The Laodicean Church Age
The Mystery of the Seven Stars and the Seven Golden Lampstand • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
Text - Revelation 3.14-22
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this:
15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,
18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see.
19 Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
21 The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.
22 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”
Title - The Laodicean Church Age
Series - The Mystery of the Seven Stars and the Seven Golden Lampstands
Background
Background
The City of Laodicea
The City of Laodicea
Laodicea was founded by the Seleucid king Antiochus II and named in honor of his wife, Laodice, between his accession to the throne in 261 b.c. and his divorcing her in 253 b.c. It was built on the site of an older settlement first called Diospolis and later Rhoas. The name Diospolis (“city of Zeus”) reflects the fact that Zeus was the chief deity of the place, as he was of Laodicea.
Laodicea suffered severely from earthquakes. A later earthquake in a.d. 60 devastated the area. Laodicea was destroyed, but was rebuilt from its own resources without state assistance.
Laodicea flourished under Roman rule as part of the province of Asia. The city’s noteworthy banking assets are reflected in Cicero’s remark about cashing his letters of credit in Laodicea.
Laodicea had a famous school of medicine that was known for ophthalmology, a fact supported by coins from the area that contain the names of leading physicians from the school
Laodicea’s economy thrived due to its textile industry, which was renowned for its raven-black wool. The textile factories manufactured sleeved tunics, hooded cloaks, and carpets.
The Church in Laodicea
The Church in Laodicea
Laodicea was probably evangelized, with the other cities of the Lycus valley, during Paul’s Ephesian ministry (Acts 19:10)—not by Paul in person but, it appears, by his colleague Epaphras (Col 4:13).
Nevertheless, Paul regarded those cities as part of his appointed mission field, and he had a sense of pastoral responsibility for their churches (Col 2:1).
The Church Age
The Church Age
Dating the church Age
Roy Gingrich - 1900 - present
Larkin - 1900 - coming of Christ
WMB - 1906 - coming of Christ
Star-Messenger - William Branham
born - April 6, 1909
died - Dec 24, 1965
baptized - 1929
received commission to proclaim the message - May 1947
Major Events in the Age of Laodicea
Major Events in the Age of Laodicea
Pentecostal Movement
Pentecostal Movement
Dec 31, 1900 - during a watchnight prayer service at the Bible School of Rev. Charles Fox Parham, the doctrine of speaking in other tongues as the initial sign of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, was established.
Subsequently, the participants desired to received it by laying on hands
One student, a sister, received it and spoke it tongues for the next 3 days
1906 - six years later, the movement was launched to the world at the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles CA, through William J. Seymour.
Denominations that came out of Pentecostal movement -
Pentecostal Holiness Church
Assemblies of God
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
United Pentecostal Church
Black Pentecostal Churches
Healing and Deliverance Ministry
Healing and Deliverance Ministry
Hundreds of deliverance ministries arose between 1947-1957. conducting healing campaigns around the world.
A.A. Allen
Ern Baxter
Nicholas Benghu
Paul Cain
Jack Coe
William Booth-Clibborn
F. F. Bosworth
William Branham
Morris Cerullo
Ray Cerullo
R. W. Culpepper
Clifton O. Erickson
Lorne Fox
William Freeman
Velmer Gardner
W. V. Grant, Sr
Kenneth Hagin, Sr
Alton Hayes
Tommy Hicks
Earl Ivy
Richard E. Jeffrey
J. Gordon Lindsay
Jack Moore
Louise Nankivell
David Nunn
T. L. Osborn
Oral Roberts
R. W. Schambach
A. C. Valdez Sr
A. C. Valdez Jr
Richard Vinyard
Ethel Willitts
Kathryn Kuhlman
Televangelism Ministry
Televangelism Ministry
The Complete Book of When and Where: In the Bible and throughout History 1987—Televangelism Scandals Are Revealed
In the 1970s, evangelicals combined evangelism and entertainment in several popular and profitable television programs.
Ecumenical Movement
Ecumenical Movement
World Missionary Conference, 1910
The World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910 was one of those pivotal events whose significance is more clearly seen in its impact on subsequent events.
Edinburgh became the capstone of previous missionary conferences, but also the foundation stone of the modern Protestant ecumenical movement.
International Missionary Council, 1921
The International Missionary Council was an outgrowth of the World Mission Conference at Edinburgh in 1910.
Organized in 1921 under the leadership of John R. Mott, Joseph H. Oldham, and A. L. Warnshuis, its purpose was to encourage and assist churches and mission societies in their missionary task, understood as sharing with people everywhere the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It hoped to bring about united efforts wherever possible.
