An Exposition of the
THE LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE
Revelation 3:14-22
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write:
These things saith the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of
the Creation of God;
I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou were cold or
hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I will spue 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 will 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 set down with My Father in His throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
THE CITY OF
319-2 The name,
319-3 How fitting were the
characteristics of this last age to represent the age in which we now live. For
example, they worshipped one god, Zeus, who was the chief and father of the
gods. This forecast the twentieth century 'one God, father-of-us-all' religious
premise that sets forth the brotherhood of man, and is even now bringing together
the Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Hindus, etc. with the intent that a mutual
form of worship will increase our love, understanding, and care of each other.
The Catholics and Protestants are even now striving for, and actually gaining
ground in this union with the avowed intent that all others will follow. This
very attitude was seen in the United Nations Organization when the world
leaders refused to recognize any one individual concept of spiritual worship
but recommended putting aside all those separate concepts with the hopes that
all religions become leveled into one, for all desire the same goals, all have
the same purposes and all are basically right.
320-1 Notice the name,
320-2 When the ancients called
320-3 It was a city of earthquakes,
such earthquakes as finally destroyed it. This age will end in God shaking the
whole world that has gone off to make love with the old harlot. Not only will
world systems crumble, but the very earth will be shaken and then renovated for
the millennial reign of Christ.
320-4 The city was rich, endowed by the
wealthy. It was full of culture. Science abounded. How like today. The churches
are rich. The worship is beautiful and formal, but cold and dead. Culture and
education have taken the place of the Spirit-given Word, and faith has been
superseded by science, so that man is a victim of materialism. In every
attribute ancient
THE LAODICEAN AGE
321-2 The Laodicean Age began around
the turn of the Twentieth Century, perhaps 1906. How long will it last? As a
servant of God who has had multitudes of visions, of which NONE has ever
failed, let me predict (I did not say prophesy, but predict) that this age will
end around 1977. If you will pardon a personal note here, I base this
prediction on seven major continuous visions that came to me one Sunday morning
in June, 1933. The Lord Jesus spoke to me and said that the coming of the Lord
was drawing nigh, but that before He came, seven major events would transpire.
I wrote them all down and that morning I gave forth the revelation of the Lord.
The first vision was that Mussolini would invade
321-3 The next vision foretold that an
Austrian by the name of Adolph Hitler would rise up as dictator over
321-4 The third vision was in the realm
of world politics for it showed me that there would be three great ISMS,
Facism, Nazism, Communism, but that the first two would be swallowed up into
the third. The voice admonished, "WATCH
321-5 The fourth vision showed the
great advances in science that would come after the second world war. It was
headed up in the vision of a plastic bubble-topped car that was running down
beautiful highways under remote control so that people appeared seated in this
car without a steering wheel and they were playing some sort of a game to amuse
themselves.
322-1 The fifth vision had to do with
the moral problem of our age, centering mostly around women. God showed me that
women began to be out of their place with the granting of the vote. Then they
cut off their hair, which signified that they were no longer under the
authority of a man but insisted on either equal rights, or in most cases, more
than equal rights. She adopted men's clothing and went into a state of undress,
until the last picture I saw was a woman naked except for a little fig leaf
type apron. With this vision I saw the terrible perversion and moral plight of
the whole world.
322-2 Then in the sixth vision there
arose up in
322-3 The last and seventh vision was
wherein I heard a most terrible explosion. As I turned to look I saw nothing
but debris, craters, and smoke all over the
322-4 Based on these seven visions,
along with the rapid changes which have swept the world in the last fifty
years, I PREDICT (I do not prophesy) that these visions will have all come to
pass by 1977. And though many may feel that this is an irresponsible statement
in view of the fact that Jesus said that 'no man knoweth the day nor the hour.'
I still maintain this prediction after thirty years because, Jesus did NOT say
no man could know the year, month or week in which His coming was to be
completed. So I repeat, I sincerely believe and maintain as a private student
of the Word, along with Divine inspiration that 1977 ought to terminate the
world systems and usher in the millennium.
322-5 Now let me say this. Can anyone
prove any of those visions wrong? Were they not all fulfilled? Yes, each one
has been fulfilled, or is in the process right now. Mussolini invaded
THE MESSENGER
323-1 I doubt very much if any age
truly knew the messenger that God had sent unto it, except in the first age
where Paul was the messenger. And even in that age many did not recognize him
for what he was. Now the age in which we are living is going to be a very short
one. Events are going to transpire very rapidly. So the messenger to this
Laodicean Age has to be here now, though perhaps we don't know him as yet. But
there will surely have to be a time that he becomes known. Now I can prove that
because we have Scripture that describes his ministry.
323-3 First of all, that messenger is
going to be a prophet. He will have the office of a prophet. He will have the
prophetic ministry. It will be based solidly on the Word because when he
prophesies or has a vision, it will always be "Word oriented" and it
will ALWAYS come to pass. He will be vindicated as a prophet because of his
accuracy. The proof that he is a prophet is found in Revelation 10:7 "But
in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger when he shall begin to sound,
the mystery of God should be finished as He hath declared to His servants, the
prophets." Now this person, who in this verse is called an 'angel' in
the King James version is NOT an heavenly being. The sixth trumpeting angel,
who is an heavenly being, is in Revelation 9:13, and the seventh of like order
is in Revelation 11:15. This one here in Revelation 10:7 is the seventh age
messenger and it is a man, and he is to bring a message from God, and his
message and ministry is going to finish the mystery of God as declared to His
servants, the prophets. God is going to treat this last messenger as a prophet
BECAUSE HE IS A PROPHET. That is what Paul was in the first age, and the last
age has one, too. Amos 3:6-7, "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city,
and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath
not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secrets
unto His servants, the prophets."
324-1 It was in the end-time period
that the seven thunders of Jesus came forth. Revelation 10:3-4, "And
cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven
thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their
voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,
Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them
not." What was in those thunders no one knows. But we need to know.
And it will take a prophet to get the revelation because God has no other way
of bringing out His Scriptural revelations except by a prophet. The Word always
came by a prophet and always will. That this is the law of God is evident by
even a casual search of Scripture. The unchanging God with unchanging ways
invariably sent His prophet in every age where the people had strayed from
Divine order. With both the theologians and the people having departed from the
Word, God always sent His servant to these people (but apart from the
theologians) in order to correct false teaching and lead the people back to
God.
