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00:35 Good morning, friends.
00:36 Welcome once again to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:39 here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:41 I'd like to welcome our online members 00:42 and our friends who are joining us 00:44 across the country and around the world 00:46 through social media, 00:47 the various television networks, 00:50 also our regular church members, 00:52 and those who are visiting with us 00:54 right here at the Granite Bay Church, 00:56 very warm welcome to all of you, 00:58 glad to see you here today. 00:59 Now as many of you know, 01:01 we started our brand new series 01:02 dealing with the Book of Revelation, 01:04 our lesson quarterly, 01:05 looking at some very important themes 01:07 in the last book of the Bible. 01:09 Today, we're on lesson number three, 01:11 and very interesting and important study. 01:13 And we're gonna actually share 01:14 a little more about that in just a few moments 01:17 before we launch into our lesson for today. 01:20 But at this time, 01:21 I'd like to invite our song leaders 01:23 to come forward, and they'll be bringing us 01:24 our special music this morning, 01:27 and then we'll follow through with prayer and our lesson. 03:42 Thank you so much for singing with us. 03:44 And at this time, Pastor Ross will have our opening prayer. 03:47 Dear Father in heaven, 03:48 once again, we are grateful to be able to open up Your Word 03:51 and study this very important book, 03:52 the Book of Revelation, 03:54 so many important lessons and truths especially for us, 03:57 living so close to the second coming of Jesus. 04:00 So we ask once again for Your Holy Spirit 04:02 to come and guide our hearts, our minds. 04:04 In Jesus' name, amen. 04:07 As mentioned little earlier, 04:08 we are studying through the Book of Revelation. 04:11 Today, we find ourselves on lesson number three. 04:14 And for those of you who are following along, 04:16 the lesson is entitled, 04:17 "Jesus' Messages to the Seven Churches," 04:20 lesson number three in our lesson quarterly. 04:23 For those who might not have a copy of today's lesson, 04:26 you can download a copy for free 04:28 at the following website, just lesson.aftv.org, 04:34 and you can study along with us. 04:36 We also have the free offer 04:37 for our friends in North America, 04:39 we'll be happy to send this book to you for free. 04:42 All you'll need to do is give us a call. 04:44 The number to call is 866-788-3966 04:49 and you can ask for offer number 191. 04:52 The book is entitled 04:53 "Satan's Confusing Counterfeits, " 04:56 just a very important study. 04:57 For those outside of North America, 04:59 you can download the book for free. 05:01 All you have to do is simply text the number 40544 05:07 and you want to text the code "SH053." 05:12 And if you're in North America 05:13 and would prefer digital copy of the lesson, 05:15 you're welcome to order the book, 05:17 you're welcome to also text again that number, 05:20 you'll see in on your screen, 05:21 and we'll be happy to send this to you. 05:23 Well, at this time, 05:24 Pastor Doug Batchelor is gonna bring us our lesson 05:26 dealing with the seven churches. 05:30 I'm doing a little bit of review. 05:33 I think it was Pastor Ross taught the lesson last week. 05:36 And he touched on the church of Ephesus. 05:39 But I thought, you know, 05:40 sort of be sad to have a lesson 05:41 that deals with the other six churches 05:44 and leave out the first one 05:46 so that you could sort of have a study 05:48 that would encompass them all. 05:49 So we'll do a little review in just a moment. 05:52 Remember, 05:53 Revelation is a kaleidoscope of the entire Bible. 05:58 You have just these vignettes of sevens. 06:01 You've got the seven churches, the seven seals, 06:04 the seven trumpets, the seven plagues. 06:07 Now those are events. 06:09 What does the number seven typically mean? 06:13 I hear completion, I hear perfect. 06:17 Where do you first find seven in the Bible? 06:19 Genesis. 06:21 And what's it related to, 06:22 seven in Genesis related to what? 06:24 Creation. 06:25 Creation. It's a perfect cycle of time. 06:29 Now keep that in mind 06:30 because the sevens we're going to study in Revelation, 06:34 the seven churches 06:35 are really a religious history of the church 06:38 between the first coming and the second coming. 06:40 How do we know that? 06:41 It said, "For the time is come to pass." 06:44 In other words, 06:45 the beginning of these things is happening now. 06:47 Then you've got the seven seals. 06:49 That, sort of, gives us 06:50 a political outline of the church 06:52 between the first coming and the second coming. 06:54 Then you have the seven trumpets. 06:56 Who knows what that is? 06:59 Yeah. 07:00 Well, the trumpets, 07:02 usually they blow the trumpet during the time of war. 07:05 And so you've got the military history of the church 07:08 between the first coming and the second coming. 07:11 Then when you get to the seven plagues, 07:12 it's really dealing with the seven plagues 07:14 from the close of probation until the second coming. 07:17 But they're all dealing with cycles of time. 07:21 We believe, what, they call 07:22 the historicist's view of Revelation. 07:25 Revelation is giving a panorama. 07:28 The first ones who began to look 07:29 at the seven churches 07:31 that they were a historical overview, 07:34 go all the way back to Irenaeus and Tertullian 07:37 and some of the very early church fathers 07:39 wondered if John was trying to tell us 07:41 something about a panorama. 07:43 I think you'll find it interesting 07:44 as they go through the seven churches... 07:46 Let me read them for you and then when you see it, 07:47 you'll understand. 07:48 You got Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum or Pergamos, 07:52 Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. 07:57 Each of the churches are given in order 08:02 as you would be doing a mail route around Asia. 08:07 And so I think it's very interesting, 08:09 it's almost like when the vision is given, 08:11 they're looking from the sky down, 08:14 and they see the seven churches outlined there. 08:18 Each of the names means something. 08:20 All the names in Revelation have a meaning. 08:23 Ephesus means desirable. 08:28 Smyrna, it's even composed in the name, means Myrrh. 08:33 It's the persecuted church. 08:35 Ephesus is the loveless church. 08:38 Pergamos means height or elevation, 08:40 it's the tolerant church. 08:43 Thyatira means high tower, it's the compromising church. 08:48 Sardis means prince of joy, it's the nominal church, 08:51 a church in name only, 08:53 you have a name but you're dead. 08:54 Philadelphia, we got a city name Philadelphia. 08:58 Phileo is one of the words for love, Phileo love. 09:02 Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love. 09:06 And it's one of the positive churches. 09:09 And then you got Laodicea, 09:11 that means a judging of the people 09:12 and it is the arrogant or the self sufficient church, 09:15 and we're living in that age of the church now. 09:18 And so you can track this in covering... 09:22 It shows what was happening in these churches 09:24 during these periods of time. 09:26 Now the seven churches are not written 09:28 just to a certain church in a certain age. 09:31 The seven churches represent a cycle 09:33 that a church may go through. 