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This Page may take a minute to load on a slow server BACK TO: INDEX OF BIBLE NOTES How Are The Mighty Fallen In
speaking of men and the nation of Israel we read; “The
beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty
fallen!” 2Sam.1.19. Again, “how
are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle. 0, Jonathan, thou wast
slain in thine high places.” 2Sam.1:25. “How are the mighty
fallen, and the weapons of war perished.” 2Sam.1 All fell in the will of
God, and generally as a result of disobedience. We will look at some of
that which is mighty that have fallen, and also look at that which God
built on earth and which man has destroyed. There is one absolute fact
concerning human nature that seems to have escaped the attention of
christians today. This fact is that man has, and will fail in every
situation that God puts him into. Indeed history teaches us that man has
caused nothing but misery both to himself and to his environment. Wars,
murder, suppression, slavery, and death are just a few things which are
the result of his activities. His First Failure - Eden Adam
was placed in the garden which perfectly suited him and his wife Eve, but
we are painfully aware that he was cast out. Cast out because he simply
could not obey the plain word of God. Not only so, but also we note that
his fallen nature fails to take responsibility for his wrong doings, and
blames others. He was thrown out of his perfect environment among the
thorn and thistles in a hard world. He
simply could not maintain the standard required to retain his privileged
position in closeness to God, the standard being obedience. He was thrown
out with the curses of God upon him. His descendants throughout the ages
have suffered the: consequences ever since. We read, “Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Rom. 5:12. Another Failure — The Law First
we notice that God selected a man who became nation, and they still failed
God, and were taken captive on numerous occasions. Also we noted that the
requirement of God was a simple obedience to His Word. When God’s chosen
people were slaves in Egypt, and they turned to the Lord e find that Moses
was enabled to lead them out by and by blood three days journey into the
wilderness to be alone with God. Soon
after their departure from Egypt God summoned Moses and said,
“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on
eagles wings, and brought you unto myself.” Ex.19:4. At this point
we must be forcibly reminded that their God has a purpose for rescuing
them from slavery, and that was to bring them to Himself. Normal
intelligence should have made them grateful for their deliverance from
slavery under which they groaned, and they ought to have compared their
cruel taskmasters with the bountiful hand of God. History shows us that
they were none of these things, and quickly forgot that they owed their
God anything at all, How unbelievably thankless. It is a terrible thing,
but many christians today believe that they are not like those ungrateful
children of Israel. How wrong that is we will soon see. 1 Their
God speaks on, “Now therefore, if
ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a
peculiar (special> treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth
is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy
nation:” Ex.19:5-6 One
should. carefully note that God has two claims on these people, first He
had saved them from slavery, and secondly He speaks as the Creator,
Governor, and Preserver of the universe who actually provides all their
needs. To the natural man all the work of God in this case may have been
an accident of nature. The deed and gratitude for it would soon pass, and
self reliance would take the place of dependence and thanks. Indeed His
daily provision from His hand soon meant nothing to Israel. When
God spoke the words above the people reply saying, “All
that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” They may well have meant it
on the spur of the moment, but it. was not long before they did the
absolute opposite of what they have .just promised. “
when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the
people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, up,
make us gods, which shall go before us” Ex.32:1 It
was the very same day after they made this promise to their God that they
made idols even though they had experienced the very might and power of
God in their deliverance and provision. This is ingratitude beyond measure
and unbelievable disobedience. Let us not condemn them, we have the same
nature, and we can do even worse as we will see later in these notes. 1 Israel’s National Failure We
can follow the history of God’s chosen people Israel, and note their
many failures and captivities all caused by their departure from the Word
of God until we come to our present time. Now we can see them, no doubt
back in the land, but besieged by the old enemies, without their temple,
and without the set sacrifices. They have returned to the land in
unbelief, but many await their Messiah’s return unaware of the fact that
He came almost 2 years ago. Christian Failure There
a time coming, and not far away, when He will return, Jerusalem will be
the centre of the world, and there will, a perfect reign of .1000 years.
The believer waits for His return in the clouds to be taken up to be with
Him for ever. These notes will now centre on the mighty failures of the
christians of today, the equivalent of the Lord’s statement of the salt
losing its Saviour. In speaking to and of His disciples we read, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to
cast out, and be trodden under foot of men.” Mat.5:13. Let us take
careful note, 1.
He is speaking of His disciples 2.
He clearly notes the possibility of utter failure, 3.