324-2 So we see a seventh age messenger coming, and he is a
prophet.
Not only
do we see this messenger coming here in Revelation 10:7, but we find that the
Word speaks of Elijah coming before Jesus returns. In Matthew 17:10, "And
His disciples asked Him saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first
come?" And Jesus said, "Elias truly shall first come, and
restore all things." Before the coming of our Lord, Elijah must come
back for a work of restoration in the church. This is what Malachi 4:5 says, "Behold
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse." There is absolutely no doubt that Elijah must return
before the coming of Jesus. He has a specific work to accomplish. That work is
the part of Malachi 4:6 that says "he will turn the hearts of the
children to their fathers". The reason that we know this is his
specific work to do at that time is because he has already accomplished the
part that says "he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children," when the Elijah ministry was here in John the Baptist. Luke
1:17, "And he shall go before Him in the Spirit and power of Elias, to
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the Just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." In
the ministry of John the "hearts of the fathers were turned to the
children". We know that because Jesus said so. But it does not say
that the hearts of the children were turned to the fathers. That is yet to take
place. The hearts of the last day children will be turned back to the
Pentecostal fathers. John got the fathers ready for Jesus to welcome the
children into the fold. Now this prophet upon whom the Spirit of Elijah falls
will prepare the children to welcome back Jesus.
325-1 Jesus called John the Baptist,
Elijah. Matthew 17:12, "But I say unto you that Elias is come already,
and they knew him not, but have done unto him what they listed." The
reason that he called John Elijah, was because the same Spirit that was upon
Elijah had come back upon John, even as that Spirit had come back upon Elisha
after the reign of King Ahab. Now once again that Spirit will come back upon
another man just before Jesus comes. He will be a prophet. He will be
vindicated as such by God. Since Jesus, Himself, in the flesh won't be here to
vindicate him, (as He did John) it will be done by the Holy Spirit so that this
prophet's ministry will be attended by great and wonderful manifestation. As a
prophet, every revelation will be vindicated, for every revelation will come to
pass. Wonderful acts of power will be performed at his commands in faith. Then
will be brought forth the message that God has given him in the Word to turn
the people back to truth and the true power of God. Some will listen, but the
majority will run true to form and reject him.
325-2 Since this prophet messenger of
Revelation 10:7 will be the same as Malachi 4:5-6 he will be naturally like
Elijah and John. Both were men set apart from the accepted religious schools of
their day. Both were men of the wilderness. Both acted only when they had "Thus
saith the Lord," straight from God by revelation. Both lashed out
against the religious orders and leaders of their day. But not only was that
so, they lashed out against all who were corrupt or would corrupt others. And
notice, both prophesied much against immoral women and their ways. Elijah cried
out against Jezebel, and John rebuked Herodias, Philip's wife.
326-1 Though he will not be popular, he
will be vindicated by God. As Jesus authenticated John, and the Holy Ghost
authenticated Jesus, we can well expect this man will be first of all
authenticated by the Spirit working in his life in acts of power that are
indisputable and found nowhere else; and Jesus Himself, in returning, will
authenticate him, even as He authenticated John. John witnessed that Jesus was
coming,--and so will this man, like John, witness that Jesus is coming. And the
very return of Christ will prove that this man indeed was the forerunner of His
second coming. This is the final evidence that this indeed is the prophet of
Malachi 4, for the end of the Gentile period will be Jesus, Himself, appearing.
Then it will be too late for those who have rejected him.
326-2 In order to further clarify our presentation of this last
day prophet, let us particularly note that the prophet of Matthew 11:12, was
John the Baptist, who was the one foretold in Malachi 3:1,
"Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to
His temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, Whom ye delight in; behold, He
shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts."
Matthew 11:1-12, "And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of
commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in
their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he
sent two of his disciples, and said unto Him, Art thou He That should come, or
do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John
again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised
up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever
shall not be offended in Me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the
multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed
shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft
raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what
went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a
prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written. Behold, I send My messenger
before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto
you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John
the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is
greater than he."
This has already taken place. This has happened. It is over.
But note now in Malachi 4:1-6, "For behold, the day cometh, that shall
burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be
stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts,
that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear My
Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye
shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the
wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I
shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses My
servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all
See,
immediately after the coming of THIS Elijah, the earth will be cleansed by fire
and the wicked burned to ashes. Of course, this did NOT happen at the time of
John (the Elijah for his day.) The Spirit of God that prophesied the coming of
the messenger in Malachi 3:1 (John) was but reiterating His previous prophetic
statement of Isaiah 40:3 made at least three centuries previously. "The
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Now John, by the
Holy Ghost, voiced both Isaiah and Malachi in Matthew 3:3, "For this is
he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in
the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."
So we can well see from these Scriptures that the prophet in Malachi 3, who was
John, was NOT the prophet of Malachi 4, though indeed, both John and this
last-day prophet have upon them the same Spirit Which was upon Elijah.
327-1 Now this messenger of Malachi 4
and Revelation 10:7 is going to do two things. One: According to Malachi 4 he
will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers. Two: He will reveal the
mysteries of the seven thunders in Revelation 10 which are the revelations
contained in the seven seals. It will be these Divinely revealed
'mystery-truths' that literally turn the hearts of the children to the
Pentecostal fathers. Exactly so.
328-1 But consider this also. This
prophet-messenger will be in his nature and manners as were Elijah and John.
The people of this prophet-messenger's day will be as they were in Ahab's day,
and in John's. And since it is "ONLY THE CHILDREN" whose hearts will
be turned, it is only the children who will listen. In the days of Ahab only
7,000 true seed Israelites were found. In the days of John there were also very
few. The masses in both ages were in the fornication of idolatry.