09:36 Starts out like Ephesus, 09:39 it's on fire but it loses its first love 09:42 and goes through 09:43 all different iterations of a church 09:45 and ends up like the church of Laodicea. 09:48 You might go to a town where you visit 09:50 different churches and you could say, 09:52 "Well, this church is like the brotherly love church." 09:54 And you go to another church up the street and you say, 09:56 "This is church is lukewarm." 09:58 And you can go to another church and say, 09:59 "This church is a church in name only." 10:01 So keep in mind, 10:03 those seven messages to the seven churches... 10:06 There it is. 10:07 Thank you. 10:08 You can see up on the screen here. 10:09 You've got Patmos 10:10 where the vision was written from, 10:13 and it's almost as the Lord is taking John on a journey. 10:17 He goes up to Samos and it begins the mail route, 10:19 starting with Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos or Pergamum, 10:23 Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. 10:25 It's kind of like circling. 10:27 Now why these churches, 10:29 were these the biggest churches in Christianity 10:30 when the letter was written? 10:32 No. 10:33 They were bigger churches in Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, 10:36 lot of bigger churches. 10:38 So right away, you know, 10:39 there's something fishy going on 10:41 that there's some prophetic meaning 10:43 happening here 10:44 because He picks just churches in Asia 10:47 and He gives a different message to each one. 10:51 It seems like there's no two alike 10:53 because they really represent the history, 10:55 the spiritual history of the church 10:57 it was about to go through. 10:59 Jesus said, "The time is at hand. 11:01 I'm sending, and I'm signifying this message to you 11:06 in signs and symbols. 11:07 All right. 11:09 Well, with that, let's dive in. 11:10 I'm gonna do a little review 11:11 and talk about the church of Ephesus in starting. 11:14 It covers a period of approximately 11:16 30 A.D. to 100 A.D. 11:20 And if you read in Chapter 2 verse 1, 11:23 "To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, 11:26 'These things says 11:27 He who holds the seven stars in His right hand...'" 11:30 Are the churches getting ready to go through a difficult time? 11:34 What do the stars represent? 11:37 He tells us later, 11:38 the dragons thrown out of heaven 11:39 and he draws third of the stars to earth with him. 11:42 Who are those stars? Angels. 11:43 Angels, good or bad? 11:45 Follow the dragon, they're bad angels, 11:47 but our stars sometimes good angels. 11:49 So when it says, 11:50 "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus, 11:53 unto the angel of the church of Pergamos..." 11:57 Was there like a particular angel? 11:58 You've got a guardian angel, 11:59 those churches had guardian angels. 12:01 What does the word angel, angelos mean? 12:04 Messenger. 12:06 We talk about, in our church, 12:07 the importance of the three angels' messages. 12:10 So those angels are symbolic of messages 12:14 that are to be given. 12:15 And so, here you've got the angel's messages, 12:19 it's talking about, 12:20 "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus." 12:21 It means the message to the church of Ephesus, 12:25 just like you got first angel, second angel, 12:27 third angel giving messages, 12:30 you've got another fourth angel 12:31 on Revelation 18 giving a message. 12:34 These are the messages of God to these churches, okay? 12:40 "These things says 12:41 He who holds the seven stars in His right hand..." 12:44 I've got the message of the church in my right hand, 12:46 the hand of favor, 12:48 "Who walks in the midst 12:49 of the seven golden lampstands..." 12:51 So church is to be a light in the world, 12:53 Jesus said, "Set your light on a hill." 12:55 He says, "I know your works, your labor, your patience, 13:00 and that you cannot bear those who are evil. 13:03 And you have tested those who say 13:04 they are apostles and are not." 13:06 This is the first day to the church. 13:09 If I told you, my name was Apostle Batchelor, 13:11 would that make you nervous? 13:14 Do we still have deacons in the church? 13:17 We still have pastors, 13:18 we still have evangelists, any apostles? 13:22 If you're Mormon, you say, "Yes, there's still apostles." 13:27 Typically we see that the apostles sort of 13:31 died out in the first century. 13:32 The apostles' qualification, for me an apostle, 13:35 is he really had to be someone 13:36 who had a personal encounter with Jesus. 13:38 You either walk with Jesus. 13:40 When they chose someone to replace Judas, 13:41 what was the criteria? 13:43 Acts Chapter 1, 13:45 those who'd follow Jesus, they knew Jesus, 13:47 they had a personal relationship. 13:48 The only reason Paul gets to qualify as an apostle, 13:51 he personally met Jesus, didn't he? 13:54 And so they hesitated 13:56 using the term apostle after that time. 13:59 So this is telling, 14:00 this is talking about the first age of the church 14:03 from about 30 to 100 A.D., 14:05 which is when the last of the apostles died, 14:08 the Apostle John. 14:10 "You've tested them 14:12 and you've found them to be liars, 14:13 and you have persevered and have patience, 14:15 and you've labored for My name's sake 14:18 and you've not become weary. 14:20 Nevertheless I have this against you, 14:22 that you have left your first love." 14:25 Now have they left off all love 14:30 or is it saying that their love had diminished? 14:34 Does that sometimes happen with Christianity? 14:36 How many of you have noticed 14:38 when a person first learns the truth 14:40 and their sins are forgiven and they get that new life 14:42 and they've got that joy, and what's the spirit? 14:46 They've got that first love, they're on fire, 14:48 they love the Lord, they want to go everywhere 14:49 and do anything for Jesus, right? 14:52 But then as time goes by, it can start becoming routine, 14:56 and they can lose the first love. 14:57 Does that just happen in churches 14:59 or can it happen in a marriage, after the honeymoon is over? 15:04 Now, He's not condemning them that they have no love. 15:07 What does Jesus say 15:08 is a condition of the church in the last days? 15:12 The love of many will grow cold. 15:16 Does He give a formula here how to restore that first love? 15:20 Let's read it. 15:22 "Remember therefore from whence you have fallen..." 15:26 He says they are to remember, to repent and to repeat. 15:30 "Remember from where you have fallen, 15:32 repent and do the first works. 15:35 Repent of your sins and do the first works, 15:38 repeat what you did at the beginning 15:40 or else I will come to you quickly 15:42 and remove your lampstand from its place, 15:45 unless you repent." 15:46 Now this is a very important bit of theology. 15:48 I hope I can get through this lesson. 15:53 There's just so much to cover. 15:56 Do some churches teach that 15:57 if you're a Christian and if you're saved, 15:58 you can't be lost? 16:01 Whose Jesus message to the church of Ephesus to, 16:04 isn't it to Christians? 16:07 Does He say it's possible for Christians 16:08 to have their lampstand removed, 16:10 to have their name taken out of the book of life 16:12 in the later church? 16:14 He gives warnings to every church age saying, 16:17 "Don't lose what you have 16:19 because you can lose eternal life." 16:21 Paul says, "If I preach to others 16:23 and I'm cast away." 16:24 Paul even recognized he could be cast away. 16:26 And so the idea that once you're saved, 16:28 you can't be lost, that's a doctrine of devil. 