The salt is absolutely worthless. His
words are clear and to the point the disciples can arrive at a state where
they, from a witness point of view, are worthless. Last Days Distinguished There
are many distinguishing features of the times just prior to the Lord
coming basic, church when, “and
the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air;
and so shall we ever be with the Lord..” 1Thes.4:16-17. It is
vitally important to note the words immediately following this statement. “But of the times and the seasons, Brethren, ye have no
need that I write unto you..” 1Thes.5:1 The Holy spirit speaks to every born again
heart, and in these words clearly state that the coming of the Lord shall
not take those who are patiently waiting for Him by surprise. First who
are the patient waiters? Only those who walk in the Spirit not fulfilling
the lusts of the flesh! Will there be many? unfortunately no! On this
point the scriptures are graphically clear. There
are many pointers to His soon coming including the miraculous return of
the Jews to the land, but in unbelief, wars and rumours of wars, and the
similarity of society to that of Sodom and Gomorrah being some of them.
However one of the most important ones, and the one which is causing great
grief to the Lord Himself is, “Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition”. 2Thes.2:3. That
seems to be clear enough, but will these signs be noted and understood?
Almost certainly not! The rest of these notes will show the reason why. We
must understand however that there will be false teachings, false
christs, having sufficient guile to deceive even the faithful. Hence the
warning, “Let no man deceive you by any means”.
On the other hand the spiritually minded, “are
not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are
children of the light, and the children of the day: we are not of the
night, nor of darkness. “ lThes.5:4-5 Having
said this let us look at the christian witness to the world, and we do so
with great grief. There is virtually none. There is virtually no obedience
to His word, and certainly carnality reigns supreme with most christians.
We have just been told of the absolute certainty of the falling away which
means simply that there is no christian faithfulness. In fact the Lord’s
statement, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to
be cast out, and be trodden under foot of men.” Mat.5:13. Who and What is Salt The
disciples are being addressed and they are being directly told that they
are the salt of the earth. Of that there is no question. 2 The
question in our modern minds today is, why are we being likened to salt?
The simple answer is that, in the Lord’s earthly days, salt was an
absolute necessity because it preserved food. It may be hard for some to
imagine living without a refrigerator, but they did. Meat,
for example was salted and thus preserved. It
stopped corruption, and kept the food useable. It prevented waste, and
from that point of view it was an absolute necessity. What the Lord is
saying is that the christian witness was that which prevents corruption in
society. It preserved that
which was good. It
is vital to notice what the Lord thinks of salt which could no longer
function as a preservative. It was absolutely and definitely useless.
Where was its proper place? Nowhere! not even in the sewerage. Men simply
throw it out as it is completely useless. Let us note, the believer is the
salt, and carefully take note again that he can lose his value or worth,
and be cast aside as a servant. Remember a believer can never lose his
salvation or his place the family of God. Just
as an individual christian can lose his witness for the Lord so also can a
christian gathering. That is crystal clear in the scriptures as we will
see later. The terrible reality is that the christians concerned are never
aware that they are no longer a witness or that they never were an
acceptable witness. gain the scriptures are clear in this point also. It
behoves us, therefore, to examine ourselves to see just where we stand. The Collective or Church Witness We
read of the powerful witness of the original church in Jerusalem where
they preached and over 3000 were saved in one day. We read also that they
healed the sick, and performed many miracles. Today, on the other hand, we
have the very opposite. How are the mighty fallen? To find out we will
discover the mind of the Lord on this our failure in our own day. First,
however, we shall look at the individual failure, and then the church
throughout history as the Lord sees it, and most definitely not from
man’s distorted view. The Churches in Revelation The
individual witness is indirectly related to the collective church witness
and their objective would appear to be somewhat different. This difference
is first of all noted and compared. The individual is a holy and royal
priest whereas the collective witness should be such that it represents or
pictures the body of Christ. Naturally the latter can not function unless
the former is active in the individual. Holy Priesthood n
the first epistle of Peter we are introduced to this position or function
that is one of being a holy priest. “Ye
also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ.” 1Pet.2:5. n this verse we see four things: 1.
Each believer is a living stone 2.
Collectively built up into a spiritual house 3.
Each believer is a holy priest 4.
This priest’s function is to offer up spiritual sacrifices. A Living Stone Even
at first thought we see a stone is a small piece of a rock and that rock
was Christ. Each individual
has the ability to reflect the risen Christ. His character must be
visible; “....if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation); behold
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
2Cor.5. The sinner drew nigh to Him and having believed was given life
eternal. The life given is the life of the Lord in you. It binds you to
Him eternally. Not only so, but we will shine for Him in eternity, and we
should so here and now. That is our choice, it is our decision. A Spiritual House It
was given to the apostle Paul to reveal the previously hidden truth of the
body of Christ “the fullness of
Him that filleth all in all” Eph.1:23. So here we only have a
reference to it thus placing the emphasis on the individual’s part in
these truths. As we will see later there is a collective testimony to the
Lord as well as there is an individual one. 3 A Holy Priest Without
contradiction the believer, or should we say every born again believer is
a holy priest. Search we may, but will not find such a thing as an
individual class of christians called priests. It simply does not exist in
the New Testament That we are not under the law, and that we should not
function as being under the law is also crystal clear. That men should
arrogate to themselves this so called position is without question
unscriptural, and comes from the flesh. It has no place among christians
today. However
each and every believer is a holy priest whose function is to act as such.