328-2 I want to make one more
comparison between the Laodicean prophet-messenger and John, the
prophet-messenger who preceded Jesus' first coming. The people in John's day
mistook him for the Messiah. John 1:19-20, "And this is the record of
John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from
328-3 Before we close this section on
the messenger of the Laodicean Age, we must seriously consider these two
thoughts. First, this age will have ONE Prophet-Messenger. Revelation 10:7,
says, "When he (singular) shall begin to sound." There has
never been an age where God gave His people two major prophets at one time. He
gave Enoch (alone); He gave Noah (alone); He gave Moses (he alone had the Word
though others prophesied); John the Baptist came ALONE. Now in this last day there
is to be a PROPHET (not a prophetess--though in this age there are more women
purporting to give God's revelation than men), and the infallible Word says
that he (the prophet) will reveal the mysteries to the end time people, and
turn the hearts of the children back to the fathers. There are those who say
that God's people are going to come together through a collective revelation. I
challenge that statement. It is a bald, invalid assumption in the face of
Revelation 10:7. Now I do not deny that people will prophesy in this last age
and their ministries can and will be correct. I do not deny that there will be
prophets even as in the days of Paul when there was "one Agabus a prophet
who prophesied of a famine". I agree that is so. BUT I DENY UPON THE INFALLIBLE
EVIDENCE OF THE WORD THAT THERE IS MORE THAN ONE MAJOR PROPHET-MESSENGER WHO
WILL REVEAL THE MYSTERIES AS CONTAINED IN THE WORD, AND WHO HAS THE MINISTRY TO
TURN THE HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN TO THE FATHERS. "Thus saith the
Lord" by His unfailing Word stands, and shall stand and be vindicated.
There is one prophet-messenger to this age. On the basis of human behavior
alone, anyone knows that where there are many people there is even divided
opinion on lesser points of a major doctrine which they all hold together. Who
then will have the power of infallibility which is to be restored in this last
age, for this last age is going to go back to manifesting the Pure Word Bride?
That means we will have the Word once again as it was perfectly given, and perfectly
understood in the days of Paul. I will tell you who will have it. It will be a
prophet as thoroughly vindicated, or even more thoroughly vindicated than was
any prophet in all the ages from Enoch to this day, because this man will of
necessity have the capstone prophetic ministry, and God will shew him forth. He
won't need to speak for himself, God will speak for him by the voice of the
sign. Amen.
329-1 The second thought that must be
impressed on our hearts is that the seven church ages started out with the
antichrist spirit as well as the Holy Spirit Who is to be blessed forever. I
John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the
world." Did you notice it? The antichrist spirit is identified with
false prophets. The ages came in with false prophets and they will go out with
false prophets. Now of course there is going to be a REAL FALSE PROPHET in the
grand sense of that man mentioned in the Revelation. But as of now before his
revelation there are to appear many false prophets. Matthew 24:23-26, "Then
if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto
you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret
chambers; believe it not." These false prophets are earmarked for us
in various other Scriptures such as the following. II Peter 2:1-2, "But
there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord That bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many
shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be
evil spoken of." II Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they
heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." I Timothy
4:1, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils." Now in every case you will notice that a false prophet is one
who is outside the Word. Just as we showed you that 'antichrist' means
'anti-Word' so these false prophets come perverting the Word, giving it a
meaning that fits their own devilish ends. Have you ever noticed how the people
who lead others astray bind them closely to themselves by fear? They say that if
the people don't do what they say, or if they leave, then destruction will
follow. They are false prophets, for a true prophet will always lead one to the
Word and bind the people to Jesus Christ and he won't tell the people to fear
him or what he says, but to fear what the Word says. Notice how these people
like Judas are out for money. They get you to sell all you have and give it to
them and their schemes. They spend more time on offerings than the Word. Those
who attempt to operate gifts will make use of a gift which has a margin of
error in it and then ask for money, and neglect the Word and call it of God.
And people will go to them, and bear with them, and support them, and believe
them, not knowing it is the way of death. Yes, the land is full of carnal
impersonators. In that last day they will try to imitate that
prophet-messenger. The seven sons of Sceva tried to imitate Paul. Simon the
sorcerer tried to imitate Peter. Their impersonations will be carnal. They
won't be able to produce what the true prophet produces. When he says the
revival is over they will go around claiming a great revelation that what the
people have is exactly right and God is going to do bigger and more wonderful
things amongst the people. And the people will fall for it. These same false
prophets will claim that the messenger of the last day is not a theologian, so
he ought not to be heard. They won't be able to produce what the messenger can;
they won't be vindicated by God as that last day prophet is, but with their
great swelling words and with the weight of their world-wide notoriety they
will warn the people not to hear that man (messenger) and they will say he
teaches wrong. They are running exactly true to their fathers, the Pharisees,
who were of the devil, for they claimed that both John and Jesus taught error.
331-1 Now why do these false prophets
come against the true prophet and discredit his teaching? Because they are
running true to form as did their forefathers when in the days of Ahab they
withstood Micaiah. There were four hundred of them and all of them were in
agreement; and by them all saying the same thing, they fooled the people. But
ONE prophet--just one--was right and all the rest wrong because God had
committed the revelation to ONLY ONE.
Beware of
false prophets, for they are ravening wolves.
331-3 If you are still in any doubt
about this ask God by His Spirit to fill you and lead you, FOR THE VERY ELECT
CAN'T BE FOOLED. Did you get that? There isn't any man can fool you. Paul could
not fool any elect, had he been wrong. And in that first Ephesian Age the elect
there could not be fooled for they tried the false apostles and prophets and
found them to be liars and put them out. Hallelujah. HIS sheep hear His voice
and they follow HIM. Amen. I believe it.
THE SALUTATION
Revelation 3:14, "These things saith the Amen, the
Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the Creation of God."
331-5 My, isn't that the most wonderful
description of the attributes of our lovely Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ?
These words just make me want to shout. They bring such a spirit of reality
into my heart. Just reading them without even waiting for a thorough revelation
of the Spirit upon them thrills me.
332-1 Jesus is giving us this
description of Himself in relation to the last age. The days of grace are
winding up. He has looked from the first century right through to the
twentieth, and told us all things concerning these ages. Before He reveals the
characteristics of the last age to us, He gives us one final look at His own
gracious and supreme Deity. This is the capstone revelation of Himself.
332-2 Thus saith the "AMEN".
Jesus is the Amen of God. Jesus is the "So Let It Be" of God. Amen
stands for finality. It stands for approval. It stands for prevailing promise.
It stands for unchanging promise. It stands for the seal of God.