16:30 It gives people a false security, 16:32 it is not biblical all the way from Genesis to Revelation. 16:35 It's pretty clear, 16:36 your relationship with the Lord must be maintained. 16:39 Once you come to Jesus, 16:41 you can have assurance of salvation, 16:44 but you shouldn't be presumptuous and say, 16:46 "I can never lose it 16:47 if I deliberately choose to neglect my relationship." 16:50 You can't, you don't lose your freedom 16:51 after you become a Christian. 16:53 You still have your freedom of choice. 16:55 So he says, "Repent 16:56 or I'll take your candlestick out of its place. 16:59 But this you have..." 17:00 You noticed, He commends them again, 17:02 "In that you hate the deed of the Nicolaitans..." 17:05 You'll also find that Nicolaitans appear later, 17:08 "Which thing I hate." 17:10 All right, as you go through Revelation, remember this. 17:12 Numbers have real value, names are all symbolic. 17:17 That's simple lesson I got from Dr. Leslie Hardin 17:20 has helped me. 17:22 The names in Revelation are symbolic. 17:25 When it talks about Jezebel in Revelation, 17:27 is it talking about literal Jezebel 17:29 or who she represented in the Old Testament? 17:32 When it talks about Balaam, as Balaam resurrected, 17:34 or does it mean people had the spirit of Balaam? 17:37 When it talks about Egypt and Sodom, Sodom is no more, 17:42 Egypt had fallen. 17:43 It's talking about the attitudes of those places. 17:46 So when it talks about the Nicolaitans, 17:49 what does the name mean? 17:51 All the names of the churches have meanings as well. 17:53 Nicolaitans, it was a group of people who were... 17:58 They were very carnal Christians. 18:01 They believe, 18:02 since you worship God with your spirit, 18:03 what you do with your flesh doesn't matter. 18:05 Some traced it back to Nicolas of Antioch, 18:08 one of the first deacons who apostatized, 18:10 but there's really no biblical record 18:12 that he did that. 18:13 They tried to get maybe credibility 18:15 by attaching their practice with his name. 18:18 They were sharing vibes, 18:20 they were living for their stomachs, 18:21 the very name Nicolas meant, let's eat now. 18:26 So you're gonna find they talk about Christians 18:30 that were carnal Christians and then they were greedy, 18:33 materialistic Christians, the Balaam Christians. 18:36 And do we have those in the church today? 18:39 Yeah, so the doctrine of the Nicolaitans 18:41 and the doctrine of Balaam, 18:43 those things are still in the church today. 18:45 All right. And then He gives a promise. 18:47 He says, "I commend you 18:48 that you hate the doctrine of the Nicolaitans 18:50 which I also hate." 18:51 Their teachings that Jesus hates. 18:53 "He that has an ear, 18:54 let him hear what the Spirit says to the church." 18:57 He says that frequently. 18:59 "To him who overcomes..." 19:00 Now how many times does Jesus say that? 19:03 Seven times. 19:04 How many churches were called to repent? 19:06 Six. 19:09 Five. 19:10 Two of the churches are good. 19:12 Smyrna was persecuted, and Philadelphia. 19:17 All of the churches are encouraged to overcome. 19:20 So the church in every age is told, 19:23 "You can be overcomers." 19:25 What is it we're trying to overcome? 19:29 Selfishness, sin, and Satan. 19:31 We all struggle with those things, right? 19:33 And usually one leads to the other. 19:36 He says, but through Christ, 19:38 how much can I do through Christ? 19:40 All things. All right. 19:42 And then He makes a promise, "To him that overcomes, 19:43 I will give to eat from the tree 19:45 that is in the midst of the Paradise of God." 19:48 Tree of life is mentioned six times in the Bible, 19:50 three times in Genesis and three times in Revelation. 19:54 We lose it in Genesis, we get it back in Revelation. 19:57 Amen? Amen. 19:58 Next church, "Unto the angel of the church..." 20:02 Oh, now wait. 20:03 I want someone to read something to me first. 20:05 I want you to notice that the church in the first age, 20:08 the church of Ephesus is the church on fire, 20:11 they're in love with the Lord, 20:13 the gospel was going like gangbusters. 20:16 But then as it become established, 20:17 they lose their first love. 20:19 For instance, you read... 20:20 Now someone's gonna Colossians 1:23, 20:22 we'll have that one. 20:25 I don't know, did they give that to somebody? 20:26 Just a moment, and before you read that, 20:28 I'm gonna read Colossians 1:5, 20:31 "Because of the hope 20:32 which is laid up for you in heaven, 20:34 of which you have heard before 20:36 in the word of truth of the gospel, 20:39 which has come to you, 20:40 as it has also in all the world." 20:44 Because of that first love they have, 20:46 how far had the gospel gone in one generation? 20:49 It had gone to the then known civilized world. 20:52 They've gone everywhere preaching the gospel. 20:54 Now does that mean when it says all the world, 20:55 they went to South America? 20:57 No. 20:58 Does it mean they went to Australia and China? 21:00 Probably not. 21:02 They're talking about, they're using the word 21:04 as it's called... 21:06 It's not an experlative. 21:09 Trying to find that, 21:10 what the technical term is sometimes. 21:12 Well, it's left me. 21:14 But, yeah, he's using a metaphor, 21:19 saying, going into all the world. 21:21 All right, go ahead, read your verse for us, 21:23 Colossians 1:23. 21:25 "If indeed you continue in the faith, 21:27 grounded and steadfast, 21:29 and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel 21:31 which you heard, 21:33 which was preached to every creature under heaven, 21:36 of which I, Paul, became a minister." 21:39 Preached to every creature, already! 21:42 Look at what they're saying, 21:44 that the gospel is gone to all the world, 21:46 to every creature. 21:47 And so this is the church in the first age of Ephesus. 21:50 Next, you get to the church of Smyrna in Pergamum 21:53 or Pergamos. 21:55 That covers an age of about 100 to 538 21:58 for the church of Smyrna. 22:01 And, let's go ahead and read that together. 22:05 This is a persecuted church. 22:08 "Unto the angel of the church..." 22:09 Actually, yeah, 22:10 I think Smyrna is from 100 to 313. 22:14 "Unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 22:16 'These things says the First and the Last, 22:19 who is dead and he came to life.'" 22:22 Now why is He saying that to this church? 22:24 This is a church 22:26 they are offering themselves as a sacrifice. 22:28 After the first century, from the time of Nero, 22:31 they began to declare Christianity religio illicita, 22:34 forbidden religion. 22:36 Christians went underground. 22:37 They started digging the catacombs. 22:39 They were persecuted. 22:40 They were dying for their faith. 22:42 They were being told if they do not burn incense 22:44 and sacrifice to the various idols, 22:47 they could be fed to the lions, 22:49 they would be tortured, 22:50 they had their possessions taken away. 22:52 That's why Paul is saying it might be better not to marry 22:56 and start a family during this time of persecution 22:59 that was beginning with Paul. 23:01 Paul was beheaded by Nero. 23:03 Peter was crucified upside down. 23:06 But it really intensified 23:07 during the time of the Emperor Diocletian, 23:11 and we'll talk about that just a minute. 23:14 "These things says the First and the Last, 23:16 who is dead and came to life, 23:18 'I know your works, your tribulation, 23:20 and your poverty but you are rich...'" 23:22 They'd lost all their possessions for the gospel. 