The importance of this truth should be burnt into the very soul of every
christian. He should keep saying to himself, I am a holy priest, and as a
priest I have direct access to God: “having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of
Jesus, by a new and living way let us draw nigh unto God.” Heb: 10:
19-22. The Holy Priest’s Function The
function is simple as led by the Holy Spirit, “to
offer up spiritual sacrifices.” lPet.2:5. “By
Him thec-ef6re let us offer up sacrifices of praise to God continually,
that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.” Heb It
really is simple as we giving back to God what He has given us. He has
forgiven our sins. We give our thanks. He has provided an intercessor
“But this man because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable
priesthood seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
Heb.7:24-25. Again we can offer the praise of our lips. So as we keep our
eyes on Him and His Word we see more and more of .the infinite blessing He
has bestowed upon us. This is our first service to God nothing else comes
before it. A Royal Priesthood There
can be no royal priestly function until there is a proper holy priestly
function. In this sense worship comes before service. P serving holy
priest indicates a priest who is in fellowship with the Father and His Son
Jesus Christ. Until this is right everything else emanates from the flesh,
the old evil corrupt nature which caused our Lord’s death. A Royal Priest’s Function “that
ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of
darkness into His marvellous light:” 1Pet.2:9 To “shew forth” means to thoroughly set forth
the value, worth, and all His attributes. It means not only by words, but
particularly by living a life which is consistent with His. This simply
means that what you do should really be a reflection of His character. It
is worth pointing out at this .juncture that it impossible to emulate the
Lord’s life if you do not know how He would behave in the same
situation. Furthermore the characters have to be similar. To
be plainly disobedient to His Word, irrespective of what words you may use
to describe your disobedience, is to say the least, it is just downright
insulting. It is similar to a thief saying, “I respect the law”. What
he does as a thief contradicts his word, and makes him a liar, or at the
best totally deceived. That, one believes, is simple to understand, but it
is not, because disobedience is the normal christian position as we will
see later in these notes. Unless
the real christian life is understood then there can no remedy for any who
are out of the way, or are plainly disobedient. So
far we have described the order in which a christian should live his
personal life. If he
discovers it to be out of line with the scriptures he has a remedy. That
is to confess his sin, forsake it, and receive forgiveness for his sin. “If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1Jno.1:9. The Collective Testimony All
but the willfully ignorant will concede that we are nothing like the first
church in Jerusalem. As
mentioned before that should be painfully obvious, but unfortunately it is
not! The collective testimony is clearly described in one verse; “If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
1Cor12:27. It is terribly
true to say that almost all christians do not have the faintest idea what
that short verse means. It is so simply beautiful and important and yet
there is no desire to know or even care. Let
us just give it a cursory glance. Before going any further we must be
aware that the definite article “the” is not in this verse in the
Greek. Without the definite article the verse reads as follows: 4 “Now
ye are that which characterises, shows forth, the body of Christ, and
members in particular.” The apostle is saying that what they should portray when the
whole church came together into one place. Let
us be quite clear on this point, there is only one body of Christ and that
in heavenly places. “He hath put
all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the
church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.”
Eph.1:21-22. Just prior to
this verse we are told, “For by
one Spirit are we all baptised into one body and been made to drink into
one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” 1Cor.12:
13-14. In
the great passage in Ephesians chapter 5 we read, “Husbands love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; 25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church, and gave himself for it; 26. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, 27. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish. 28. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that
loveth his wife loveth himself. 29. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and
cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 25
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church,
and gave himself for it; 26. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, 27. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish. 28.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his
wife loveth himself. 29.
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it,
even as the Lord the church: 30.
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. By
the absolute grace and mercy of God, without us having any say or lot in
the matter whatsoever, God having sovereignty decided that we should be
connected with our Lord throughout all eternity, seated with Him in the
heavenly places. Let
us note some of the points which we have just seen: 1. He is the Head of the
church 2.
We are, seated with Him in the heavenly places 3. We are members of His
body 4. Above all we are
loved with an infinite love 5. We shall never be
separated from Him. Obvious Conclusions About the One Body The
church in local testimony is a witness to all creation, both seen and
unseen, and should be a picture of that which is in the heavenlies. Let us
note what is seen there: 1.
There is only one head, and not many 2. There is only one
body, and not many 3.
The head controls all the members. Not some members controlling
other members 4.
There is an indissoluble union of head and members with no
divisions whatsoever 5.
Each member reflects the glory of the head, not their own. All
this is clear in the New Testament, and only the most ignorant of
believers would contend otherwise. Again, what the church is in the
heavenly places should be pictured in the local gathering of believers.
