.
297-3 Now you will recall that at the
beginning of verse 7, I said that verse 9 would help us to understand it. I
hope you saw what I meant. Jesus set Himself forth as He That
is holy, true, (or the only reality) the One with the key of David, the One Who
opened and shut. And that is exactly true. Those phrases describe Him
perfectly. But the Jews in His day refused Him and all He was. They rejected
their Saviour and all He meant to them. And the
nominal Christian has now done the same. They have done what the Jews did
exactly. The Jews crucified Him and then turned on the true believer. The
nominal Christian has crucified Him afresh and turned on the true church to
destroy it. But God is true, and He Who is above all will yet return, and when
He does He will show Who the only Potentate is. And as
He proves Himself to the world, and all the world bows at His feet, at that
time all the world will bow at the feet of the saints, proving that they were
right in their stand with Him. Blessed be God forever!
THE AGE OF THE OPEN DOOR
Revelation 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."
298-2 The first phrase of this verse, "I
know thy works," is analyzed in the rest of the verse, for their works
had to do with 'the open door,' 'little strength,' 'the Word and the Name.'
298-3 In order to understand the wealth
of meaning involved in "behold I set before you an open door, and no
man can shut it," we must now recall what has been said about each age
running over into another age. There is an overlapping, a melting or fading
into, rather than an abrupt end and a clear cut start. This age particularly
flows into the next age. And not only does this age overflow into the last age,
but the last age is in many respects simply a carrying on of the sixth age. The
seventh age (a very short age) gathers up into itself for one quick work, all
the evil of every age, and yet all the reality of
Pentecost. Once the Philadelphian Age has about run its course, the Laodicean Age quickly comes in, bringing both the tares and
the wheat to harvest, "First bind the tares to burn them; but gather
the wheat into my barn." Matthew 13:30. Remember, please, that the Sardisean Age started the reformation that must still go on
until the grain that was planted at Pentecost goes through the full cycle of
planting, watering, nourishing, etc., until it comes
right back to original seed. While this is going on, the tares that were sown
will have to go through their cycle and be harvested also. That is exactly what
we see happening. If you can just think of the seasons, you can get a very good
picture of this. The plant that you see growing in full strength in summer suddenly
appears to be going to seed. You can't tell exactly when summer became
autumn--it just faded into it. That is how the ages are, and especially these
last two.
298-4 It is to this age that Jesus
says, 'I come QUICKLY' verse 11. That makes the last age a very short one.
299-1 Now we will specifically dwell on
the OPEN DOOR that no man can shut. First of all I want to dwell on the open
door as signifying the tremendous missionary effort of that age. Paul called a
new missionary endeavor for the Lord an open door. II Corinthians 2:12, "Furthermore,
when I came to
299-2 I want you to see something here.
God works in threes, doesn't He? It was in the third or Pergamean
Age that the church was married to the state. The deeds of the Nicolaitanes had become the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. That age was the OPEN DOOR for the false
vine. Once it was backed up by the power of the state it became actually a
world system even though it bore the name, Christian. Thus it spread like
wildfire. But now, three ages later, after a long and hard struggle of faith,
here comes the OPEN DOOR to the truth. The Word of the Lord now has its day. Of
course the fifth age had set the stage for this mighty move, as that age gave
us exploration, colonization, the printing of books, etc.
299-3 It would have been wonderful if this 'open door' had
followed the Divine pattern of Pentecost which was set forth in Hebrews 2:1-4,
"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to
the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For
if the Word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompence
of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the
first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that
heard Him: God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with
divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will?"
Now you know that this is the pattern for Jesus, Himself, said so.
Mark 16:15-20, "And He said unto them, Go ye into all
the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And
these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out
devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if
they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on
the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them,
He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went
forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the
Word with signs following. Amen."
300-1 He never told them to go into all the
world and establish Bible colleges; nor did He tell them to pass out
literature. Now those things are fine, but what Jesus told them to do was to
PREACH THE GOSPEL--stick with the WORD--and then the signs would follow. The
very first introduction we have in the way the
"And when He had called unto Him His twelve
disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to
heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the
twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew
his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the
son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus,
whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and
Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and
commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the
Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to
the lost sheep of the house of
This ministry that He gave them was actually the sharing of His own ministry
with them, for it says in Matthew 9:35-38,
"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their
synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness
and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was
moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad,
as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His
disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers
are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest."