23:24 He says, "I died but I'm alive, don't be discouraged. 23:28 I know the blasphemy of those 23:29 who say they are Jews and are not, 23:32 but are of the synagogue of Satan." 23:33 Some were claiming to be Christians, 23:36 but they were selling out. 23:39 Now are there people today 23:41 that say they're Christians and they live like the devil? 23:43 So we still have the synagogue of Satan today, don't we? 23:47 "Do not fear any of those things 23:49 that you are about to suffer. 23:51 Indeed," He says, "I'm telling you in advance, 23:53 the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, 23:56 and you may be tested, 23:58 and you will have tribulation ten days." 24:01 There was an especially intense tribulation 24:04 that took place between 303 and 313. 24:08 Now what is the day equal in biblical prophecy? 24:11 One day is one year. 24:13 So He said, you're gonna have tribulation ten days. 24:16 Do you really think that Jesus would warn them 24:17 about ten days of tribulation or was it ten years? 24:20 This is another verse 24:21 that proves a day equals a year. 24:23 And you see it historically, 24:26 there was an effort made to eradicate, annihilate, 24:29 completely destroy Christianity, 24:33 and this emperor actually, 24:34 I think had coin stamp that says, 24:36 "I destroy the Christians," he'd optimism of that, 24:39 but he did not. 24:41 But there was a fierce persecution. 24:43 I think it was the church father Tertullian 24:45 that said, "The blood of the martyrs is seed, 24:49 and the more that 24:51 you try to kill off the Christians, 24:52 the more they grew." 24:54 And so it spread. 24:56 And Jesus tells them, "Be faithful unto death, 25:01 and I will give you the crown of life." 25:04 Notice He doesn't reprove them for anything, 25:06 no repentance here. 25:08 "He that has an ear, 25:09 let him hear what the Spirit says to the church. 25:11 He who overcomes 25:12 will not be hurt by the second death." 25:14 Notice, there are three or four references to death 25:18 and resurrection in this one message 25:20 to this one church. 25:21 Why did they need that? 25:23 They're being killed for their faith. 25:25 This is the age of the church and Smyrna, Myrrh, 25:28 is a fragrance, that's an incense, 25:31 and that's almost like God is saying, 25:33 "Your sacrifice of your lives is coming up before me 25:36 as a sweet smelling savor." 25:38 This is a church that lived during age of total sacrifice. 25:42 They put everything on the altar for Jesus 25:45 during this time. 25:46 And so that's the church of Smyrna. 25:48 It lasted too, as I said, about from 303 to 313. 25:53 And then you get to 25:57 the church of Pergamos which comes next. 26:02 And it says, "Unto the angel... 26:04 This is verse 12. 26:05 I'm in Revelation 2:12, 26:08 "Unto the angel of the church in Pergamos write: 26:12 'These things says 26:14 He who has the sharp two-edged sword." 26:17 Now what is that two-edged sword represent? 26:20 The Word of God is quick and powerful 26:22 and sharper than any two-edged sword. 26:24 Does Jesus appear in Revelation with a sword 26:26 coming out of His mouth? 26:28 And so it's talking about the Word of God. 26:31 "I know your works, and where you dwell, 26:34 where Satan's throne is." 26:38 Now, where is Satan's throne? 26:41 It talks about... 26:43 Yeah, it's here on earth but was there a place 26:46 that he was especially enthroned? 26:50 Does it talk later in Revelation 26:52 about the beast 26:53 receives its throne and its power? 26:56 Does it talk about a woman 26:57 who reigns over the kings of the earth? 26:59 Where did she reign? 27:00 In all those cases, it's talking about Rome. 27:04 Rome was where the power was, 27:05 and Rome became the seat of corruption. 27:07 Rome is where Paul was killed, Peter was killed. 27:10 The seat of Caesar 27:12 who was fighting to annihilate Christianity 27:15 but the church in Rome, 27:17 aren't we thankful for the Book of Romans? 27:19 The church in Rome was doing their best 27:21 to maintain faithfulness. 27:22 Now what happened is following the persecution 27:27 of the church of Smyrna in about 320, 27:33 along came an emperor by the name of Constantine, 27:37 and, many of you know this, 27:39 but I probably got to repeat it 27:41 that they had enemies coming in from the North. 27:45 He felt, "Why are we spending 27:46 all our energy fighting the Christians, 27:48 Christians really aren't hurting anybody." 27:50 And he said that... 27:51 His mother converted to Christianity, 27:53 it even reached the palace. 27:55 And he claimed that he had a vision of Christ 27:59 telling him to conquer under the sign of the cross. 28:02 And Constantine ordered his army 28:04 to march through the Tiber River, 28:06 and he said, "You will all thus be baptized." 28:08 He only had a superficial knowledge of Christianity, 28:11 he knew they got baptized, he didn't realized 28:13 you needed to be taught the teachings first. 28:15 So all of these soldiers suddenly said, 28:17 "I guess I'm a Christian 28:18 because the emperor says I'm a Christian." 28:20 It sort of became a government church, 28:22 then it became fashionable. 28:23 Everybody wanted to be a Christian 28:24 because the emperor's mother is a Christian 28:27 and now it's accepted, and suddenly, it became a fad, 28:34 everyone wanted to be a Christian. 28:35 And saying you're a Christian is like, 28:38 "I'm a Christian." 28:40 And it became really cool, and they had a name. 28:43 And so notice what happens here. 28:50 "You're located where Satan's throne is 28:52 and you hold fast to My name, 28:55 and you did not deny My faith even in the days 28:57 in when Antipas was My faithful martyr." 29:00 Antipas means against pas, against the father. 29:04 They started, 29:05 the church fathers began to compromise, 29:06 and those who stood up against the church fathers 29:08 were persecuted. 29:11 It's even during this time 29:12 you have the birth of the Waldenses 29:14 named after Peter Waldo who said, 29:17 he was willing to forsake everything, 29:18 go out and teach. 29:23 "And you have those there 29:24 who have the doctrine of Balaam, 29:26 who taught Balak to put a stumbling block 29:29 before the children of Israel, 29:30 to eat things sacrificed to idols, 29:32 and to commit sexual immorality." 29:35 So there was greed coming into the church, 29:37 there was compromise. 29:38 You notice what Balaam did. 29:41 Now when you think of Balaam, 29:42 first, he tried to curse Israel but it didn't work. 29:44 But did Balaam ever succeed in getting a curse on Israel? 29:47 He did. Do you remember how he did it? 29:49 He wanted the rewards, 29:50 he was so greedy for the rewards of Balak 29:52 that he went back and said, 29:55 "Look, having me try to utter curses on Israel 29:57 is not doing them any good 'cause they're blessed, 29:58 but if you get them to disobey their God, 30:00 if you could get them to commit idolatry 30:03 and worship your gods, 30:04 and if you get the women to go in among them 30:06 and invite them to their feasts," 30:08 Balaam did that, it did work. 30:11 The men were enticed to worship the gods of Moab 30:14 and a curse and a plague fell upon them. 30:17 So something was happening to the church 30:19 during this age of Pergamos where compromise came in. 30:25 They started to worship the pagan gods 30:27 and commit whoredom is what God calls it 30:30 because when Constantine legalized Christianity, Rome... 30:34 Someone said there were more gods in Rome 30:37 than they were tiles on the roof. 30:39 They had idols everywhere. 