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THE APOSTLE PAUL AND THE SEVEN
CHURCHES
How did we get here? I
mean Christianity; how did it change from what Paul taught the first
converts, into what it is at the time of the end, that makes God compare
His “fail safe” plan of redemption, to the characteristics of a Church
in Laodicea of ages past?
The route from whence we came to the present day is recorded in the Book
of Revelation in the messages that Jesus sends to the Churches that Paul
himself started. These were the folks that heard it directly out of the
mouth of the man who got it straight from God.
Now my viewpoint about these messages is that of a Futurist. That is to
say that I believe that these Churches were chosen as the subjects to
represent the movement of the original body through time, from the
simple truth of it’s beginning as taught by Paul, through the ages until
the time of it’s completion at the Rapture.
This is a message left about time, just as Daniel’s prophecy was a
message about time and geography. These messages to the Churches are a
trail traveling through the time of the “parenthesis period”, while the
Jews are on hold, and ends abruptly at the Rapture.
Each Church representing an “age” in the development of the body of
believers being assembled to fulfill the destiny planned for the chosen
people. Remember, the Church is the substitute, called in to keep the
Word from becoming void. And, Jesus Himself reminded the Jews that it
was their TRADITIONS that made the Word void!
To the Substitutes He gives a greater reward for their faith than was
promised to the chosen people for their performance, and afterwards, He
returns to keep His word to Abraham, and saves a remnant of the chosen
to share in the reward of the faithful.
First I find it significant that God chose only seven Churches to
receive a letter, because seven is God’s number of completion. So, he
goes from the first at Ephesus to the last at Laodicea. These seven
Churches also illustrate that they all started out even, because all
were started under Paul’s tutelage. Each of those Churches heard the
same message.
So, the trail of how the Church of today winds up being compared to the
Church at Laodicea is spelled out in the letters of Jesus to those seven
Churches. In them He pours out His heart by acknowledging their good
where He can, but lamented His disappointments in them.
He begins in Ephesus whose name depicts a flower opening to the
sun in the morning and goes trough Laodicea whose fault lies in the
neutrality of their spiritual temperature. His warning is repent and
get the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of
God.
He has only praise for Smyrna, whose name means ‘bitterness’, as
they live in the age of the Roman persecutions. His proclamation is
that overcomers will not be hurt by the second death.
To Pergamus, He speaks as the two edged sword. This is where the
mystery religions came from that infiltrated the Christian Church in the
Roman era that make it the harlot that rides in on the back of the seven
beast that are the Satan ruled governments of the earth that persecuted
the chosen people, to finally be destroyed in the end times by the
Antichrist. (I hope you can see Satan’s caricature of Jesus riding in on
the Seven Churches whom He saved in the end time wielding a two edged
sword from out of his mouth, destroying the Satan ruled governments and
setting up His rule)
The warning is to repent and receive the hidden manna and a white
stone. This is an end time prophecy in itself. The manna was for the
chosen, not the substitute. The double edged sword comes at the end of
the tribulation when we are with Him, and the white stone was a timely
custom of voting for the acquittal of an accused person. This
symbolizes those who will be around at the time of the tribulation. The
mystery religion came out of Nimrod and Babylon. And Daniel places the
tribulation in the territory of the old Medo-Persian Empire.
To Thyatira it’s death to those who follow the teachings of the
false prophetess Jezebel, a well known woman of the time whose actions
made her a contemporary counterpart of the notorious Jezebel of 1
Kings16 and 2 Kings 9. To those who didn’t follow her, no further
burden, so, keep the faith until I come and receive the authority over
the nations in Christ is the message.
In Sardis, where the Church had a reputation of being alive, He
found most of them spiritually dead. He cautions the rest of them to
WAKE UP, before they die. Then obey what you know and repent, or I’ll
come like a thief and you won’t know when I come (these are the people
of the darkness and the night – the ones we are trying to wake up).
Those awake will dress in white and never have their names blotted out
of the book of life but will have their names acknowledged by Jesus to
the Father and His angels.
There is no criticism to the Church of Philadelphia, only the
promise that He’s coming soon and He’s holding the door to heaven open
for the few of them that remain.
Then the Laodiceans, for whom there is only a warning. They are
as lukewarm as the water flowing in their city, and Jesus doesn’t
hesitate to tell them that if they don’t repent they are being spat
out. To make it easy to recognize themselves, Jesus points out their
characteristics as people who, because they have become rich in goods,
don’t recognize that they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
He counsels them to buy gold tried in the fire from Him, and then issues
a final warning. He tells them how to be saved (we must ask him in –
with the mouth salvation is spoken), and that the reward for those who
are saved is to sit with Him in His throne. His final words in
Revelation spoken to the Church on earth are; Hey Church! You’d better
listen to what I just said!
Irrespective of all other end time prophecy, this section of Revelation
is separated out to be an end time message expressly directed at no
other but the Church. The characteristics of each of the seven are
still alive and living today, carried forward in time from the time they
became a disappointment, culminating in the sea of what is the seventh
or final Church in kind.
The only two without warning are still among us also. The Church at
Smyrna; those who died and who were willing to die for the faith,
have counterparts throughout history, which in these end days makes up
the few in number Church of Philadelphian, who carry forward the
teaching of Paul and are willing to die for their belief. Ironically,
and as prophesied by Jesus Himself, these are they for whom He’s
personally holding open the door to heaven.
How did we get here? Right down that trail through time, from Ephesus
to Laodicea.
Remember that God picked you to hear the messages of this Ministry for a
reason. You must be among them that will hear it, and when you do,
Paul’s message is clear, WARN those who are asleep. Our mission is to
do just that and you are called upon to help us do it. Understand that,
and rise to the occasion and be who Paul made you out to be.
I teach to support this Ministry, and I
believe in the
Biblical principle of giving to the storehouse where you get your
meat. We are bringing the message of the AGE to the Church, and we need
all the help we can get
Now, if this were a fine sunny Sunday morning, and if we were in a
Church building, at this point I’d say; Stand up everybody! Now,
everyone give a rousing cheer, because it OFFERING TIME! (cheers and
applause) We’re cheering in my Church because giving is an object of
our faith, and because the Lord loves hilarious givers, and promises to
pour down a blessing on them that cannot be contained! We trust the
Lord for that blessing; and you’ll be glad that you did. When you give
to keep this Ministry’s word going out to the world, give hilariously
first, and as generously as you can.
If our Teachings are a blessing to you, then give appropriate to your
circumstance.
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If all you have are prayers to offer, they are most welcome and needed.
Please pray that the devil remains behind us, and the path way ahead is
open and wide. And, please, let us know that you are praying for us.
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Now, please join me in our faithing proclamation: We made it through
July! We’re faithing on that Lord. Amen! He’s calling on you to see to
it that this comes to pass.
Humbly,
Your Brother in Christ,
Brother Sal from CHN
"The Prophecy of Daniel The Book of Revelation
The Rapture of the Church and the Mideast Today"
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