300-2 Now many people have the idea that just the apostles had
this ministry given them by our Lord Jesus, and so when they died, the ministry
was over. That is not so. Here in Luke 10:1-9, we find that in the days of His
earthly sojourn He had already started to give ministries of power to His own,
"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place,
wither He Himself would come. Therefore said He unto them.
The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are
few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that
He would send forth labourers into His harvest. Go
your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse,
nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house
ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the Son of peace be there,
your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the
same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are
set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The
kingdom of God is come nigh unto you."
301-1 Who would dare deny the mighty
ministry of Philip? Who would dare to deny the mighty ministries of Irenaeus, Martin, Columba,
Patrick and countless scores of others who have had God's anointing upon them?
301-2 Yes. The Bible way is the real
way of the open door. And I want to add my testimony to that. The reason I have
to do that is because I can only speak with assurance concerning what God has
done in my own life. So if you'll excuse a personal note here I will tell you
how I know for a surety that Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever
and that the power of God is still available to those who will believe and
receive.
301-3 During my missionary trip to
302-1 One afternoon as I began to
minister, one of thousands of the Mohammedans came up on the platform. As she
stood before me, a missionary to the Mohammedans began to softly implore the
Lord, "Oh, for that precious soul. Oh, for that precious
soul." He had been over there for years and years, and according to
his own testimony, he had seen only ONE Mohammedan come to receive Jesus Christ
as Saviour. They were originally the Medo-Persians whose laws change not. They are so hard to
win. It seems that "once a Mohammedan always a Mohammedan" is a law
amongst them. Well, as she stood before me, I began to speak to her and to all
those thousands through the interpreters. I said, "Is it not so that the
missionaries have told you of a JESUS Who came to save you?" You should
have seen the people look at each other when I said that. Then when they had
answered that was correct I went on and said, "But did the missionaries
read to you out of this Book (I held my Bible aloft for them to see) that this
same Jesus was a mighty healer, and that He would live in His people down
through the ages until He came again to receive them unto Himself? Did they
tell you that because of that same Spirit in them that was in Jesus that they
would be able to do mighty works even as Jesus did? Did they tell you that you
can be healed, even as you can be saved? How many of you would like to see this
same Jesus come down amongst us and do the same things that He did when He was
here on earth long ago?" They all wanted that. That is one thing they
surely agreed on.
302-2 I then went on, "If Jesus by
His Spirit will do what He did when upon earth, will
you believe His Word, then?" And here was that Mohammedan woman in front
of me. The Spirit began to move through me.
302-3 I said to her, "Now, you
know that I don't know you. I can't even speak your language." She
admitted that. I said, "As for healing you, you know I cannot. But you
heard the message this afternoon and understood me." Her Indian
interpreter answered back for her that she understood, for she had read the New
Testament.
302-4 Now the Mohammedans are
descendants of Abraham. They believe in One God. But they reject Jesus as the
Son of God and instead they take Mohammed as His prophet. They say that Jesus
never died and rose again. They are taught that by their priests and they
believe it.
303-1 I said, "But Jesus did die and rise again. He sent
His Spirit back upon the church. That Spirit that was in Him is the very same
Spirit in the church now and It can and will produce
what Jesus produced. He said in John 5:19,
"The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever
He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."
Now then, if Jesus will come and reveal to me what your
trouble is or what you are here for--if He can tell me what your past is,
surely you can believe for the future?"
She said through her interpreter, "Yes, I can."
I said, "All right, may He do it."
Those Mohammedans were watching intently. They were all
leaning forward to see what would happen.
Then the Holy Spirit spoke, "Your husband is a short,
heavy-set man, with a black mustache. You have two children. You were at the
doctors about three days ago and he gave you an examination. You have a cyst on
the womb."
She bowed her head and said, "That is true."
I asked her, "How is it you came to me, a Christian?
Why didn't you go to your Mohammedan prophet?"
She said, "I think you can help me."
I said, "I can't help you, but if you receive Jesus
Christ as your Saviour, He Who is here now, and knows
all about you, He will help you."
She said, "I accept Jesus as my Saviour."
That did it. She was healed and about ten thousand Mohammedans came to Christ that
day because the Gospel was preached in both Word and power. God never told a
man to labor thirty years and harvest nothing. He gave us the open door of Word
and power and that is what we are supposed to use. That is what gave Paul his
great and effective ministry.