30:41 And they were like pigeons, idols, 30:44 hundreds of thousands of idols, 30:45 there are all these different gods. 30:47 And the funny thing was you can worship 30:48 almost any god in Rome except Jehovah, 30:51 that was against the law. 30:52 Constantine said, "That's silly. 30:53 Let's just allow Jehovah worship." 30:55 So all these people suddenly became Christians, 30:57 but the priests didn't want to lose their jobs. 31:00 So the priests converted and they brought their robes 31:03 and their ceremonies into the church, 31:05 the pagan ceremonies have began to comingle. 31:08 They didn't want to get rid of their beautiful works of art, 31:10 the idols, and they said, 31:11 "Well, let's give them Christian names." 31:13 So all over the kingdom, 31:14 they just started to kind of rebaptize the idols 31:16 and call them Peter, James, John, and Mary was everywhere. 31:20 But it formally had been Athena or Semiramis 31:25 or one of these other female deities 31:28 and they just named her Mary. 31:30 She's usually got a sun just behind her head, 31:33 and they even had Tammuz. 31:36 These pagan gods were holding the baby 31:38 which was Tammuz, 31:39 that's why you often see pictures of Mary 31:41 holding the baby Jesus. 31:43 The comingling of truth and error came in, 31:46 and this is what Balaam had done. 31:49 He got them to commit harlotry. 31:51 You know, when God's people turn to idols, 31:52 what did you call it biblically? 31:54 They called it harlotry. 31:56 So this is the church of Pergamos 31:59 and a great compromise there. 32:01 You know, we go on next to the church of Thyatira, 32:05 and you read about this here, 32:06 and it starts in Revelation 2:18. 32:10 "And unto the angel of the church," 32:12 He says, "here's really the message 32:13 to the church of Thyatira write: 32:15 'These things says the Son of God, 32:17 who has eyes like a flame of fire," 32:19 I see everything, "and His feet like fine brass. 32:23 'I know your works, your love, your service, 32:26 faith, your patience. 32:28 And as for your works, 32:29 the last are more than the first." 32:31 They are doing a lot of good works. 32:33 "Nevertheless I have something against you, 32:36 because you have... 32:38 Nevertheless I have something against you 32:39 because you have allowed that woman Jezebel, 32:41 who calls herself a prophetess, 32:43 to teach and seduce My servants 32:45 to commit sexual immorality 32:47 and to eat things sacrificed to idols. 32:50 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, 32:53 and she did not repent. 32:56 And indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, 32:58 and those who commit adultery with her." 33:00 This is, if you want to know who is Thyatira, 33:03 Thyatira is the woman of Revelation 17, Jezebel. 33:08 It's a woman who persecutes the prophets. 33:10 Now God still had a faithful church 33:12 during that time, 33:13 but they had to go back underground again 33:15 because now the church had become so powerful 33:18 that she was persecuting 33:21 and enticing the faithful to compromise. 33:25 And so this is a time really when the church in Rome 33:28 was growing and spreading everywhere. 33:31 There were still good people doing many faithful works, 33:34 they still believed in sacrificing, giving. 33:37 And the Lord saw that. 33:40 But I tell you, even in the... 33:43 You know, you really need to commend the zeal 33:46 and the dedication of the Catholic Church 33:49 during this age 33:50 because they had orphanages, and monasteries, 33:54 and missionaries that were getting killed, 33:56 going out, and hospitals that they were building. 33:59 Only hospitals were run by the church. 34:01 There are a lot of dedicated people 34:03 like Mother Teresa doing wonderful works, 34:05 and God sees that. 34:07 But he said, when it came to their biblical faith, 34:10 they were getting a long way from the Bible, 34:12 and it was turning to harlotry, 34:15 and the church had become corrupt. 34:20 What does the woman represent? 34:22 So you got Jezebel. 34:23 So this is the church during the age of Jezebel. 34:27 And I'll read on here, it said, 34:29 "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, 34:31 and those who commit adultery with her 34:32 into great tribulation." 34:34 During this time, you had the bubonic plague, 34:36 the greatest gorge of death that went through Europe. 34:40 The only thing that came close was the flu of 1918. 34:46 "I will kill her children with death..." 34:48 They called it the Black Death, 34:50 "And all the churches will know that 34:51 I am He who searches the minds and the hearts. 34:54 And I will give to each one of you 34:55 according to your works." 34:56 Now we're saved by grace. 34:58 But you notice the term 34:59 keeps coming up here in Revelation. 35:01 "I know your works, I know your works, 35:03 I know your works." 35:04 Are we saved by works? 35:05 We're saved by grace. 35:06 But does God look at our works to see 35:07 if our hearts are changed? 35:09 Your works will be evidence of that. 35:12 We're saved by grace but we're judged by... 35:16 Bible says, 35:17 "I'll judge everyone according to their works." 35:20 "Now I say unto you, and to the rest in Thyatira, 35:23 as many as do not have this doctrine, 35:25 who have not known the depths of Satan, 35:27 as they say, I'll put on you no other burden. 35:30 But hold fast what you have till I come. 35:34 He who overcomes, 35:35 and keeps My works until the end, 35:37 I will give power over the nations. 35:40 'He will rule them with a rod of iron. 35:43 And they'll be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessel, ' 35:46 as I also have received from My Father, 35:48 I will give him the morning star. 35:50 He that has an ear, 35:51 let him hear what the spirit says to the churches." 35:55 Next, we go to the church of Sardis 35:57 which is the dead church. 35:59 "Unto the angel of the church in Sardis write these things. 36:08 "These things says 36:09 He that has the seven spirits and the seven stars, 36:12 'I know your works and that you have a name, 36:14 you are alive, but you are dead.'" 36:19 Now there are a lot of good church names out there. 36:22 I like the name Assembly of God. 36:25 Don't we want to be in assembly of God? 36:27 I like the name Church of Christ. 36:30 I even want to be a Latter-day Saint. 36:32 You understand what I'm saying. 36:34 I want to be a witness for Jehovah, don't you? 36:38 Not that, it kind of gives you... 36:39 It makes you cringe a little when you hear me say that, 36:42 but you know what I'm saying. 36:44 There are great names out there, a lot of names. 36:46 How many different church names are there out there? 36:49 Thousands of them. 36:52 But is it possible to have a name 36:56 and nothing behind it. 36:59 It's like, you know, they say back in the Texas 37:02 that he's all cowboy hat and no cows. 37:06 And you know, he's got the hat, 37:07 he's got the boots and the spurs, 37:09 and he got not horse. 37:11 And so this is what's happened to the church, 37:13 it's become an institution, 37:14 it's lost the sprit during this time. 37:17 And this is the dead church that you've got 37:20 during the time of Sardis. 