World Council of Churches, 1948
The rise of the WCC may be seen historically through the ecumenical conferences of the twentieth century. From the World Missionary Conference (Edinburgh, 1910) three streams of the Ecumenical Movement developed.
The first stream, the International Missionary Council (IMC), whose roots can be traced directly to Edinburgh, was officially formed in 1921.
The second stream, the Faith and Order Movement, came from the vision of cooperation generated at Edinburgh and held its first conference at Lausanne in 1927.
The third stream, the Life and Work Movement, came largely as a result of the work of the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship and held its pioneering conference in Geneva in 1925.
The last two streams merged when delegates from 147 churches and denominations constituted the WCC at the Amsterdam Assembly in 1948.
After much debate during the 1950s, the IMC was merged into the WCC at the New Delhi Assembly in 1961.
Charismatic Movement
Charismatic Movement
Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI) - the launching pad of the charismatic movement.
The ministry of FGBMFI was envisioned by Demos Shakarian, a successful California dairyman. From the 21-members, it has expanded to every continent of the world and has chapters in virtually every major city.
Human Rights movements
Human Rights movements
Women’s rights
animal rights
Etc
The Letter
The Letter
Salutation
Salutation
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this:
The Amen
Amen means “so be it”
it signifies affirmation to an oath or curse
it signifies an affirmation of a blessing, prayer, song, or praise to God
Jesus is God’s confirmation of His own promises to His people!
20 For as many as the promises of God are, in Him they are yes; therefore through Him also is our Amen to the glory of God through us.
confirmation of O T promises
confirmation of promises goven to the disciples
The Faithful and True Witness
Jesus declares His divine attribute
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the Lord your God will send you to us.
only God can be faithful and true witness - because He is the Alpha and the Omega, the same yesterday, today and forever.
The Origin of the creation of God
Origin = also “beginning”
Grk. “archo”, first cause, an agent that caused something to exist
the Logos
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
The Complaint
The Complaint
15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,
Neither cold nor hot
cold - refreshing (not backsliding)
hot - therapeutic/healing
lukewarm - signifies Christian life that lacks passion, fervour, strength, enthusiasm;
I will vomit you out of my mouth
reject Christian confession
What caused Laodicean church to be lukewarm?
earthly wealth and materialism
What are the indications of lukewarmness?
focus on material wealth (blessing)
unwareness to spiritual condition and needs - “you do not know that you are wretched, etc...”
wretched - distressed, affected (by worldiness)
miserable - in a condition that needs pity
poor - lacking spiritual riches
blind - unaware of spiritual conditions
naked - exposed to public view
focus on personal fulfilment and satisfaction
Laodicea (la-od-i-se’-ah) = Greek, laos - people; laity; and dicea - opinion; custom; opinion or custom of the people; = justice of the people; ruled by the people; rule of the majority; democratic; i.e., peoples right or opinions. The people’s rights.
laos - people
dicea - opinion, custom
laodicea - people’s rights, people’s customs, people’s opinion, rulef the people/majority
Churches that are focused on material blessings are most likely (1) lacking in spiritual wisdom, (2) ignorant to spiritual truths, and (3) not practicing holiness.
On the other hand, Christians who are aware of their spiritual needs and prioritizes them in their daily walk, they are less focused on material things, does not worry over material needs, and more contented in what they have!
we cannot serve God and wealth at the same time - Matthew 6.24
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
The Counsel
The Counsel
18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see.
19 Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
I advise you to buy from me…
While eternal life is a free gift - Romans 6.23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
spiritual riches and well-being require sacrifice
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.
Love, Rebuke, and Discipline
Christ is rebuking the church because He loves her/the people!
rebuke - to prove guilty
discipline - to punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience
The church today needs REBUKE! AND CORRECTION
THIS IS THE FINAL WARNING TO THE LAST GENERATION
The Promise
The Promise
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
21 The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.
22 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”
I stand at the door and knock
Christ expresses His desire to give the church His presence and fellowship
But Christ will not force himself inside - He will patiently wait for the church’s response to His knocking
Hear, Open, Dine, Reign -
Hearing should lead us to “open up” to Christ
Opening our lives to Christ results in a wonderful time of fellowship with Him
Dining with Christ culminates in our reigning with Him in His kingdom!
To him who overcomes -
we must overcome lukewarmness!
we must overcome spiritual apathy (impassiveness, indifference)
we must overcome entitlement
we must overcome pride and independence
Conclusion
Conclusion
Laodicean Age is the worst condition of the church throughout history -
worse than the time of persecution
worse than the when she was conquered by
On the other hand, those who heard the voice of the Spirit of God today are in their best condition ever!
they have been enlightened in their minds
they are enriched in spiritual in the heavenly places
they are covered in the righteousness of Christ
Song - The Solid Rock