I Corinthians 2:4, "And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit
and of power."
303-3 Listen to me now. It was while
on this same trip that as I was boarding a plane at New Salisbury, Rhodesia,
that I saw a party of four with American passports.
I went over to them and said, "Hello there, I see you
have American passports. Are you traveling somewhere?"
The young man answered me, "No, we are all
missionaries here."
"How nice," I replied. "Are you on your own
or do you work with some organization?"
"We are Methodists. We come from
"Well, that is almost in my back yard," I
replied.
"You wouldn't be that Brother Branham that comes from
up that way would you?"
I said, "Yes, that's right." That cured him. He
wouldn't say another thing--and the way he and those three girls just looked
back and forth at each other.
So I said, "Just a minute son, I'd like to speak to
all of you about some principles, seeing we are all Christians and here for a
great purpose. Now you say you have all four been here two years. Can you say
in the Name of Jesus that you can put your finger on one soul that you know you
have won to the Lord?" They could not do it.
"I
don't want to hurt your feelings, girls," I said, "but you all ought
to be home helping your mothers with the dishes. You haven't any business out
on the field unless you are filled with the Holy Ghost and preaching the true
Gospel in the demonstration of the power of the Holy Ghost. If you are not
seeing the results that Jesus said you would see, it's because you are not
preaching the true Gospel."
304-3 Let me go a step further and show you just how things can
be on the mission field. I don't say it is all this way, but I am afraid too
much of it is. It was while I was on this same trip and touring around
He said,
"I can speak his language. Let us go over and talk to him."
So we went over and the mayor acted as my interpreter. I
asked the native if he was a Christian. He affirmed that he surely was a
Christian. I then asked why he carried the idol if he was a Christian. He
answered that it was an idol his father had carried and he left it to him. When
I told him that no Christian ought to carry idols he replied that this idol had
been of great use to his father. I was curious to know how, and he said that
one day his father was being stalked by a lion, so he built a fire and spoke to
the idol the way he had been taught by the witch doctor. The lion left. I
informed him that it was the fire that sent the lion off as fire scares all
wild animals. I will never forget his reply.
He said,
"Well, it is this way, if Amoyah (the Spirit)
fails, then this idol won't." (A detailed account of the African campaign
may be found in the book, "A Prophet Visits Africa.")
That is
just about all the strength the Christian multitudes have because the Word was
not brought to them by the original open door of Pentecost.
305-3 Now getting back to the open
mission door of the Philadelphian Age. It did not have the open door of power
it ought to have had. Notice in the same verse He mentions this open door. He
says, "Thou hast little strength". That is right. The POWER of
the Spirit was missing in that age. The Word was well preached. It was well
able to make souls wise unto salvation. But the great power of God that showed
forth His mighty works, that made bare His arm in behalf of His own was missing
except amongst the scattered groups. Yet, praise God, it was growing and had
increased over what they had in the Reformation.
305-4 It was in this age that the man
we often call the father of missions went out. William Carey, a village shoemaker,
who pastored the
306-1 "I have set before thee
an open door." I want to look at these words again. This time, though
I am not going to disassociate them from missions, I am going to bring you a
thought which carries deep into the last age. As I have already stated, this
age melts into the last age. It was in this age Jesus said, "I come
quickly" (verse 11), and of the last age He was going "to
finish the work and cut it short in righteousness; because a short work will
the Lord make upon the earth." Romans 9:28. Notice how this verse of Revelation 3:8 goes--"open
door--little strength, Word, Name." That open door has to do with all
three.
Now what
does the door signify? In John 10:7, it says, "Then said Jesus unto them
again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I AM THE DOOR
OF THE SHEEP." That is right: 'I AM' IS the door of the sheep. Now
this is not just a quaint expression. This is actually so. Notice in John 10
when Jesus is giving this parable, He calls Himself the shepherd. Then He calls
Himself the door. And that is what the shepherd is to the sheep. He is actually
their door.
