Revelation Churches Chart
We are nearing the end of Church History, as described in The Book of Revelation in the Bible. The Seventh and Last Period of Church History, the Laodicean Period, is now upon us. Will Laodicean Period church members in today's apostasy be ready for The Rapture? Or rather, will there be many church members who will be "Left Behind" at The Rapture and so have to face the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation? Learning "God's Plan of History" can help you to prepare for those things that will soon be coming upon the Earth:
"...for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." (Luke 21:26)
Jesus Christ set up His Church as a new institution on the Earth. This new institution was to play a central part of a new dispensation of God known as the "Church Age". There have been many other dispensations of God in the past, such as the Dispensation of Innocence and the Dispensation of the Mosaic Law.
The Church Dispensation has now lasted for almost 2000 years, broken down into seven consecutive periods or ages described in Revelation. We have now been living in the last of these ages, called the Laodicean Age, for many decades. Nevertheless, this current Laodicean Age will soon be coming to an end and with it the end of the Church Dispensation.
The basic outline of the history of the Church Dispensation was described beforehand by God as having the basic characteristics of seven particular churches which existed in the first century in Asia Minor. The order of God's mention of these seven churches corresponds to the order of these seven ages in history. These seven churches, listed above, are mentioned in the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation.
The first church (of Ephesus) represents the first period of the Church Age, and the second, the Church Age of Smyrna which followed after the Ephesus Church Aga. The first six church ages have already transpired, in the same order that God had listed them in Revelation. The last church, (the church of Laodicea) represents our current and last period of church history. I believe that we are in the last part of this last Laodicean Church Age. Jesus will very soon come to set up His Kingdom on Earth, which will be the Age (Dispensation) of The Kingdom.
These seven churches were not the only churches in Asia existing in the Apostle John's day. Nevertheless, to each of these seven churches Jesus gave a different message. These churches were:
"...the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea." (Revelation 1:11)
In studying these seven churches, we see both their triumphs, and also their many problems. Jesus said to many of these churches:
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee..." (Revelation 2:4)
Since these churches also picture the seven periods of church history, these comments by Jesus show us that Jesus has not always been happy with the state of His Churches throughout these past 2,000 years.
As mentioned, the last of these seven churches listed was the Church of Laodicea. This church has the greatest practical significance to us, since we are now currently living in this seventh and last period of Church history. Next on God's prophetic schedule will probably be "The Rapture" of true Christians to Heaven; followed by the revealing and reign of The Antichrist; The Great Tribulation; (when God will send His fierce judgments upon those who are "Left Behind"); and the Return of Christ to The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem to set up His Kingdom on Earth for a thousand years.
Since The Rapture will probably be coming very soon, we need to listen to what Jesus told us to do in this current "Laodicean Church Age". Jesus said to Laodicea:
"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 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. 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." (Revelation 3:14-22)
The primary characteristic of Laodicea was that this church was extremely "lukewarm". The people did not want to be either totally apostate, ("cold") or radical and on-fire for Jesus ("hot"). Laodicea is therefore a very good picture of today's churches.
Today's typical church member wants to just go to church for an hour on Sunday, (and "God forbid" that the service should go five minutes "over-time"!) Even that one hour a week is not guaranteed, because today's Christians often miss church for the most minor of reasons, such as "little Johnny has the sniffles, so I guess we will all be staying home from Church today and watching television instead."
I have noticed that if someone wants to depart from Christianity, such a person will usually leave his or her church and go out into the world. This "apostate" will depart from Christ, desiring to be "cold". Such a person is usually a lost sinner, traveling down the road to Hell.
On the other hand, what if someone really wants to be "hot" in today's typically "lukewarm" Laodicean church? Such true and faithful Christians will refuse to sin against Christ by being "lukewarm".
Such a Christian will refuse to sin, even if they should have a lukewarm pastor or other church leader who commands them to "repent" of their "sin" of being "overly-zealous" for Christ, (i.e. of being "hot"). Such a "hot" Christian might well be criticized, shunned, or in some rather extreme circumstances, "shown the door" of his or her church by such a wickedly lukewarm pastor or church leader.
Sometimes an "on fire" pastor will also also be "shown the door", if he should dare to preach against the great and wicked sin of lukewarmness among his own congregation. There is a high turnover rate among pastors in Laodicean churches today. In fact, the firing of pastors for preaching against the sins of church members is one of the main reasons for this high turnover rate. The desire for lukewarmness by either the pastor or church leadership, (or by members of the laity), is also a primary reason for the high rate of "church splits" among Laodicean churches today.
Often in today's apostasy, preachers make a deliberate choice to be "lukewarm". Now, I realize that this sounds a bit controversial. After all, many would naturally assume that a "Man of God" must be on God's side, and not try to please both God (being "Hot") and the Devil (being "Cold") at the same time. As you are probably already aware, hot water mixed with cold water produces lukewarm water.