Almost invariably this is not the case. Let us note. 1.
Almost invariably there is a leader in every gathering, called
pastor, priest, arch bishop, or what ever
name comes to their mind 2.
The name of some gatherings testify to the very opposite of one
body. They clearly advertise themselves
to be a part of a body such as, Baptist, Catholic etc. 3.
There is only one Head, Christ. It is His right by His shed blood
to control each member. It is not for
some local usurper to do so. 5 4.
As Christ is the indissoluble Head of the church He is also clearly
shown to be Head over each member
in the local church through the Holy Spirit 5.
That each member should reflect the glory of Christ, and not their
own, should be obvious. It is not the
case as another invariably has stepped in and controls the local
members for his own glory. It
does not take much understanding of the New Testament or intelligence to
see that what passes for a local church is nothing like that which the
scriptures describe. We see a local head. We see divisions between
christians caused by unscriptural beliefs and practices. We see groups of
believers and unbelievers joined together
in an unholy alliance, and this in plain defiance of the scripture, “Be
ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.... 9 These are .just
some of the things which perpetuate evil among believers. “Awake
thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light.” Eph.5:14 The Church in History The
Word of God provides us with a view of the local church throughout
history, and sad to say man has failed his Lord in this matter as well as
every other situation God has put him in. The letters to the seven
churches are prophetic, but from our point in time they are therefore an
accurate historical record. It
is a record with which we should be familiar because in the letters to the
seven churches we gain some idea of what pleases the Lord who bought us
with His own precious blood, and also some things which displease Him.
These short notes will only look at certain highlights which should enable
us to judge ourselves, and put us in Touch
with the soon coming of the Lord in the air for His owns The Church Formed On the Day of Pentecost The
pristine days of the church’ at Pentecost in Jerusalem have gone
forever, never to be repeated as the letter to the seven churches in
Revelation will clearly show. Some
may ask, “why can’t this ever be repeated?” The answer to those who
think Pentecost can be repeated forget the following facts stated by the
Lord: 1.
The disciples were told to tarry in Jerusalem, nowhere else! 2.
They were to wait for the church formation signified by believers
being baptised with the Holy Spirit 3.
This baptism would endure them with power 4.
The reception of this power is repeated by the Lord 5. They were to be His
witnesses in definite and specific places; Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
uttermost parts of the earth Simple
logic tells everyone that the formation of the church can only occur once.
Study of the Word tells us that they were baptised with the Holy Spirit,
they did receive power, and they were witnesses in the above mentioned
places. Furthermore everything spiritual that they did was empowered by
the Holy Spirit. By D7@ almost all these manifestations of power were gone
forever, the Jewish nation has disappeared, as prophesied the temple has
been destroyed. The church continues on, but it will never return to those
Pentecostal days when it was first formed. The
error that it will is based on a complete misunderstanding of Joel’s
prophesy as spoken by Peter in Acts chapter 2. Sufficient
to say at this time that Peter does not quote all the prophesy of Joel,
and in fact it will be noted that there is a future fulfillment of that
same prophesy. That is simply understood because at the day of Pentecost
the showing “of wonders- in the heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood
and fire and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:19-21. That was the end of Peter’s
quotation from Joel. In
the book of Joel it carries on from what Peter quoted and we read, “for in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance...” Joel
2:32. We must ask why? The answer is simple. Two different events are
being described thus making Peter’s quotation a pre-fulfillment. No
doubt Pentecost and the church’s inauguration is notable, but it is not
the great and notable day of the Lord with its many attending wonders. At
that time the Jews will find deliverance in Jerusalem. In case any should
think that the wonders in the sky etc. have happened they are incorrect.
It is not recorded in history because it did not happen. An Overview of the Seven Churches The
time periods are quite easily historically determined and below are the
messages to the churches. 6 Warnings or Comfort to the Churches Ephesus: is at the end of the apostolic era, Rev.2:1—7.
Ephesus is the first church and for their failure they are told,
“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the
first works.” Rev.2:5. The command is clear. They are to change their
mind and go back to the first position. Smyrna: carries on till Emperor Diocletian and the tenth and
last persecution of the christians, Rev.2 With the church’s union with
the world under Emperor Constantine and until the seventh century the
world dominates, spirituality declines, Rev.2:12—17... The church at Smyrna
receives no condemnation, but is given exhortation. Pergamos: This church was he very opposite to that of Ephesus.
It permitted every kind of evil.
Pergamos was given dire warnings. Thyatira: The next church is Thyatira; Rev.2 with its evil
reign of Popery until the middle ages is mentioned. Thyatira is a church which allowed evil, but to the overcomer
He says holed fast. Sardis: is the reformation church mentioned in Rev.