306-2 When I was over in the East I saw
that at night time the shepherd would gather all his sheep together. He would
put them into the fold. Then he would count them. When he was sure that they
were all in, he would lie down in the open door of the fold and literally
become the door to the fold. No one could get in or out except by him. He was
the door. The next day as I went riding with a friend in a jeep I noticed that
a shepherd began to lead his flock into the city. Right away all traffic came
to a stop so that the sheep could go through. Now the cities over in the East
aren't like they are here. We keep all our merchandise inside; but there, it is
like a big farmers' market with all the produce on the pavement for passers-by
to see and buy. I thought, "Oh my, here is where the riot begins. Wait
till those sheep see all that food out there." But as the shepherd went
ahead, those sheep just followed right along exactly in each step. They would
look at all those goodies, but not a sheep touched a thing. Oh, if I could only
have known their language, I would have stopped traffic myself and preached
them a sermon on what I had just seen.
306-3 When you are sheep that belong to
the Great Shepherd, you follow right along in each of His steps, just as those
sheep did. You won't be tempted to turn aside for some big flower of a church,
or listen to the voice of some D.D. or Ph.D. or L.L.D., but you will stay with
the Shepherd. The Bible says that the sheep know His voice and they follow HIM,
but a stranger's voice will only cause them to flee and run after their true
Shepherd. Praise God.
307-1 But that was not all I saw and learned over there. One
day I got to thinking about having seen men out in the fields herding different
kinds of animals. One fellow would be tending some pigs, another some goats,
another some camels, another some mules, etc. So I asked a friend who lived
there, what they called those men.
"Oh," he replied, "they are
shepherds."
I couldn't take that.
I said, "You don't mean to say they are ALL
shepherds. Shepherds only herd sheep, don't they?"
"No,"
he said, "a shepherd is a herder or grazer, so anyone who grazes animals
is a shepherd."
307-2 Well, that did surprise me. But I
noticed a difference between those herders and the ones that took care of the
sheep. Come night time all the others but the shepherd of the sheep left his
animals in the fields and went on home. The shepherd took his sheep with him,
and put them into the fold and then lay down and became the door of the sheep.
Oh, praise God, our Shepherd never leaves us or forsakes us. When night time
comes I want to be in His fold. I want to be in his care.
307-3 Now then, we can see that JESUS
IS THE DOOR. He is the door of the sheep. And notice that it speaks now of the
DOOR OPENING. What is that but a revelation of Him? And that Revelation is
opening up to bring us Strength, to illuminate the Word and glorify His Name.
It was in the midst of the two last ages that the Revelation of the Deity of
Jesus Christ blossomed out before us. Yes, we knew He was God. How else could
He be our Saviour? But to know that He was ONLY GOD,
OR GOD ALONE, that He was the Alpha and the Omega, that this "Jesus was
BOTH LORD AND CHRIST -- MAKING HIM LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER, THE SON AND
HOLY GHOST, ALL ONE PERSON" -- that had been lost since the first church
ages, but now we are seeing it again. The revelation of WHO HE WAS had come
back. Indeed Godhead is not a three-person God with one personality, for it
takes personality to make a person. If there is ONE personality, there is but
one person. But they who believe in three persons have a three god Godhead and
are guilty of breaking the first commandment.
308-1 But the revelation of Godhead is
back. Now the true church can build in strength again. After all this time she
finally knows Who her Lord is. Once again we are
BAPTIZING IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS just as they did at Pentecost.
308-2 Let me tell you of a God-given
dream I had about triune baptism. This was not a vision, but a dream. You know,
I am sure, that one of the blessings of the church ages was to receive dreams
by the Holy Ghost, just the same as one can receive visions. It was about 3
a.m. on a Saturday morning. I had just gotten up to get Joseph a drink of
water. When I lay down I fell asleep instantly and dreamed this dream. I saw a
man that I supposed was my father. He was a great big burly man. I also saw a
woman who was supposed to be my mother, but she didn't look like her, even as
the man did not look like my father. This man was very mean to his wife. He had
a large club with three corners on it. You know when you take a log and set it
up on end and hit it with an axe, it makes a three cornered wedge-like piece of
fire wood. It was like that. He would take this club and hit her with it, and
knock her down. As she would lie there crying, he would walk around with his
chest stuck out and on his face was such a proud, boastful look that he
appeared to take great pride and satisfaction in beating up a poor little
woman. Every time she tried to get up he would hit her. I did not like what he
was doing, but as I considered stopping him, I thought, "I can't tackle
that man--he is too big. Then he's supposed to be my father." But down
inside I knew he wasn't my father, and I knew that no man had the right to
treat a woman like that. I went over and grabbed him by the collar and turned
him around and said, "You have no right to strike her." And when I
said that my muscles grew and I looked like a giant. The man saw them and then
he was scared of me. I said, "You strike her again and you'll deal with
me." He hesitated to strike her again, and then the dream left me.