332-3 I want you to watch this
carefully now and see something really sweet and beautiful. I said this is His
end-time revelation of Himself. When the day of grace closes, then the
millennium comes very shortly thereafter, doesn't it? Well, read with me Isaiah
65:16-19. "That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless
himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by
the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they
are hid from Mine eyes. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and
the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice
forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create
333-1 He is the God of the Amen. He
never changes. What He does never changes. He says it, and it stands fast. He
does it, and it is done forever. None can take from what He says or add to it.
So let it be. Amen. So let it be. Aren't you glad that you serve that kind of a
God? You can know exactly where you are with Him at any time and all the time.
He is the AMEN God and won't change.
333-2 "These things saith the
AMEN." I like that. It means that whatever He said is final. It means
that whatever He said to the first age and to the second and to all ages about
His own true church and about the false vine is exactly right and it won't
change. It means that what He started out with in Genesis, He will finish in
Revelation. He has to for He is the Amen, SO LET IT BE. Now we can see again
why the devil hates the Books of Genesis and Revelation. He hates the truth. He
knows the truth will prevail. He knows what his end will be. How he fights
that. But we are on the winning side. We (I mean the believers of His Word,
only) are on the Amen side.
333-3 "These things saith the Faithful
and True Witness." Now I want to show you what I find in the thought
of "faithful". You know we often talk about a great unchanging God,
Whose Word does not change. And when we speak of Him after that manner we often
get a view of Him that makes Him seem very impersonal. It is as though God made
the whole universe and all the laws that pertain to it and then stood back and
became a great impersonal God. It is as though God made a way of salvation for
lost mankind, that way being the cross, and then when the death of Christ has
atoned for our sins, and His resurrection gave us an open door to Him, God just
folded His arms and stood back. It is as if we majored in believing in a great
Creator, Who having created, lost personal interest in His creation. Now I say
that is how too many people are apt to think. But that is wrong thinking, for
God is GOVERNING IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN RIGHT NOW. HE IS BOTH CREATOR AND
SUSTAINER. Colossians 1:16-17. "For by Him were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created
by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist." He is a Sovereign God. By His own counsel He purposed the
plan of the salvation of His own elect which He foreknew. The Son died upon the
cross to establish the means of Salvation and the Holy Spirit carefully
executes the will of the Father. He is working all things at this moment
according to the purpose of His own will. He is right in the midst of it all.
He is in the midst of His church. This great Creator, Saviour-God is faithfully
working amongst His own right now as the great Shepherd of the sheep. His very
existence is for His own. He loves them and cares for them. His eye is ever
upon them. When the Word says that "your lives are hid with Christ in
God" it means exactly what it says. Oh, I am so glad that my God
abides faithful. He is true to Himself, He won't lie. He is true to the Word, He
will back it up. He is true to us, He will lose none of us, but raise us up in
the last day. I am glad that I am resting in His faithfulness. Philippians 1:6.
"Being confident of this very thing, that He Which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus Christ."
334-1 "He is the True
Witness." Now this word, true, is the same word we saw back there in
Revelation 3:7. You recall that it does not mean 'true' as in contrast with
'false.' It has a richer, deeper meaning by far. It expresses perfect
realization in contrast to partial realization. Now back in the Philadelphian
Age, the coming of the Lord was drawing nigh. What great love that age
manifested for Him. It reminds me of those beautiful words of I Peter 1:8, "Whom
having not seen ye love, in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." With them we rejoice
also. We haven't seen Him, but we have felt Him. We know Him now as much as our
limiting senses can let us. But one day it will be face to face. That is for
this age. He is coming at the end of this age. Partial realization will be made
PERFECT REALIZATION, COMPLETED REALIZATION. Hallelujah! We have been looking
through a glass darkly, but soon it will be face to face. We have been going
from glory to glory, but soon it will be right in the glory; and in HIS GLORY
WE'LL SHINE. WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, WONDROUSLY LIKE HIM, JESUS OUR SAVIOUR
DIVINE! Isn't that wonderful? We are complete in Him. That is true. He would
not lie to us about that. But one day we will be changed in the atoms. We will
put on immortality. We will be all swallowed up in life. Then we will REALIZE
REALIZATION.
335-1 "He is the Faithful and True Witness."
Now we think of that word, 'witness.' Well, that word is the one we get the
word 'martyr' from. The Bible speaks of Stephen and Antipas and others as
martyrs. They were martyrs; they were also witnesses. Jesus was a faithful
martyr. The Holy Ghost is the witness to that. The Spirit bears record of that.
The world hated Jesus. It killed Him. But God loved Him and He went to the
Father. The proof that He went to the Father is that the Holy Ghost came. If
Jesus had not been received of the Father, the Spirit would not have come.
Read it in John 16:7-11. "Nevertheless I tell you
the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.
And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and
of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me: Of righteousness, because
I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of
this world is judged."
The
presence of the Holy Spirit in this world instead of Jesus being here, proves
that Jesus was righteous and went to the Father. But it also says in John
14:18. "I will not leave you COMFORTLESS, I will come to you."
He sent the Comforter. He WAS THE COMFORTER. He came back in SPIRIT upon the
true church. He is the faithful and true WITNESS in the midst of the church.
But one day He is going to come back in flesh again. He will prove then Who is
the only wise potentate,--it is He, Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory.
Faithful and True Witness, Creator and Sustainer, Perfect
Realization, the Amen of God.
Oh, how I
love Him, how I adore Him, Jesus the Son of God.
336-1 I want to close my thoughts on this part of the
salutation with these words of II Corinthians 1:18-22.
"But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea
and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was preached among you by us,
even by me and Sylvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea.
For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of
God by us. Now He Which establisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed
us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in
our hearts."
336-2 "The Beginning Of The
Creation Of God." That is Who the Lord Jesus says He is. But those
words don't mean exactly as they sound to us. Just taking them the way they
sound has made some people (in fact multitudes of people) get the idea that
Jesus was the first creation of God, making Him lower than Godhead. Then this
first creation created all the rest of the universe and whatsoever it contains.
But that is not right. You know that doesn't line up with the rest of the
Bible. The words are, "He is the BEGINNER or AUTHOR of the creation of
God." Now we know for a surety that Jesus is God, very God. He is the
Creator. John 1:3 "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not
any thing made that was made." He is the One of Whom it is said, Gen.