37:22 "You have a name that you're alive 37:23 but you're dead. 37:25 Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain..." 37:27 There's still a little life in the teachings they have, 37:30 "That are ready to die. 37:32 I've not found your works perfect before God. 37:34 Remember therefore 37:35 how you have received and heard, 37:37 and hold fast and repent. 37:39 Therefore if you will not watch, 37:41 I will come upon you as a thief, 37:43 and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 37:46 You have a few names even in Sardis 37:47 that have not defiled their garments..." 37:49 And this is a time of the reformation, 37:52 "And they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 37:55 He that overcomes 37:56 shall be clothed in white garments, 37:58 and I'll not blot his name out from the Book of Life." 38:00 You mean, a person can have their name in the book 38:03 and have it blotted out? 38:05 He's talking to the church here, isn't He? 38:09 "I will confess his name before My Father 38:11 and before His angels." 38:13 This is what Jesus said. 38:14 "He that is not ashamed of Me in this wicked generation, 38:17 I will not be ashamed of him." 38:18 But if we are ashamed of Him, He'll be ashamed of us. 38:21 It's like when the Lord said to the devil, 38:25 "Have you considered my servant Job?" 38:27 Your God is confessing the name of one of His faithful servants 38:31 in heaven before even the devil. 38:34 "Let him that has an ear hear 38:36 what the spirit says to the church." 38:38 Now you got the faithful church, 38:39 the church of Philadelphia. 38:40 This is the church during the age 38:42 of the great enlightenment, 38:44 during the time of Whitfield and Wesley, 38:47 the American Bible Society, and the English Bible Society, 38:50 and the missionaries 38:51 are being sent around the world. 38:52 This is a great mission explosion. 38:54 It was a church of brotherly love. 38:57 They got out of their churches where there was a name 38:59 and they were dead, 39:00 and they started preaching in the open fields. 39:02 And Whitfield and Wesley, 39:04 they went and did mission work in North America, 39:06 and is when Carey went into India. 39:08 And I think, it's when Judson went to China 39:11 during that same age. 39:12 So you get the great missionary zeal 39:15 taking place during this time. 39:18 "These things says He that is holy," 39:20 I'm in Revelation 3:7, "He is true, 39:23 'He who has the key of David, 39:25 He opens and no one shuts, 39:27 and he shuts and no one opens.'" 39:28 What does that mean? 39:29 Someone gonna read for me Isaiah 22:22. 39:33 Who's got that one? 39:36 And what does Jesus mean by saying, 39:40 "I've set before you an open door. 39:42 I've got a key." 39:44 Okay, go ahead and read that for us. 39:46 Isaiah 22:22, "The key of the house of David 39:50 I will lay on his shoulder, so he shall open, 39:53 and no one shall shut, and he shall shut, 39:56 and no one shall open." 39:58 This is a verse that's being almost 39:59 directly quoted in Revelation. 40:01 You remember what we said a couple of weeks ago 40:03 on our introduction, 40:04 that out of the 404 verses in Revelation, 40:07 278 are almost found word for word 40:09 somewhere else in the Bible. 40:11 And so, who is it that has... 40:13 Who is the son of David that has a key? 40:15 That's Jesus that is the Son of David. 40:18 And what is the door He opens? 40:21 Well, for one thing, 40:22 it's a door of salvation that He opens before us. 40:26 And the keys... 40:27 Then He tell the disciples, 40:28 "I give to you the key of the kingdom." 40:30 Does that mean that the priests are the ones 40:32 who decide you're saved or is the key in the truth? 40:36 In sharing the gospel, 40:37 you have the keys of eternal life. 40:39 And so as we share this, the Word with others, 40:41 the door is open. 40:45 "For you have a little strength and that you have kept My word 40:47 and not denied My name. 40:49 Indeed, I will make those 40:51 who are of the synagogue of Satan 40:53 who say they are Jews but are not, 40:55 I'll make them come and worship before your feet 40:58 to know that you have loved Me 41:00 because you have kept My commandment. 41:01 To persevere, 41:02 I will also keep you from the hour of trial 41:05 that will come upon the whole world." 41:07 You know what? 41:08 It was some of the Puritans and some of these 41:10 who were reviving, like I said, 41:11 the Wesleys in the Whitfields. 41:13 They believed in religious freedom, 41:14 the Church of England, and the other church in Rome, 41:17 they were terribly persecuting them 41:19 for what they were doing. 41:20 But eventually, they embraced, 41:24 Europe and America embraced religious freedom, 41:27 and the proclamation of the gospel. 41:29 So they came and recognized that God was with them. 41:33 "Because you have kept My command to persevere, 41:35 I'll keep you from the hour of trial 41:37 that will come upon the whole world 41:39 to test those who dwell on the earth. 41:41 Behold, I'm coming quickly." 41:43 We're about to get to the church of Laodicea. 41:45 "Hold fast what you have 41:47 that no one may take your crown." 41:49 Again, is it possible to lose your crown? 41:53 It says, you Christians need to maintain, hold fast. 41:56 "He who overcomes, 41:57 I'll make him a pillar in the temple of My God. 42:01 And he showed..." 42:02 David says, "I'd rather be a gatekeeper 42:04 in the house of God." 42:05 He'll go out no more, 42:06 and I'll write on him the name of My God, 42:08 and the name of the city of My God, 42:10 the New Jerusalem 42:11 that comes down from God from My God." 42:13 By the way that isn't referenced again 42:15 until you get to Revelation Chapter 21. 42:18 "And I will write on him a new name, 42:21 he that has an ear, let him hear 42:22 what the Spirit says to the church." 42:25 And now we get to the last age, 42:27 the last church which is the church of what? 42:30 Laodicea. 42:31 And I have been giving you all of the dates. 42:32 A church to Philadelphia is like 1740 to 1844, 42:35 the church of Laodicea is from 1844 to, 42:39 you would like to have that last date, wouldn't you? 42:42 But no man knows the day or the hour when Laodicea ends. 42:45 Not too far away. 42:47 If you got someone telling you, they know it, watch out. 42:50 Now 1844 is a very interesting year. 42:54 A lot of things happened. 42:55 Not only was it the ending 42:57 of that great advent proclamation, 43:01 it's the time where you had the great disappointment. 43:04 The first digital message ever given was in 1844. 43:08 How many digital messages do you get today? 43:11 First electronic message, you know, what the message was? 43:13 Robert Morse, who invented Morse code, 43:16 the message was, "What hath God wrought." 43:20 He quoted the scripture from Numbers, 43:22 What hath God wrought. 43:24 That was the year 43:25 where you have the birth of communism 43:28 in Karl Marx Communist Manifesto. 43:31 It was during that year 43:32 that Darwin formed his theory of evolution 43:36 during his voyage on the Beagle. 43:39 So many things happened, it's a very interesting year. 43:42 So that's kind of the end of the age of Philadelphia, 43:45 now you get the birth of the Church of Laodicea. 43:49 A lot of the churches have rejected 43:50 that message of Jesus' coming, the advent message, 43:53 they went to sleep. 43:55 They pressed the snooze button. Obviously, He didn't come. 43:59 And then they began to believe their reach increased for good. 44:01 So let's read what it says here about this church. 