308-3 I awoke immediately after the
dream. I thought, how strange that was. I wondered why
I had dreamed about that woman, when suddenly there He came, and the presence
of God became known to me and the interpretation of the dream came from Him.
(Now you people know that not only have I interpreted your dreams exactly; but
I have many, many times, told you what you dreamed so that you never had to
tell me.) The woman represents the church of the world today. I was born right
into this mess--the mess that she is in. She was supposed to be a kind of
mother (she is the mother of harlots). Her husband is the denominations that
rule her. The three cornered block is false triune baptism unto a trinity.
Every time she started to rise up (that means the congregations began to accept
truth) he would drive her right down again with that false doctrine. He was so
big that I was afraid of him at first, but when I came against him I found I
had great and powerful muscles. They were FAITH MUSCLES. The outcome of the
dream was that, "since God is with me, and can give me such strength, then
let me stand up for her against the denominational power of the world and make
him quit striking her."
309-1 Now I am not trying to build a
doctrine upon a dream. Nor am I trying to vindicate any doctrine I stand for by
a dream. Oneness of the Godhead is all the way from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation
22:21. But the people have been blinded by an unscriptural dogma of a trinity,
and that dogma is so universally accepted that to try to see a "One God
Person" is all but impossible. If people can't see the TRUTH of the
Godhead, but fight it; they can't ever see the rest of the truth because the
REVELATION IS JESUS CHRIST IN HIS CHURCH AND HIS WORKS IN THE MIDST OF THE
CHURCH FOR THE SEVEN AGES. Did you get that? Now I am sure you understand.
309-2 "Thou hast a little
strength, and hast kept My Word and not denied My Name." Now we have
already mentioned how the strength was returning. It was. The power of the
inquisition had waned. People had left their home lands and demanded a freedom
of worship. The yoke of the hierarchy was being broken. The governments were
finding it wise not to champion one segment against another. In fact, well
meaning but poorly led people were willing to wage war to defend their
religious rights. Perhaps the greatest show of strength of religion in this age
was the fact, that though
309-3 The preaching of the Word was
never greater. As Satan raised up his hordes of free
thinkers, as the originators of communism rose up, as liberal theologians
spread their filthy wares, God raised up mighty warriors of faith, and the
greatest works of Christian literature and teaching and preaching came from
this era. Never has its preachers and teachers been matched and never will they
be. The Spurgeons, Parkers, McClarens,
the Edwards, Bunyans, Meullers,
Brainards, Barnes, Bishops, all came from this era.
They preached, taught and wrote the Word. They glorified His Name.
THE JUDGMENT OF THE FALSE JEW
Revelation 3:9. "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."
310-2 Now we can note immediately that
this problem of the false Jew or false believers was already in existence in the
second age. These who falsely called themselves Jews appeared right after the
first outpouring of the first age, and now they appear again in the second age
after the reformation. This is hardly an accident. Indeed, it is not an
accident. It is a principle of Satan. That principle is to organize and claim
originality and therefore be entitled to special rights and privileges. Let me
show you. Back there in the Smyrnaean Age these
people lied and said they were actually Jews (or believers) when they definitely
were not. They were of the synagogue of Satan. They were Satan's organized
crowd, for it was in that age we saw the start of men in the ministry taking an
unwarranted leadership over their ministering brethren. (Bishops set up in
districts, over elders). The next thing we saw was that in the third age there
was definitely a place called "Satan's seat". That age gave us
church and state marriage. With the power of the state behind her the church
was literally physically invincible. But God broke that hold in spite of the
power of the state and the reformation brought great light. But what happened?
The Lutherans organized and joined with the state and again we see the
synagogue of Satan manifested in this sixth age. Now of course this synagogue
group wouldn't say they are of Satan. No sir. They say they are of God. But
they lie. For he that is a true Jew (that is what they claimed to be) is one
who is a Jew inwardly--in the Spirit. So then if they are false Jews it means
that they are as Jude 19 says, "having NOT the Spirit".
Children of God are born of the Spirit. These have not the Spirit and therefore
they are NOT children of God no matter how fervently they protest and to what
lengths they go to try to prove that they are. They are DEAD. They are children
of organization, and the true fruits are missing. They are built upon their own
creeds, dogmas and doctrines and the truth is not in them for they have taken
their own counsels above the Word of God.