1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth".
Also it says in Ex. 20:11, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and
earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day."
See, there is no doubt that He is the Creator. He was the Creator of a FINISHED
PHYSICAL CREATION. Surely we can see what these words mean now. To have any
other interpretation would mean that God created God. How could God be created
when He, Himself, is the Creator?
336-4 But now He is standing in the
midst of the Church. As He stands there revealing Who He is in this last age,
He calls Himself the "Author of the creation of God". This is ANOTHER
CREATION. This has to do with the church. This is a special designation of
Himself. He is the CREATOR of that church. The heavenly Bridegroom created his
own bride. As the Spirit of God, He came down and created in the virgin Mary the
cells from which His body was born. I want to repeat that. He created the very
cells in the womb of Mary for that body. It was not enough for the Holy Spirit
to simply give life to a human ovum supplied by Mary. That would have been
sinful mankind producing a body. That would not have produced the "Last
Adam". Of Him it was said "Lo a body hast Thou (Father) prepared
for Me." God (not Mary) provided that body. Mary was the human
incubator and she carried that Holy Child and brought Him to birth. It was a God-man.
He was the Son of God. He was of the NEW creation. Man and God met and joined;
He was the first of this new race. He is the head of this new race. Colossians
1:18, "And He is the head of the body, the church: Who is the
beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things He might have the
pre-eminence." II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things
are become new." There you can see that though man was of the OLD
ORDER or creation, now in UNION WITH CHRIST, he has become the NEW CREATION of
God. Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship CREATED IN
THE MESSAGE TO THE LAODICEAN AGE
Revelation 3:15-19 "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 spue 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."
338-2 As we have read this together I
am sure that you have noticed that the Spirit has not said one kind thing about
this age. He makes two indictments and pronounces His sentence upon them.
(1) Revelation 3:15,16 "I know thy works, that thou
art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because
thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My
mouth."
338-4 We are going to look at this
carefully. It says that this Laodicean church age group is lukewarm. This
lukewarmness demands a penalty from God. The penalty is that they will be spued
out of His mouth. Here is where we don't want to go astray as a lot of folks
do. They very unwisely say that God can spue you out of His mouth and that
proves that there is no such thing as any truth to the doctrine of the
perseverance of the Saints. I want to correct your thinking right now. This
verse is not given to an individual. It is given to the church. He is talking
to the church. Furthermore, if you will just keep the Word in mind you will
recall that nowhere does it say that we are in the MOUTH of God. We are
engraved on His palms. We are carried in His bosom. Way back in the unknown
ages before time we were in His mind. We are in His sheepfold, and in His
pastures, but never in His mouth. But what is in the mouth of the Lord? The
Word is in His mouth. Matthew 4:4 "But He answered and said, It is
written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God." The Word is supposed to be in our mouths,
too. Now we know that the church is His body. It is here taking His place. What
will be in the mouth of the church? The WORD. I Peter 4:11 "If any man
speak, let him speak as the oracles (Word) of God." II Peter 1:21 "For
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Then what is wrong with these
people of the last day? THEY HAVE GOTTEN AWAY FROM THE WORD. THEY ARE NO LONGER
FERVENT ABOUT IT. THEY ARE LUKEWARM ABOUT IT. I am going to prove that right
now.
339-1 The Baptists have their creeds
and dogmas based on the Word and you can't shake them. They say the apostolic
days of miracles are over and there is no Baptism with the Holy Ghost,
subsequent to believing. The Methodists say (based on the Word) there is no
water baptism (sprinkling is not baptism) and that sanctification is the
Baptism with the Holy Ghost. The
340-1 A momentary consideration of
church history will prove how accurate this thought is. In the Dark Ages the
Word was almost entirely lost to the people. But God sent Luther with the WORD.
The Lutherans spoke for God at that time. But they organized, and again the
pure Word was lost for organization tends toward dogma and creeds, and not
simple Word. They could no longer speak for God. Then God sent Wesley, and he
was the voice with the Word in his day. The people who took his revelation from
God became the living epistles read and known of all men for their generation.
When the Methodists failed, God raised up others and so it has gone on through
the years until in this last day there is again another people in the land, who
under their messenger will be the final voice to the final age.
340-2 Yes sir. The church is no longer
the "mouthpiece" of God. It is its own mouthpiece. So God is turning
on her. He will confound her through the prophet and the bride, for the voice
of God will be in her. Yes it is, for it says in the last chapter of Revelation
verse 17 "The Spirit and the bride say come". Once more the
world will hear direct from God as at Pentecost; but of course that Word Bride
will be repudiated as in the first age.
340-3 Now He has cried out to this last
age, "You have the Word. You have more Bibles than ever, but you are
not doing anything about the Word except dividing and hacking it into pieces,
taking what you want and leaving out what you don't want. You are not
interested in LIVING it, but debating it. I would sooner you were cold or hot.
If you were cold and rejected it, I could stand that. If you would get white
hot to know its truth and live it, I would praise you for that. But when you
simply take My Word and don't honor it, I in return must refuse to honor you. I
will spue you out for you nauseate Me."
340-4 Now anybody knows that it is
lukewarm water that makes you sick at the stomach. If you need an emetic,
lukewarm water is about the best thing to drink. A lukewarm church has made God
sick and He has declared He will spue it out. Reminds us how He felt just
before the flood, doesn't it?
341-1 Oh, would to God the church were
cold or hot. Best of all, she should be fervent (hot). But she is not. Sentence
has been passed. She is no longer God's voice to the world. She will maintain
that she is, but God says not.
341-2 Oh, God still has a voice for the
people of the world, even as He has given a voice to the bride. That voice is
in the bride as we have said and we will talk more about that later.
(2) Revelation 3:17-18, "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."
341-4 Now look at the first phrase of
this verse, "because thou sayest". See, they were speaking.
They were talking as the mouthpiece of God. This proves exactly what I said
verses 16-17 meant. But though they say it, that does not make it right. The
Catholic Church says she speaks for God, saying she is the assured voice of the
Lord. How any people can be so spiritually wicked is more than I know, but they
produce according to the seed which is in them, and we know where that seed
came from, don't we?