44:04 "To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans," 44:07 right, by the way, we enter the time of judgment, 44:09 what is the word Laodicea mean? 44:11 A judging of the people. 44:14 "These things says the amen, the faithful and true witness, 44:18 the beginning of the creation of God." 44:20 Now when do you say amen? 44:23 It's often at the end of a prayer. 44:24 Christ is getting ready to come. 44:25 These things says the amen, 44:29 the beginning of the creation of God. 44:31 "I know your works that you are...'" 44:33 What I want to say 44:34 is the beginning of the creation 44:36 means all creation began with Christ. 44:37 All things that were made were made by Him, 44:39 it doesn't mean He was created. 44:41 "I know your works, 44:42 that you are neither cold or hot. 44:44 I wish you were cold or hot, 44:46 so then because you're lukewarm and neither cold or hot, 44:49 I will spew or vomit you out of My mouth." 44:52 Now just a little side note, 44:53 Laodicea was very prosperous city. 44:57 And they were so rich that when they suffered 45:04 from an earthquake, 45:05 Rome offered to send the money to rebuild them. 45:06 They said, "We don't need your money, we got our own." 45:09 How often would you turn down government money? 45:11 They were that rich, 45:13 and arrogant, and self sufficient. 45:15 They didn't have a good water supply from the city, 45:18 so they had to build an aqueduct 45:19 that brought the water. 45:20 They had water, cold water springs to the south. 45:24 By the time it got to the city, it was lukewarm. 45:26 And they had the hot springs six miles to the north, 45:29 but didn't reach the city hot, the water all came lukewarm, 45:32 and sitting in the sun, 45:33 and in these channels of the aqueduct, 45:35 sometimes the water got stagnant 45:36 because it didn't run very fast. 45:39 And if you drink warm stagnant water 45:41 with moss in the summer, you could get sick. 45:44 And so some people, in spite of the riches, 45:46 they got sick from drinking the tepid water. 45:49 If you boil water, it's good, if it's cold and running, 45:51 it's usually safe. 45:53 But if it's lukewarm, it can make you sick. 45:57 And so, someone would say, "Why would Jesus say, 45:59 'I wish you were hot or cold.'" 46:01 Now let's suppose hot means you're full of zeal, 46:03 you're on fire for the Lord, you're out preaching, 46:05 you're teaching, you're sharing your faith, 46:07 you're praying. 46:09 We can all understand why God would say, 46:11 "I wish that you were hot, zealous." 46:15 But why would Jesus ever say "Or cold?" 46:18 What does cold mean? 46:19 Cold, was that mean, dead, indifferent lost? 46:23 No, not exactly. 46:26 Cold would represent a person who is humbling themselves, 46:30 they know their weakness, they're asking for help, 46:33 they're praying, 46:34 they're in a state of repentance. 46:36 The Lord can work with you even if you've fallen, 46:38 but you're repenting, right? 46:41 And He can work with you if you're on fire, 46:42 and you're zealous, and you're full of the Spirit. 46:45 He can't work with you 46:47 when you think everything is okey-dokey, 46:50 and as Lucille Ball says, it's inky stinky. 46:53 You think everything's okay? 46:55 But you don't know what your true condition is. 46:57 This is the church that is self deceived. 47:00 Notice what it says here. 47:03 You do not know. 47:05 This is the problem "Because you say, 47:06 'I'm rich and become wealthy,' you have need of nothing, 47:08 you do not know that you are wretched, 47:11 and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." 47:14 Now can the Lord use a person that is wretched, miserable, 47:17 poor, blind, and naked? 47:19 Can you come to Him and be saved 47:21 if you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked? 47:23 I love that story in the Bible of those four lepers 47:26 that are trapped outside the city, 2 Kings Chapter 7. 47:31 And Jesus reveals to them this great feast of food 47:34 'cause the other army fled. 47:36 And God uses them to share the message. 47:38 Here you've got these lepers that are poor, wretched, 47:41 miserable, blind, and naked. 47:43 He gives them the message of abundance, 47:45 they bring the message to the city, 47:47 "How could God use someone like that?" 47:48 Because they surrendered. 47:50 They went to surrender to the enemy. 47:53 And because they came to the point of surrender, 47:55 He could give them the message. 47:57 You get people like Mary Magdalene. 48:01 He uses the very least to share the message. 48:05 You've got that crazy demoniac. 48:07 You cannot find a more lost person in the Bible 48:10 than the demoniac. 48:12 I challenge you to find someone 48:13 who is in worse shape than the demoniac 48:16 that you read about in Mark Chapter 5, 48:17 Luke Chapter 7, who is naked, covered with chains, 48:21 covered with scars, living with the dead, 48:24 surrounded by pigs, is out of his mind, 48:26 is unclean, is unsocial, but he comes to Jesus. 48:30 That's what he does. 48:31 He comes to Jesus, and what does Jesus do? 48:34 And one day He makes him an evangelist. 48:36 That's a great story. 48:38 So if a person realizes their need, 48:41 no matter how bad off they are, 48:44 the Lord's arm is not shorten that He cannot save. 48:46 Isn't that good news? 48:48 But what God cannot do 48:49 is a person who will not humble themselves. 48:53 You're in the greatest risk 48:54 of committing the unpardonable sin 48:56 if you're in Laodicea. 48:59 You're in the greatest risk of saying, "I don't need God." 49:03 'Cause God can work with almost anybody 49:05 except the person that doesn't humble himself. 49:07 They don't recognize their need. 49:09 And so He said, "I counsel you to buy of me gold, 49:15 tried in the fire, that you might be rich." 49:19 And what is that gold? 49:20 That's love that works by faith. 49:23 "And white garments." 49:24 What does clothing represent? 49:27 He's offering us. 49:28 It's like at the wedding feast, He offers a robe. 49:31 It's the king that is giving a robe, 49:33 its righteousness. 49:35 "That the shame of your nakedness 49:36 may not be revealed, 49:38 and to anoint your eyes with eye salve." 49:40 I understand Laodicea was a place 49:41 people went for this balm for their eyes, 49:44 the ancient medicine they have there. 49:46 It says, "Look, I've got eye balm for you 49:48 that you may actually see." 49:51 Didn't Jesus once anoint a blind man with this mud 49:55 and his eyes were open? 49:56 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." 49:59 So don't be upset if God, if you're convicted. 50:02 Praise God, if you're convicted, 50:04 and you are brought to repentance. 50:06 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. 50:08 Therefore be zealous," 50:11 and hot would be zealous, "and repent." 50:13 There's the hot and cold right there. 50:16 Hot, zealous, cold, repent. 50:19 If you're repenting, He can work with you. 50:20 If you're on fire, He can work with you. 50:22 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." 50:24 This is the last message to the last church 50:26 called the amen, and where is He? 50:29 And at the door, "I'm about to come." 50:33 "If anyone hears My voice and opens the door..." 50:36 Now not only is He knocking, you can hear knocking, 50:39 but in order to hear His voice, His voice is not the knocking, 50:41 His voice is the talking. 50:44 So they hear the knocking, they hear the voice, 50:47 and open the door. 50:48 I understand, Harry Anderson 50:50 painted the famous picture of Jesus knocking at the door. 50:54 He, Jesus is standing at this door, it's at a home, 50:57 and He's knocking. 