The church at Sardis is told to be watchful and strengthen the
things that remain, and are ready to die. Philadelphia:
is specifically stated to have done two things, kept His Word, and not
denied His name. Putting
it simply these christians obeyed His Word which indicates study and
obedience. Secondly they did not deny His name. Surely this means that
they were known by His name only, christians.
Philadelphia there is no condemnation and “thou hast a little
strength, and hast kept my Word, and not denied my name”. Words of
comfort and exhortation are given. Laodicea is a complete failure and the Lord says He will spue
them out of His mouth. Finally
Laodicea the church at the coming of the Lord is totally disowned by Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the judge, and His righteous conclusion is that
as the ages pass man in his position of responsibility in the local church
has failed utterly. In the last days a remnant there may be, but almost
impossible to find. How are the mighty fallen.
Evil destroys the christian witness in the last days, and no remedy
has worked. Ears simply do not seem to hear His cry. Are we also guilty?
The Word of God is clear for those who wish to see, but it seems none
avail themselves of it except for the remnant few. One of the evils of our
day is that some christians who are ignorant of the Word of God, and most
likely disobedient to it as well, believe that a return to the days of
Pentecost are possible. The prophetic letters to the churches clearly, and
in graphic words tell the true posit ion. To
only one church does the Lord say to return to the first works and that is
Ephesus. Others are either outright condemned or told to hold fast. There
will be a falling away, 2Thes.2:3. gain man is seen to fail in every
position that God puts him in; the church being no exception. The last
church with no condemnation, Obviously
they took no other divisive name of man, tradition, or doctrine. To the
bible student it is clearly apparent that we are in the Laodicean age
where the Word of God is virtually unknown and believers aggressively
divisive. The
seven churches show the characteristics of christians generally in the
seven successive church ages following the apostolic era. The student of
the scripture recognises the christian’s general departure from the Word
of God, the adoption of world’s standards, and a lack of knowledge of
the scripture, but he may not know what to do. Let us look at what the
remedy is to gain the Lord’s approval. First
let us note the writing of a student of the Word of God written about 100
years ago; “In the addresses to the first three assemblies they are
called to repent in view of ‘from whence thou art fallen,’ whereas in
the addresses to the last four assemblies a return to the pristine state
is deemed impossible, the goal of hope being the coming of the Lord, which
is not directly referred to in the previous church addresses.” Walter
Scott, The Book of the Revelation. 7 What
should any christian do who is led by the Holy Spirit to obey the Word of
God? The first and foremost thing is to obey the scriptures he reads, and
depart from evil. If the best he can do is described in the best of the
four last churches then we should carefully note why that church received
no condemnation, and study the commendations. He should also note what its
strengths were. Above all have an ear open to the Word of God as is called
for in the message to each of the churches. The standard then, that he
should try to reach, is that of the church of Philadelphia. also look for
His soon coming, and avoid the pitfall of Laodicea. The Church at Philadelphia We
should note that Thyatira (Romanism), Sardis (Protestantism), Philadelphia
(brotherly love), and Laodicea (democracy) run on together to the end. Historically Sardis is the church of reformation and
Protestantism which broke some of the power of the evil yoke of Romanism.
It is described as, “hast a name
that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things
that remain that are ready to die.” Rev.3:1-2. Philadelphia — Its Rise and Character Further
revival led to Philadelphia which signifies “brotherly love”, and
without a doubt describes the work of God in the early 1800s. t that
particular time the truth of the soon coming of the Lord was revived. The
christians gathered simply to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to
no other. It sounded out the midnight cry of Matt.25.6. This work was
carried out quietly, and old long forgotten truths were b’ before
christians. Let us now study the message. This
message opens with the Lord presenting Himself as “He
that is Holy, and He that is true,” Rev.3 It would appear that He
can present Himself in His moral perfection to those in a spiritual state
to appreciate it. The Philadelphians might be weak, but they had separated
to Him personally, from the world, and dedicated themselves to obeying His
Word. In their application of the Word of God to themselves they showed
just a little of that character, holy and true. Further
the Lord uses the words, “He that hath the key of David”, which is of
tremendous importance as it is a quotation from Isa.22:2. The
importance being that in Isaiah it implies administrative authority in
connection with the royalty of Judah, and the latter with the church at
Philadelphia. None other than the Lord should have authority in His
church. It is His. He shed His precious blood for it, He gathers believers
to Himself by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we, loving Him who first
loved us, should allow Him to exercise His authority in His church
Generally man has usurped the Lord rightful place in His own churches
which is unspeakably base. The
key surely denotes the holder has the undisputed right to enter and
exercise all authority. This key has nothing to do with the keys of death
and Hades. The key of David speaks of sovereignty in time and the latter
in the unseen world and control of the bodies and souls of men. One should
also consider the fact that, of the last four churches, Philadelphia is
the only one which allowed the Lord His rightful position as Lord of the
assembly. In all the other churches man has placed himself between the
worshipping believer and his Lord, robbing the believer of his holy
priestly function, and the Lord of His sovereign rights in the assembly. We
read “He that openeth and no man
shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth:” Rev.3:7 reinforces the
message that the Lord has absolute sovereignty. He has the key of David.