341-5 The Laodicean church is saying, "I
am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." That was
her self-estimate. She looked at herself and that is what she saw. She said,
"I am rich," which means that she is wealthy in the things of this
world. She is boasting in the face of James 2:5-7, "Hearken, my beloved
brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs
of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him? But ye have
despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the
judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy Name by the which ye are
called?" Now I do NOT suggest that a rich person cannot be Spiritual,
but we all know that the Word says very few are. It is the poor that
predominate in the body of the true church. Now then, if the church becomes
full of wealth, we know only one thing; "Ichabod" has been
written over her portals! You can't deny that, for that is the Word.
341-6 Talk about wealth in the
church--why there never has been such a show of wealth. The beautiful
sanctuaries are multiplied in number as never before. The various groups vie
with each other to see who can build the biggest and the loveliest. And they
build education centers worth unestimated millions, and those buildings are used
only an hour or two a week. Now that would not be such a terrible thing, but
they expect this little time spent by the children in the education plant to
take the place of the hours of training supposed to be given in the home.
342-1 Money has poured into the church
until different denominations own stocks and bonds, factories, oil wells, and
insurance companies. They have poured money into welfare and retirement funds.
Now this sounds good, but it has become a snare to the ministers, for if they
decide to leave their group for more light or the love of God, their pensions
are lost to them. Most can't stand this and stay with their pressure groups.
342-2 Now don't forget that this is the
last age. We know that this is the last age because
342-3 Do you know that religion today
is known as big business? It is an absolute fact that they are placing business
managers in the churches to take care of finances. Is this what God desires?
Did not His Word teach us in the Book of Acts that seven men full of the Holy
Ghost and faith served the Lord in business matters? You can surely see why God
said, "YOU say you are wealthy; I never said so."
342-4 There are radio programs,
television programs, and numerous church endeavors that are costing millions
and millions of dollars. Wealth pours and pours into the church, the membership
increases along with the money, yet the work is not being done as it was done
when there was no money, but men rested solely on the ability given them by the
Holy Ghost.
342-5 There are paid preachers, paid
assistants, paid ministers of music and education, paid choirs, paid
custodians, programs, and entertainment--all costing great sums, but for all
that, the power is decreasing. Yes, the church is rich, but the power is not
there. God moves by His Spirit, not by the amount of money or talent in the
church.
342-6 Now I want to show you how
diabolical this urge for money has become. The churches have gone all out to
get a membership, especially of the wealthy. Everywhere there is the cry to
make religion so attractive and appealing that the rich and cultured and all
who have worldly prestige will come in and be active in the church. Can't they
understand that if wealth is the criterion of spirituality, then the world already
has God, has all of God, and the church has nothing?
343-1 "Thou sayest I am
increased with goods." This literally means 'I have Spiritual riches.'
This sounds like the millennium with streets of gold and the presence of God.
But I wonder if this is so. Is the church truly rich in the Spiritual things of
God? Let us examine this Twentieth-Century Laodicean boast in the light of the
Word.
343-2 If the church were truly
Spiritually rich, its influence would be felt upon community life. But exactly
what kind of lives are these so-called spiritual and influential men of the
community living? Out in suburbia, out in the better class districts, there
abounds wife-swapping, prostitution, and bands of children crashing parties,
exacting a terrible toll in property damage. Immorality has reached an all-time
high in promiscuous sex acts, narcotic addiction, gambling, stealing, and all
kinds of evil. And the church goes on claiming how fine is this generation, how
full are the churches and how responsive are even the natives on the mission
fields. The church has turned the people over to the doctors, especially the
psychiatrists. How it can prate about being rich Spiritually is more than I
know. It isn't true. They are bankrupt and don't know it.
343-3 Take a good look around you.
Examine the people as they walk by. In the multitudes you see, can you pick out
those that have the appearance of Christians? Watch how they dress, watch how
they act, hear what they say, see where they go. Surely there ought to be some
real evidence of the new birth amongst all those we see go by. But few there
be. Yet today the fundamental churches are telling us they have millions saved
and even Spirit-filled. Spirit-filled? Can you call women Spirit-filled who go
around with frizzy bobbed hair, shorts and slacks, halters and briefs, all
painted up like Jezebel? If these are adorned in modest apparel as becometh
Christian women, I would hate to think what it would be like if I had to
witness a display of immodesty.
343-4 Now I know that the women don't
set the styles.
344-1 Now I know you ladies don't like
this kind of preaching, but sister, you are dead wrong in what you are doing. The
Bible forbids you to cut your hair. God gave it for a covering. He gave a
command for you to wear it long. It is your glory. When you cut your hair you
signified that you left the headship of your husband. Like Eve you walked out
and went on your own. You got the vote. You took men's jobs. You left off being
females. You ought to repent and come back to God. And if all this wasn't bad
enough, a whole lot of you took the idea that you could invade the pulpits and
the church offices that God reserved for men and for men only. Oh, I touched a
sore spot then didn't I? Well, show me one place in the Bible that God ever
ordained any woman to preach or take authority over a man, and I will apologize
for what I have said. You can't find that I am wrong. I am right, for I stand
with the Word and in the Word. If you were Spiritually rich you would know that
is true. There is nothing true but the Word. Paul said, "I suffer not a
woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man." You can't
possibly take a place amongst the five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4 and not
take authority over men. Sister, you had better listen to that Word. It was not
the Spirit of God manifesting in a Spirit-filled life that told you to preach
because the Spirit and the Word are ONE. They say the same thing. Somebody made
a mistake. Somebody was fooled. Wake up before it is too late. Satan fooled
Eve, your mother; he is fooling the daughters now. May God help you.
344-2 "I have need of
nothing." Now when anybody says, "I have need of nothing,"
he could very well be saying, "I have everything", or he could be
saying, "I don't want any more as I am full now". You can express
this any way you want, and it all adds up to the fact that the church is complacent.
She is satisfied with what she has. She either figures she has it all or has
enough. And that is exactly what we find today. What denomination is not
claiming that IT has the revelation and the power and the truth? Listen to the
Baptists, and they have it all. Listen to the Methodists, and they have it all.
Listen to the
345-1 Now they are all saying, and
trying to prove that they have it all, or they have enough. Yet is that the
truth? Compare this twentieth century church to the first century church. Go
ahead. Do that. Where is the power? Where is the love? Where is the purified
church that withstood sin and walked with faith toward Jesus? Where is the
unity? You can't find it. If this church has all it needs, why were they crying
out for more of God in the Book of Acts as though they didn't have it all, and
yet they had far more than they have today?