50:58 It's a beautiful picture. 50:59 But someone noticed that 51:00 you can clearly see the door has no doorknob on the outside. 51:05 It can only be open from the inside. 51:08 Jesus is not going to break in to your heart, 51:11 you must open the door. 51:13 "I stand at the door and knock. 51:15 If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, 51:17 I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me." 51:20 He says, "I want to sup with him." 51:22 What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus? 51:25 "Come down, 51:26 today I must abide at your house." 51:28 I want to sup with you. 51:30 I want to live with you. 51:31 I want to dwell with you 51:32 like he did with Lazarus and Martha in their home. 51:35 I want to have a personal relationship with you. 51:39 "And he with Me. 51:40 To him who overcomes, 51:41 I will grant to sit with Me on My throne." 51:43 What a privilege! 51:45 "As I also overcame 51:47 and have sat down with My Father on the throne." 51:49 Is it only the 12 apostles that get to sit on 12 thrones? 51:53 Or does Jesus said 51:54 to the entire church of Laodicea, 51:55 to him that overcomes. 51:58 We not only get crowns, we not only get mansions, 52:00 we get thrones to live and reign with Christ 52:04 is what the promise is, right? 52:06 That's wonderful. 52:07 When He's moving the capital of the universe to our world, 52:10 and we will get to reign with Him. 52:11 Well, friends, that was a short 52:13 and probably a pitiful overview of the seven churches. 52:16 It's so hard to jump that all together 52:20 in just 50 minutes or so. 52:22 Thank you so much for joining us. 52:23 I want to remind you that we do have a free offer. 52:26 If you did not catch the beginning of our program, 52:28 it's called "Satan's Confusing Counterfeits." 52:31 It talks about like the church of Laodicea, 52:35 and also Thyatira. 52:37 If you'd like a free copy of this, it's offer 191. 52:40 You'll ask for that when you call 866-788-3966. 52:45 That's 866-Study-More 52:47 or you can get it for free right now. 52:48 If you want, you can download it. 52:50 Just text, text the letters 52:52 "SH058" to 40544, 52:59 and this... 53:00 The mailing of the book, of course, is for the US. 53:02 God bless, we'll look forward to studying 53:04 His Word together again next week. 53:08 Don't forget to request 53:09 today's life changing free resource. 53:12 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 53:14 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 53:16 or mobile device. 53:18 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 53:20 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 53:24 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 53:27 And be sure to select a digital download option 53:30 on the request page. 53:31 It's now easier than ever for you 53:33 to study God's Word with Amazing Facts 53:36 wherever and whenever you want, 53:37 and most important to share it with others. 53:50 So what is the brightest light in the world? 53:53 Well, naturally, you would say the sun. 53:55 But we're talking about 53:56 the brightest man-made light in the world. 53:58 It's the light that shines out of the roof 54:00 of that pyramid shaped hotel in Las Vegas called the Luxor. 54:05 There in the cap of that hotel, 54:06 there is a room that contains 54:08 39 washing machines size xenon bulbs, 54:12 and each of those bulbs requires about 7000 watts, 54:16 altogether they produce about 40 billion 54:19 candlepower of light. 54:21 Can you imagine getting that electric bill 54:23 of the Luxor hotel every month? 54:25 That light is so bright that planes can see it 54:28 250 miles away. 54:30 They are shooting light 10 miles up into space, 54:33 meaning if you happen to be floating by, 54:35 you can read a newspaper up there. 54:38 And as you might have guessed 54:39 that bright light has become the world's best bug attractor. 54:43 Bringing in moths, bats, 54:44 and owls creating its own ecosystem there 54:47 at night above the hotel. 54:49 But the sad thing about 54:50 the brightest light in the world 54:51 is especially when the night air is clear 54:54 without any particles, 54:55 the light doesn't hit anything and it's invisible, 54:59 it shoots up into empty space. 55:01 The brightest light in the world 55:04 illuminates nothing. 55:05 You know, the Bible tells us that 55:07 there's another great wasted light, 55:09 and that's the light of God's Word. 55:11 It says in Psalm 119:105, 55:14 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet 55:16 and a light unto my path." 55:18 And yet so many people are walking in darkness. 55:21 Furthermore, Jesus said, "If you do have that light, 55:24 make sure you don't put it under a bushel, 55:26 but you let it shine 55:27 and illuminate the lives of others. 55:29 Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 5, 55:31 "Set your light up on a hill 55:32 like a city so that all might see it." 55:35 Light only benefits others 55:37 when it reflects off of something. 55:39 God wants our lights 55:41 to illuminate the lives of others. 55:43 So are you glowing for God? 55:45 Remember, Jesus said, "Let there be light." 55:57 Let's face it, it's not always easy to understand 56:00 everything you read in the Bible. 56:02 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 56:06 the Bible can generate a lot of questions. 56:08 To get biblical straightforward answers, 56:10 call into Bible Answers Live, 56:12 a live nationwide call-in radio program 56:15 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor 56:17 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 56:20 For times and stations in your area 56:22 or to listen to answers online, 56:24 visit bal.amazingfacts.org. 56:43 Friends, one of the amazing things 56:44 you will often find in the South Pacific Islands 56:47 like here on Fiji is the Wiwi plant. 56:50 Now in North America if you want to build a fence, 56:52 you got to get a fencepost, 56:53 and then you put the wooden fencepost in the ground, 56:55 and then after few years they're gonna rot 56:57 and break off unless they're specially treated. 57:00 But here they got these trees, the Wiwi tree, 57:03 they can cut them right out of the woods, 57:05 they'll take a stick, they'll stick it in the ground. 57:07 And because they have so much rain and precipitation, 57:10 it begins to sprout and turns into a living fencepost. 57:13 It makes up its mind that it's gonna flourish 57:15 wherever you stick it, 57:16 which is a good lesson for you and me. 57:19 So you might wonder sometimes 57:20 if you've got a purpose in life. 57:22 You might feel like you are growing 57:23 sort of sporadically in every direction, 57:25 and then along comes this person 57:27 who cuts you down and carries you off, 57:29 he sticks you in the ground. 57:31 But you look back and you say, 57:33 there was a plan, there was a purpose. 57:35 God knows how to teach us 57:37 how to prosper where He plants us. 57:39 You might wonder 57:41 why the Lord has put you where He has in life. 57:43 But you can put down roots, and you can grow, 57:45 and you can serve a great purpose for God. 57:47 You know, it's like God says in Jeremiah Chapter 29, 57:50 "I know the plants 57:51 that I've got for you to give you a future." 57:53 God has a purpose for your life, friends. 57:55 And He can help you to prosper and grow 57:57 wherever you're planted. |
Revised 2019-01-14