Nevertheless, almost all of today's preachers, (some to a greater and some to a lesser extent), want to avoid at all cost the accusation of being too "radical" and therefore of actually being on God's side. Often, such preachers want nothing more than to pick up their "paycheck" each week, and then take off as quickly as possible after the morning service in order to go eat some "nice food" at the local diner or perhaps to go home and watch a basketball or baseball game on their "Big Screen HD TV" on Sunday afternoon.
Often such lukewarm, compromising, worldly preachers see a pragmatic need to avoid preaching "too strongly", lest they lose some lost and wicked church member, (and his or her tithe!), who might be offended by a preacher who actually obeyed God and preached against sin. Such preachers usually have other wicked preachers as their cross-town "friends" in the ministry who agree with their lukewarm compromise and back them up in their decision to commit such a sin.
Because such wicked ministerial friends are generally (but not always) lost and might be convicted of their sins by "fiery hot" preaching at "fellowship meetings", a lukewarm preacher will usually choose to displease God for his friends' sake at such meetings and so refuse to preach against sin at such meetings.
Nevertheless, most such compromising preachers still hope to somehow get the blessings of God upon their soft lukewarm, New Evangelical ministry, their ministry of teaching (not actually preaching) "soft" Sunday messages and teaching verse-by-verse Bible studies with little application. They soften their messages so as to not upset anyone with plain, biting truth from God's Word.
They might think to themselves, "Why shouldn't I get God's blessing? I am just lukewarm, not cold like so many other preachers in today's apostasy. God has to bless me!" Nevertheless, such preachers are deceived by Satan. They refuse to please God, but rather willingly please Satan by working for money instead of working for God. They are truly Balaam-style, Joel Osteen-style false prophets in the eyes of Christ, since they love the wages of unrighteousness and refuse to preach against sin.
In Revelation chapter three, Jesus had a direct and "biting" message to such a Laodicean preacher or church member. Jesus said: "...knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" Nevertheless, such deep spiritual blindness is almost universally true today within Christendom. Because such so-called "Christians" are blind and naked spiritually, they do not see their great sin before God. Instead, they think that they "have need of nothing" spiritually.
Now you are probably a lukewarm "Christian" as well if you are a church member from a typical church in these last days of Laodicea. You have probably also been blinded by Satan and therefore do not see your great wickedness and sin against a Holy and Righteous God.
If you are lukewarm, you are probably among those who hate strong witnessing and preaching against sin. You have set your forehead "like flint" against any preacher who should dare to obey God and preach against your beloved television watching, or against your watching of R-rated or violent movies, or against your listening to loud secular music, or against any of your many other abominable sins.
Are you lukewarm? If you are lukewarm, then Jesus has a message for you. Jesus commands you to, "anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see...be zealous therefore, and repent." If you are spiritually blind, it is very likely that the reason for this blindness is that you are still "lost" in your sins. You have never been "born again". Therefore, plain Bible truth, such as what Jesus told you to do in this Bible passage, goes "right over your head" because you are still a "natural man", devoid of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. What Jesus said is "foolishness" to you, and you are "rich" and "have need of nothing" in your own eyes:
"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." (1 Corinthians 2:14)
If you are lukewarm, Jesus can save you from your sins. Jesus gave sight to many blind men and women while on Earth. He can give you spiritual sight and save you from your sins.
You are probably thinking at this point that you are already saved, because you remember having done some "good work" in the past to try to earn your own salvation. Perhaps you have done the "good work" of "praying a prayer" or "raising your hand" or "going forward". Such an offering of "vegetables" ("good works") will do you no more good than it did Cain, who apparently ended up going to Hell when he died, despite his offering of good works to God.
Good works, even if done in church in front of an old-fashioned alter, will not save you from your sins. Also, holding a mental belief in the gospel or in other spiritual truth cannot save you either. In fact, Satan and his demons probably know far more spiritual truth than you know. They however are going to Hell - the same place where you are going if all that you have is what the demons have - just a mental belief. Bible says that:
"...the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19)
Satan and his demons believe many things about Jesus, including His Virgin birth, His death on the cross and His rising from the grave. If you merely believe what the demons believe, then this will not help you any more than it does the demons. Knowing about Jesus does not save anyone from the punishment for sin in Hell.
But you say to me, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus Himself answered this very question:
"And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." (Mark 10:27)
You cannot save yourself, but Jesus can save you. Trust Jesus Himself to save you from your sins and He will. Jesus is up in Heaven, not sitting down inside of your wicked, rebellious heart. Trust the real Jesus, the real Jesus who is right now up in Heaven waiting to save you from your sins.
Jesus will save you, no matter what abominable sins you have committed. Then you will be ready for The Rapture and ready for death if death should come to you before The Rapture. Why be "Left Behind" if The Rapture should come today? Trust Jesus today to save you from your sins.
[The One Way to Know God]
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