GOD'S DIAGNOSIS
345-2 Now what God saw was entirely
different from what they said they saw. They said that they were rich in goods
and Spiritually wealthy. They had arrived. They had need of nothing. But God
saw it otherwise. He said, "You don't know this, but you are wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked." Now when a people are that way,
especially naked and DON'T KNOW IT, there has to be something awfully wrong.
Surely something must be happening. Is it not that God has blinded their eyes
as He did to the Jews? Is the Gospel going back to the Jews? Is history
repeating itself? I say it is.
345-3 God says this church of the
Laodicean Age is "wretched". That word comes from two Greek words
which mean 'endure' and 'trial.' And it has nothing to do with the trials that
come to a true Christian for God describes a Christian in trial as
"blessed" and his attitude one of joy whereas this description is
phrased as "wretched and miserable". How strange. In this age of
plenty, in this age of progress, in this age of abundance, how can there be
trials? Well now, it is strange; but in this age of plenty and opportunity,
when everyone has so much and there is so much more to be had, what with all
the inventions to do our work and so many things to give us pleasure, SUDDENLY,
we find mental illness taking such a toll as to alarm the nation. When
everybody ought to be happy, with really nothing to be unhappy about, millions
are taking sedatives at night, pep pills in the morning, rushing to doctors,
entering institutions, and trying to drown out unknown fears by alcohol. Yes,
this age boasts of its tremendous stores of worldly goods, but the people are
less happy than ever. This age boasts of its spiritual attainments, but the
people are less sure of themselves than ever. This age boasts of better moral
values and it is more corrupt than any age since the flood. It talks about its
knowledge and science, but it is fighting a losing battle in all fields, for
the human mind and soul and spirit cannot comprehend or keep abreast with all
the changes that have come upon the earth. In one generation we have gone all
the way from the horse and buggy age to the space age, and we are proud and
boastful about it; but inside is a dark void cavern that is crying out in
torment, and WITHOUT A KNOWN REASON men's hearts are failing for fear and the
world is so darkened that this age could well be called the age of neurotics.
It boasts, but it cannot back it up. It cries peace, and there is no peace. It
cries that it has a great amplitude of all things, but it keeps burning with
desire like an unsatisfied fire! "There is no peace," saith my
God to the wicked.
346-1 "They are
miserable." That means that they are objects to be pitied. Pitied?
They scorn pity. They are full of pride. They vaunt what they have. But what
they have will not stand the test of time. They have built upon quicksand rather
than the rock of the revelation of God's Word. Soon cometh the earthquake. Soon
there will come the storms of the wrath of God in judgment. Then comes sudden
destruction, and in spite of all their carnal preparation they will still be
unprepared for what comes upon the earth. They are those who in spite of all
their worldly efforts are actually opposing themselves and don't know it.
Objects of pity are they indeed. Pity the poor people who are in this last day
ecumenical move, for they call it the move of God, when it is of Satan. Pity
those who do not know the curse of organization. Pity those who have so many
beautiful churches, such lovely parsonages, such grandly trained choirs, such a
show of wealth and such a sedate and reverent form of worship. Pity them, don't
envy them. Back to the old store buildings, back to the dimly-lit rooms, back
to the cellars, back to less of the world and more of God. Pity those who make
their great claims, and talk about their gifts. Feel for them as objects of
pity, for soon they will be objects of wrath.
347-1 "They are poor."
Now of course that means Spiritually poor. The sign of this age as it closes,
is bigger and better churches, with more and more people, with more and more
manifestation of what is supposed to be demonstrations of the Holy Ghost. But
the filled altars, the gifts of the Spirit in operation, the remarkable
attendance is not the answer from God, for those who come to the altars very
seldom stay to go on with God, and after the great campaigns are finished,
where are all those who came down the aisles? They heard a man, they listened
to an appeal, they came into the net, but they were not fish, and turtle-like
they crawled back to their own waters.
347-2 Then there is all this talk about
the glossalalia--it is supposed to be the evidence of the Baptism of the Holy
Ghost, and people are thinking that we are in the midst of a great revival. The
revival is over.
347-3 "You are blind and
naked." Now this is really desperate. How can anyone be blind and
naked and not know it? Yet it says that they are blind and naked and can't
perceive it. The answer is, they are spiritually blind, and spiritually naked.
Do you remember when Elisha and Gehazi were surrounded by the army of the
Syrians? You recall that Elisha smote them blind by the power of God. Yet their
eyes were wide open and they could see where they were going. The blindness was
peculiar in that they could see certain things, but other certain things such
as Elisha and the servant and the camp of
348-1 Now God says they are naked as
well as blind. I cannot imagine anything as tragic as a man who is blind and
naked and does not know it. There is only one answer--he is out of his mind. He
is already deep in oblivion. His faculties are gone, spiritual amnesia has set
in. What else can it mean? Can it mean that the Holy Spirit has taken His leave
of this last day church? Can it mean that men have put God out of their minds
to such an extent that it is happening even as stated in Romans 1:28. "And
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over
to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient." It
surely appears that something like that has happened. Here is a people who say
that they are of God and know God and have His Holy Spirit, and yet they are
naked and blind and don't know it. They are ALREADY DECEIVED. THEY HAVE THE
WRONG SPIRIT. THE ELECT CANNOT BE DECEIVED, BUT IT IS EVIDENT THAT THESE OTHERS
ARE. These are they who have become blind because they refused the Word of God.
These are they who have stripped themselves naked by leaving God's care and
protection and sought to build their own way of salvation, their own
THE FINAL COUNSEL OF THE AGES
Revelation 3:18-19. "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."
349-2 The counsel of God is terse. It
is to the point. He directs this last day church to one hope. That hope is
HIMSELF. He says, "Come to Me and buy." It is evident from
this phrase "buy of Me" that the Laodicean church is not at all
dealing with Jesus for the Spiritual products of the
350-1 "Buy of Me, gold tried in the fire, that you may
be rich." Now these people had plenty of gold, but it was the wrong
kind. It was that gold that bought men's lives and destroyed them. It was the
gold that warped and twisted human character, for its love was the root of all
evil.