311-1 Let me show you what I have been trying to teach all
along about the two vines which come from two different spirits. Take the
example of Jesus and Judas this time. Jesus was the Son of God. Judas was the
son of perdition. God entered into Jesus. Satan entered into Judas.
Jesus had a full Holy Ghost ministry for "How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about
doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with
Him." Acts 10:38.
It says "For he (Judas) was numbered with us, and had obtained PART of
this ministry," Acts 1:17.
Matthew 10:1, "And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He
gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease."
311-2 That spirit that was in Judas went right along through
the ministry of Jesus. Then they both came to the cross. Jesus was hanged upon
the cross, gladly giving His Life for sinners and commended His Spirit to God.
His Spirit went to God and then was poured out into the church at Pentecost.
But Judas hanged himself and his spirit went back to Satan, but after Pentecost
that same spirit that was in Judas came back to the false vine that grows right
along with the true vine. But notice, Judas' spirit never got to Pentecost. It
never went up to receive the Holy Spirit. It could not. But what did that Judas
spirit go for? It went for the bag of gold. How it loved money. It still loves
money. If it goes about in the Name of Jesus doing mighty things and holding great
meetings, it still makes more of money and buildings, and education and
everything with a material concept. Just watch that spirit that is upon them
and don't be fooled. Judas went about as one of the twelve and he did miracles,
too. But he did NOT have the Spirit of God as his own. He did have a ministry.
He never got to Pentecost as he was not true seed. He was not a true child of
God. No sir. And it is that way right now in the synagogue of Satan. Don't be
fooled. You won't be fooled if you are of the very elect. Jesus said you
wouldn't be fooled. Yes, these folks say they are Christians but they aren't.
"I will make them come and worship before thy feet,
and to know that I have loved thee."
I Corinthians 6:2, "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the
world?"
312-2 Not only will there be twelve
apostles on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of
THE EULOGY AND THE PROMISE
Revelation 3:10, "Because thou has 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."
312-3 What does He mean by the "word
of His patience?" Hebrews 6:13-15. "For when God made promise
to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware
by Himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will
multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the
promise."
You see the Spirit is speaking about the Word of God which
is given to us. To wait for the fulfillment of that Word required patience even
as it did in the case of Abraham. He endured as seeing Him Who is invisible. He
was patient and then the Word finally was fulfilled. This is the way God
teaches His people patience. Why, if He fulfilled His Word in physical
manifestations the very instant you prayed, you would never learn patience, but
would become even more impatient with life.
Let me show you this truth even more fully set forth.
Hebrews 11:17, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:
and he that had received the promises (the Word of God) offered up his only
begotten son."
There it
is: Abraham was tried AFTER he received the Word of Promise. Most think that as
soon as we pray in Jesus' Name over the good promises of God that there could
not be a trial. But here it says that Abraham was tried after he received the
promise. That is exactly correct according to the Psalmist referring to Joseph,
105:19, "Until the time that his word came: the Word of the Lord tried
him." God gives us exceeding great and precious promises. He has
promised to fulfill them. He will. But from the time we pray until the time we
get the answer we must learn to receive patience into our souls for only in
patience do we possess life. May God help us to learn this lesson even as we
know the people of this sixth age learned patience. We
read the history of the lives of these great Christians; what a contrast we see
between their lives and ours for they were so patient and quiet, and today we
are all but overcome in over-impatience and haste.
313-1 He goes on to say to them, "Because
you have taken my Word and lived it and thereby become patient, I will keep you
from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the world, to try them that
dwell upon the earth." Now here again we see the overlapping of the
two ages; for this promise has to do with the end of the Gentile period which
culminates in the Great Tribulation.
313-2 "I will keep thee from the
hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the
world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." This verse is not a
declaration that the true church will go into and through the tribulation. If
it meant that it would have said that. But it said, "I will keep thee from
the hour of temptation." This temptation is exactly like the temptation in
314-1 Furthermore, the elect will not
only be kept, but as this move becomes the "IMAGE ERECTED TO THE
BEAST," the saints will be gone in the rapture. And this little
delightful, winsome movement that started out in fellowship at
THE PROMISE TO HIS OWN
Revelation 3:11-12, "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: I will write upon him My new
Name."