He opens the door of service, and testimony, for that is what He is
talking about here, and He alone has the absolute and sole right and
authority to direct His servants in His service. He does so by empowering
them in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit to do His will. Without
question the very first function of the believer is to reflect the truth
and holiness of the Lord Himself. If we do not have this we can never
please the Lord, nor will our service be really acceptable to Him. That He
may use us may make us no better than Balaam’s ass which He also used. Now
in that absolute sovereignty, and perfect knowledge He says, “I
know thy works” Rev.3:8. With perfect knowledge He knew. He knew
that they had come out of the worldly church, Sardis, and had escaped any
.judgment the Lord was to pass upon it. There ‘is no condemnation or
judgment due to Philadelphia. They had separated themselves from the
world, and clung to the Lord with purpose of heart. They were not open to
the glare and spotlight of the world, and what they accomplished was in
concert with their Lord, and generally out of the sight or knowledge of
the world. They looked upward for the coming of the Lord from heaven. 8 Having
a perfect knowledge of their works the Lord speaks to them. “I have set
before thee an open door, which no man can shut,” Rev. Even as the
Father sent the Son so now the Son sends His servants, to do His will. No
one could shut this door. The opportunity is there for the dedicated
heart. What they had to achieve could not be stopped. Their testimony
would be such that people would be saved, and cling to the Lord. Their
royal priesthood being exercised would, like salt, act as a preservative.
It would delay the downward slide of the world into total anarchy. For
any who would wonder why the Lord should choose these unknown believers He
gives the reasons: 1.
Thou hast a little strength (power) 2.
and hast kept y word 3.
and not denied my name. A Little Strength The
student of scripture will rightly conclude that apostolic power has gone
forever, but for the individual who reflected somewhat of the Holy and
True there was a little power. For the corporate gathering, that is where
the Holy Spirit gathered believers to Himself, the same Holy Spirit was
there. Furthermore if the gathering showed forth His glory then to that
group was given a little power. The
church no longer has the power to exercise the same .judgment as was
passed on Annanias and Saphira, and reliance on, and an application of the
Word of God is required to achieve God’s purposes. Discipline according
to the Word of God is no longer a feature of christendom, and evil reign
However not so in Philadelphia. His word was spoken in the power of the
Holy Spirit. Hast Kept My Word Today
christendom knows nothing of the Word of God. Correct translations of the
bible are no longer used, but rather some evilly distorted paraphrases
such as the N.I.V. etc. The scriptures are attacked from the same pulpits
of christendom with evolution propounded, the old testament history is
called fables and even the recorded words spoken by the Lord are
ridiculed. On
the other hand, in those early 1800s, highly educated men dedicated
themselves to studying the Word of God, not to dissect and ridicule it,
but to obey it. These men did not study it to construct eloquent sermons,
but to discover the mind of the Lord who loved them. Above all obedience
was their primary objective, and the cost of this obedience was not a
deterrent. Some lost their positions in the established church, some
social and civil distinction. Notwithstanding this cost they continued
steadfastly. They
were the laughing stock of established religion. They were shunned and
avoided, but their Lord both empowered them, and blessed their witness. He
empowered them to stand apart from the world, and to shun, that which
denigrated the Lord even if great and noble men upheld such evil. Their
witness was such that they became known to all as men of the Word. May we
all be in that category. Not Denied My Name In
scripture a name is very important. It expresses the character of the
person named. We will be aware that God changed the names of certain
believers because of the character change; Jacob to Israel, Abram to
Abraham, Cephas to Peter etc. It is recommended that the reader study this
aspect of “name”. Not denying His name would mean a confession by the
believer of a number of things: 1.
Who He is 2.
What He is 3. What He did, and is
doing 4.