Revelation 18:1-14, "And after these things I saw
another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was
lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying,
Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils,
and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful
bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants
of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I
heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be
not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins
have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her
even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in
the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath glorified
herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she
saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine:
and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God Who
judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and
lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they
shall see the smoke of her burning. Standing afar off for the fear of her
torment saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in
one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and
mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise
of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and
purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of
ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron,
and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and
wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses,
and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted
after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are
departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all."
This is
exactly the organized churches of the last day, for it says in verse 4, "Come
out of her MY PEOPLE". The rapture has not yet taken place. The bride
is not yet gone when these terrible conditions in this rich, false church
exist.
351-1 But, there is a gold of God. I
Peter 1:7. "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
of gold that perisheth." The gold of God is a Christ-like character
produced in the fiery furnace of affliction. That is the right kind of gold.
351-2 But what kind of gold does the
church have today? It has but the worldly gold that will perish. It is rich. It
is complacent. It has made affluence the major criterion of spirituality. The
evidence of God's blessing and the correctness of doctrine, etc. is now based
upon how many rich folks are involved in it.
351-3 "You had better come
before it is too late," saith the Lord, "and buy of Me gold
tried in the fire and then you will be truly rich." Are we getting it?
Listen to me, "Naked (physically) we came into the world, but naked
(spiritually) we will NOT leave it." Oh no, we are going to take
something with us. What that something is, is ALL we can take with us, nothing
less and nothing more. So we had better be real careful now to see that we take
something that will make us right before God. So, then, what will we take with
us? We will take our CHARACTER, brother, that is what we will take with us. Now
what kind of character will you take with you? Will it be like HIS Whose
character was molded by suffering in the fiery furnace of affliction, or will
it be the softness of this character-less Laodicean people? It is up to each
one of us, for in that day every man will bear his own burden.
351-4 Now, I said that the city of
352-1 The church owns such phenomenal
wealth, that at any given time she can take over the entire world system of
commerce, and indeed a leader in the World Council of Churches has openly
prophesied that the church in the foreseeable future should, could, and will do
just that. But their golden
352-2 And that is what the church has constantly done through
the ages. She has left the Word of God and taken her own creeds and dogmas; she
has organized and joined herself to the world. Thus is she naked, and God is
judging her lewdness. The only way she can get out of this dread situation is
by obeying the Lord to come back to His Word. Revelation 18:4, "Come
out of her My people."
II Corinthians 6:14-18. "Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord
hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the
There is a price to pay for those garments, and that is the price of
separation.
352-3 "And anoint thine eyes
with eyesalve that thou mightest see." He does not say that you have
to buy this eyesalve. Oh no. There is no price tag on the Holy Spirit. "Received
ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?"
Galatians 3:2. Without the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, you can never have your eyes
opened to a true Spiritual revelation of the Word. A man without the Spirit is
blind to God and His truth.
352-4 When I think of this eyesalve opening people's eyes, I
can't help but recall when I was a little boy in
I Corinthians 2:9-16 "But as it is written, Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed
them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man
which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is
of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which
the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are Spiritually
discerned. But he that is Spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is
judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct
him? But we have the mind of Christ."
353-1 Now if all the things that the
Spirit is crying out against are true of this age, we need someone to come on
the scene as did John the Baptist and challenge the church as never before. And
that is exactly what is coming to our age. Another John the Baptist is coming
and he will cry out exactly as did the first forerunner. We know that he will
because of what the next verse says.
"As
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore and repent." Revelation 3:19. This is the same
message that John had as he cried out in that religious wilderness of
Pharisees, Sadducees, and heathen, "REPENT!" There was no
other course then; there is no other course now. There was no other way to get
back to God then, and there is no other way now. It is REPENT. Change your
mind. Turn around. REPENT, for why will ye die?
354-1 Let us examine the first phrase, "as
many as I love". In the Greek the emphasis is upon the personal
pronoun "I". He does not say as many would feel He should say,
"as many as love ME". No sir. We must never try to make Jesus the
OBJECT of human love in this verse. No! It is the MANY that are the LOVED ONES
of God. It is HIS love, in question, NOT ours. So once again we find ourselves
glorying in His salvation, His purpose and His plan, and we are confirmed even
more strongly in the truth of the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God. Even as
He said in Romans 9:13. "Jacob have I loved." Does it now
obtain that since He loved ONLY the MANY, is He therefore in a state of
complacency, awaiting the love of those who have not drawn nigh Him? By no
means is this so, for He declared also in Romans 9:13, "Esau have I
hated." And in verse 11 the Spirit boldly calls out, "For the
children not being born, neither having done any good or evil, THAT THE PURPOSE
OF GOD ACCORDING TO ELECTION MIGHT STAND, not of works, but of Him that
calleth." This love is "Elective Love". It is His
love for His elect. And His love for them is apart from HUMAN MERIT for it says
that the purpose of God stands in election which is exactly opposite to works
or anything man has in himself. Because "BEFORE THE CHILDREN WERE
BORN" He had ALREADY said, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated."
354-2 And now He says to His own, "As many as I love, I
REBUKE AND CHASTEN." To rebuke is to reprove. To reprove is to 'expose
with a view to correction.' Chasten does not mean to punish. It means to
"discipline because the subject's amendment is in mind." This is
exactly what we find in Hebrews 12:5-11,
"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh
unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him; For whom the Lord loveth, He
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening,
God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father
chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers,
then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our
flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather
be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a
few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we
might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth
to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable
fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."
355-1 Herein is now set forth the love of God. He desired in love a family of His own, a family of sons--sons like Himself. There before Him lies all mankind as ONE lump of clay. Out of that same lump He will now make vessels unto honor and unto dishonor. The CHOOSING will be His own choosing. Then those chosen ones, born of His Spirit will be trained to conform to His image in their walk. He REPROVES with all long-suffering and gentleness and mercy. He CHASTENS with nail scarred hands. Sometimes this Potter must take the vessel He is working on and thoroughly break it down in order that He may rebuild it exactly as He desires it. BUT IT IS LOVE. THAT IS HIS LOVE. ANOTHER WAY OF HIS LOVE THERE IS NOT. THERE C