314-3 We don't need to comment on the
thought that He is coming quickly. We know that He is because we are in the end
of the last days, aren't we? But He goes on to say, "Hold fast what you
have, that no man take your crown."
315-2 It is in the midst of a time of
great trouble that Jesus comes. And with His coming there is a resurrection.
Many are to come forth out of the dust and rise with those who are alive but
waiting for His return. And these will be given crowns. Why? Because
they are Sons of God. They are kings with Him. They are reigning with
Him. That is what the crown signifies--reigning and ruling with the Great King,
Himself. That is the promise to all those who suffer with Him here on
earth--all those who endured patiently knowing that God, the Just Judge would
reward them. They who gave up all for Him and committed all to Him will sit
down in His throne and share in His glorious kingdom.
315-3 Oh, we have a word for us all at
this time. It is hold fast-- persevere. Don't give up. Put on the whole armour of God--use every weapon He has given us--use every
gift at our disposal and look ahead with joy, because we are going to be
crowned by Him Who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
315-4 Now He is not only giving crowns but He says that these
in the bride will be made pillars in the
"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief corner stone; In Whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In
Whom ye also are builded together for an habitation
of God through the Spirit."
Yes, that
verse 22 says that we are builded together with them.
Everything went through the DOOR (Jesus) and is a part of that body or temple.
Now when God puts a man in the temple as a pillar and makes him a part of that
foundation group what is He doing? He is giving him the revelation of the Word
and of Himself, because that is exactly what the apostles and prophets had.
Matthew 16:17. There he is in that Word. There he stands. No one can get him
out.
316-1 Ponder that word, "overcometh". John asks the question, "Who is
he that overcometh?" and the answer comes right
back, "He that believeth that Jesus is the Christ." He doesn't
say that the overcomer is one that believes in 'A'
Jesus and in 'A' Christ, but believes that Jesus IS THE CHRIST--ONE person--not
two. He is the one who is baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
316-2 God is talking about the bride here. Do you want to see
another picture of her? It is over in Revelation 7:4-17,
"And I heard the number of them which were sealed:
and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes
of the children of
Jesus has
come. He has sealed the 144,000. He took 12,000 out of each tribe. But there is
another group that doesn't belong in this 144,000 who are seen in verses 9-18.
Who are they? These are in the bride taken from amongst the Gentiles. They are
before His throne day and night. They serve Him in the temple. They are the
special care of the Lord. They are His bride.
317-1 The bride goes wherever the
Bridegroom is. She will never be left by Him. She will never leave His side.
She will share the throne with Him. She will be crowned with His glory and
honor.
317-2 And I will write upon him the Name of My God, and the
name of the city of My God. And what is the Name of God? Well, He was God with
us, or Emmanuel, but that was not His given name. "Thou shalt call His Name Jesus." Jesus said, "I
came in My Father's Name, and you received Me
not." Therefore the Name of God is JESUS, for that is the Name He came
in. He is LORD JESUS CHRIST. And what name does a woman take when she marries
the man? She takes his name. It will be His Name that is given unto the bride
when He takes her to Himself.
Revelation 21:1-4. "And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there
was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be
His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things
are passed away."
317-3 How wonderful. All of God's
wonderful promises fulfilled. It will be all over. The change will have been
completed. The Lamb and His bride forever settled in all the perfections of
God. Describe it? Who is able to do that? No one.
Think about it? Dream about it? Read what the Word says about it? Yes we can do
all of that, yet we can only know an infinitesimal part of it until it becomes
reality in the first resurrection.
318-1
THE FINAL ADMONITION TO THE AGE
318-2 Revelation 3:13, "He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to
the churches." Every age ends with this same warning. It is the
constant plea that the churches listen to the voice of the Lord. In this age
the plea is even more insistent than in former ages, for in this age the coming
of the Lord truly draweth nigh. The question would
perhaps arise, "If there is another age beyond this one, why the
urgency?" The answer lies herein. The last age will be a short one--a
quick work of consummation. And not only is this so, but one must always
remember that in the eyes of God time is so very fleeting; yea, a thousand
years are but a day. And if He is coming within a few hours as He views time,
then He surely must warn us with all urgency and His voice must continually
sound in our hearts to be ready against that coming.
Oh, there
are so many voices in the world--so many problems and needs crying for
attention; but there will never be a voice so
important and so worth attending as the voice of the Spirit. So, "He
that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
to the churches.".