What He is going to do. These
things express the character of the Lord, but christendom refuses to
accept or believe them. To accept and believe them is one aspect of not
denying His name. let us look at these four points which the
Philadelphian’s confessed both privately and publicly. Who
He Is The
Lord Jesus Christ is God. “In the beginning the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.” Jno.1:1. “God was manifest in the flesh, justified
in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in
the ‘world and received up into glory.” 1Tim.3:16. 9 What He Is He is God: But this man, because
he continueth
ever,
hath an unchangeable priesthood.” Heb 7:24
“There
is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
1Tim.2:5. 12 He is our High Priest:
“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. For
such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” Heb.7:25—27. He is our Saviour:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by Me.” Jno.14:6. Of the Lord it is said, “Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. We have noticed He is
the only mediator between God and men, He is our only High Priest, and He
is our only Saviour. Not denying His name means we profess this and
publish it to the world which hates it. He is Head of The Church:
Some christians give mental assent to the fact that Christ is Head of the
church which is His body and is in the heavenlies; they may even agree
with the statement “hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all
things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth
all in all.” Eph.1:22-23, etc. However giving this fact recognition
in actual practice is rarely ever seen. By recognition we mean to give Him
His right and authority in the local church. That is, personal opinion,
tradition (irrespective of how old it may be), human creed, or any man
made organisation, must be rejected as having any right or authority in
His church. Most
christians never give a thought to the Lord’s position with regards to
the local church. To them He seems remote, and of no consequence. They
carry on in any way that seems right in their own eyes. They reassure
themselves that the Lord will bless their disobedience when in fact they
may have already been judged as unprofitable servants. Furthermore their
evil ways and words may be used to test faithful believers. We see more of
this in the letter to the Laodiceans. The
Word of God is very clear on two points: 1.
The Lord builds His own local testimony without human help 2.
He is the sole authority in that local church, and it is not delegated to
others How a Scriptural Church is formed In
the book of Deuteronomy from chapter 12 to ch.31 the words, “in the place where I place my name” are used at least
20 times describing the only place for public worship and service. No
doubt that is the Old Testament, but the principals of God never change.
In the New Testament we are clearly told that, “where
two or three are gathered together (sunago) in (en) to my name”. What
does this mean? We
must note that “gathered
together is one word, and it is in the passive voice very simply
meaning that the two or three do not do the gathering. Again in my name
with the Greek (en) has the meaning of motion towards. We may ask, motion
towards what or whom? In this case motion towards the Lord who is the very
centre. Now it is not possible for another human being to spiritually
gather other believers to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it takes
the Holy Spirit to spiritually gather a willing heart to the Lord. The
best that man can do is to point out the Lord’s mind in this matter and
the believer follows the Spirit’s leading.
Man can do nothing at all. The Usual Gathering History
shows us that the usual thing is for a believer, to leave his
organization, and go to another location where there may or may not be a
christian gathering, and then preach the gospel. If people are saved he
forms a replica of that which he came from. Certainly the writer has
observed this in many different countries. Does this mean that a New
Testament church is formed? Most definitely it is not. He
may have formed another branch of his organization, or worse still
gathered those believers to himself to follow his leading. Let us be absolutely
graphically crystal clear God will not share His glory with another.
“I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to
another, neither my praise to graven images.” Isa.42:8. Just think for a
moment, the local church is the Lord’s assembly, they are His people
bought by His precious blood, and a man comes in and takes control of
them! how despicably evil, it is theft! 10 In
Malachi we read, “Will a man rob
God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee?Mal.3:8.
What has the Lord been robbed of? His glory, and His property. Some man
has taken it, he claims his work achieved the results, he claims the right
to silence the Lord’s people and alone offer the sacrifice of praise, he
has usurped the right of the Holy Spirit to lead each believer to obey the
scriptures, and to exercise his holy priesthood. This
thief does all this without the slightest feeling of guilt. The scriptures
mean nothing to him. He will do that which is right in his own eyes. No
doubt much more could be said about this evil, but even the weakest
christian can see that this is the case, but may not know the answer. That
answer is to simply obey the scriptures and not man. Do not deny His name
by disallowing Him His right in the local church. What He Did and Is Doing:
“....how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to
the scriptures: and that He was seen of Cephus, then of the twelve.”
1Cor “How much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God.” Heb.9:14. The apostle Paul could say, “
who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Gal.2:20. Certainly we are saved by faith in His person and work on the
cross, but that is only the beginning, “Wherefore He is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him seeing He ever liveth
to make intercession for them.” Heb.7:25. He will also supply all our needs from His riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. We are saved for all eternity, and our every
need is supplied in this life. What He is Going to Do:
He could say to His disciples,
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in
me.” Jno.14:1. “if I go and prepare a place for I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am ye may be also.” Jno.14:3. “For
the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ will rise
first, then we which alive and remain will be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and 50 shall we ever be with the Lord” 1Thes.4.16-l7 The
absolute certainty of the Lord coming again, without sin, is our great
expectation. Every believer, in that day, shall be placed eternally in the
heavenlies members of His body. In
the poor description above we have seen something of the character of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen something of His infinite “agape” love
when He gave Himself for us. We have seen His rightful position in the
local assembly. We have seen His faithfulness in keeping us. We have come
to see that, what He says He means. What He is, what He has done, and what
He will do expresses His infinitely perfect character. What we should do
is, obey His Word, allow Him His rightful place and authority in every
aspect of our life, and the church. In that way we will not be denying His
name. Laodicea — The End of Church Testimony We
have looked at the weak but faithful church at Philadelphia, and seen that
it received no condemnation, but now we look at a church which receives
nothing but condemnation. It is the last church historically and
prophetically, and it is a total failure. How are the mighty fallen’ We
might also add, and in such a short time. History
is quite clear. The Philadelphia era commenced about which is only 190
years ago which is indeed a short period in the world’s history, and yet
we now have total church failure. This does not mean that every born again
believer does not have a personal witness, they do: no doubt some bad and
some good. The collective christian witness to the world is one of almost
total corruption. We thank the Lord that there are a few overcomers in
this day and age, who have not denied His name. The Laodicean Syndrome Most
bible students acknowledge that the word Laodicea is made up of two Greek
words, “peoples” and “rights”. Let the born again christian be
absolutely assured, warned, and advised that the christian has no rights
at all of any kind. We repeat the christian has no rights at all,
certainly not in the local church. What he does have is christian
responsibilities. 11 What
this means is that the christian profession, as a whole, is one where the
people assert their rights. s we will see they assert their rights, not
only over their fellow believers, but also over the Lord. One may say that
democracy is not the right description, but rather it should be called
anarchy. The fact is that both are true because history and prophesy show
us that democracy must of necessity degenerate into anarchy, “every man
did that which was right in his own eyes.” That may be so, but at the
least it is rebellion against the Lord. Man will have his way. This
typifies Laodicea. No Rights — Only Responsibilities The
very first thing which should come to the christian’s mind is that
infinite grace, mercy, and cost is involved in our redemption. The Father
gave His Son, and the Son gave His life. Remember this was when we were
without strength, dead in trespasses and sins, and we hated God. “Grace
there is my every debt to pay” says the old hymn. “Ye are bought with a price; be ye not the servants of men.”
1Cor.7:23. “What? know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price;” 1Cor.6:19—20. Surely
that is clear enough we have been bought; and bought at such high
cost. Forasmuch
as ye know that ye were not redeemed with
corruptible
things, as
silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition
from your fathers;” 1Pe 1:18. Nothing
could be simpler; He loved me and gave Himself for me. I have been rescued
from an eternity in the lake of fire for which the spiritual heart is
eternally grateful. The natural heart, on the other hand, is infinitely
ungrateful, and will have it’s own way. Let us recognise we are the
Lord’s purchased possession, and our love should bind us to serve
responsibly and obediently. Some Aspects of Laodicea Note
the Lord’s opening description in presenting Himself to Laodicea: “the
Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the beginning of the creation of
God” Rev.3:14. “The Amen” stands for divine certainty, and as we
mentioned before the name describes the character. Here we have the
certainty of bringing to fruition the promises of God which are yea and
amen. The
Faithful and True Witness is His name. He alone was the perfect witness
for God. Now before us see addressed the failure of man in his corporate
witness in the church, and it is to be set aside. Here it is a gross
misrepresentation of that which it is supposed to portray. That which the
Holy Spirit would draw to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ had rebelled
and openly manifested their shame. He
is the “beginning of the creation of God.” He was the creator, and
originator of all that exists. When Adam was created he was set up as head
of God’s creation, but all that resulted from Adam was corruption. It
matter what man sets up all degenerates, and ends up total corruption. The
Lord sets up that which can never be corrupted and will be an eternal
witness to the glory of God. Man now has failed in every position into
which he is put. Laodicea is to be spewed out, nevertheless the individual
with a hearing ear, and an obedient heart is accepted. I know. The Lord knew, and with omniscience could say, I know
thy works. It is most important to note this as we shall see a little
later. Now what did He know, “I know thy works, that thou art neither
cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.” Rev.3:15”. They were
neither cold nor hot which is quite interesting as it can be viewed in two
aspects. The first as it relates to the church witness and the s how it
relates to the Lord. The
church at Laodicea was not suffering either the heat or the cold they were
comfortably warm. It suited them in their relative ease. What that meant
and how they got there is explained later in this passage. What it meant
to the Lord is dramatically different. The whole thing was nauseating. As
we will see this lukewarmness was an absolute indifference to the Lord. He
did not come into their thinking nor did He receive the slightest
consideration. 12 This
total indifference to the Lord is indeed insulting. In Thyatira there was
the cold shoulder of hatred, in Sardis a cold formality, in Philadelphia
there was a strong desire to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart, but
in Laodicea there was total indifference. Laodicea
could not care whether He lived or died. Their only concern was their
personal comfort, and in fact they believed they had reached the peak of
achievement. To the Lord all
this was insulting and intolerable. Laodicea
was neither cold or hot and the Lord says, “I will spue thee out of my
mouth.” He will have no connection with it. That this judgment is
imminent is clear as we will see in verses 19 and 20, and also clear is
that the last four churches go on to the end. The end being that there is
no corporate witness on the earth when Laodicea is spewed out. Not
that Laodicea was ever a witness for the Lord, but rather to serious
christian error. |