Revelation Revealed Series

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST [CHAPTER 3]

Revelation Chapter 3:14-22 And Summary of the First 3 Chapters

THE CLEAR TYPE OF THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA

The prophetic warnings of Paul to the Church of Laodicea are in TYPE: Ancient Israel in the time of Jesus Christ’s First Coming. Wherein we find their carelessness of the Nation, their rejection being threatened, with Christ’s comparisons being to those of the Parables of the Great Supper, and their lack of the Wedding Garment.  They had grown cold through the teachings and traditions of men and having a high opinion of themselves. They rejected the invitation to the Kingdom of Christ, made light of it, and were busy about material things so they made excuses. [Luke 14] Also His threatening aimed at them in Matthew 22 where they had not the Wedding Garment and therefore would not be allowed entrance into the Feast. In Matthew Chapter 23, although Jesus speaks to Israel, He also has in view the vomiting out of His mouth the lukewarm of His Church.

The Pharisee’s prideful prayer of Luke 18:11 answers to the Laodicean Church,  “I am rich and in need of nothing.” And also as to another Pharisee’s belligerent comment, “Are we blind as well?” With Christ’s response being, “If you were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” 

We have arrived at the last of “…the things that are..”

VERSE 14 “And unto the angel of the church in Laodicea, write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God.”  To see myself as I am is the Lord’s imperative to see Him as He is. In our living, we are required to hear revelation, true representations and comparisons of God and evil. The discovery is for light to see in what way to go, this all for the unveiling of myself.  “….behold I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life…..”  To the degree I hear and keep what I hear, I will receive at Christ’s Return Life and Blessing. To each Church we see this dynamic of Christ representing Himself as He is, and then by contrasting/comparing His Character to their own, they may see themselves and choose life.   Here in the Laodicean Church we have the comparison/contrast of Philadelphia in that, in the one, He had nothing to reprove and in the other, nothing to praise.

Jesus establishes first His Own Character: The Faithful and True Witness in comparison and contrast to their inflated opinion of themselves. He never exaggerates but speaks the Truth. The Spirit establishes throughout Scripture that He never changes and always can be trusted to keep His Word.

Jesus was not created but is the Creator. He was the beginning of Creation in that He was the cause of it. [John 1:1-3] “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or power: all things were created by Him, and for Him, and He is before all things, an by Him all things consist, (are upheld). And He is the head of the body the church: who is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead.” [Colossians 1:16]

Laodicea is mentioned only in one other Book; that of Colossians. The Spirit, by Paul, wrote, “And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans…..”. That book that wondrously reveals Christ in His greatness and Preeminence (comparative superiority) over satan, his nature and the World, with His loving redemptive revelations to each man.  “For the hope which is laid up for you in Heaven (greek is heavens) whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel…..To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (honor, brilliance, splendor)…..Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus…. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge…. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ.…Let no man beguile you of your reward…..”.

THE GREAT CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST IS REGAL…. (That fit for a monarch, magnificent or dignified.) The Promises to the overcoming individual conquerors over satan, his nature in us, and the World are also regal. In that they are promised Kingship, Priesthood, and Citizenship in a heavenly abode.

VERSE 16 An implied theme throughout chapters 2 and 3 is that of the steady leavening of the Church. [Matthew 13:33] “And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the love of many shall wax (grow) cold.” [Matthew 24:12] The final last days’ lukewarmness that was then the telltale signs of the final days typed in Laodicea. Christ through foreknowledge laid out the future of the Church over the next 2000 yrs after His First Coming. (Matthew 24 &25) Paul, Peter, Jude and John and others all warned of the prevailing wickedness that would pervade the Church. This New Covenant pervasive influence is also foreshadowed by Moses in the predictions of Israel’s demise. [Deuteronomy 31:16] False prophets, false teachers, doctrines of demons have, to one degree or another, prevailed in the Church over many of these generations. But the church at Laodicea represents the point of the end of the Age of Mercy and Grace and the commencement of final day judgment.

In the day the Lord gave the Revelation was in the youthful days of her existence but she already had the germ of evil. Which is what we see over the course of the prophetic Word. Becoming fully developed in these now latter days wherein the warning to the Worldwide Church of TODAY in Christendom is, “I am about to spew you out of my mouth”.

A historical summary and the state of the Church:

The book of Acts describes the beginnings of the Church that was in Jerusalem.  The Book of Acts also declares its breaking up and scattering starting in chapter 7. Chapter 9 gives us Jesus’ calling of Paul to reveal the Mystery of the heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1) to the Gentiles. He first carried the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Asia Minor, where these Churches of the Book of Revelation are located, and then later to Rome.  So these Churches are between Jerusalem and Rome where the Revelation of Jesus Christ is first given. The Message and Theme being much to do with Jerusalem and Rome in the prophetic portion of the Book of Revelation now before us. Noteworthy is that Chronologically, the Revelation looks back to Jerusalem and forward to Rome.

History reveals these 7churches in general fell to polytheism. (The worship of more than one god, that which the Book of Judges reveals typically as the demise of Israel). Ironically Moslems, who were persecutors of polytheist idolaters, overcame and dominated them.

Rome conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the structure of Yahweh’s Worship system. And effectively left Israel, for the last 2000 years, to Rabbinical Judaism.

Rome avoided being overrun by Moslems. But even more sorrowfully, the true Church was swallowed up and incorporated into a mere form of Christianity by the cleverly mixing of Polytheism and paganism into it. It was declared the national religion, also known as Romanism.  The FENCES Christ gave to Paul and others were thrown down and discarded, the leavened Church became worldly.  Essentially beginning then and culminating now in our day, the Church has been universally nationalized, “….having a form of godliness.” But the Lord will always have a remnant of Believers, and for the past several centuries He has, and is, awakening Churches that are pursuing Him again after the Scriptural pattern, in purity of heart.

“THE THINGS WHICH ARE” …is the time of the Mystery of the heavenly calling out of the Gentile nations. The Sanctified from among them are gathering in Hades below,. Israel is in unbelief. Satan is reigning, the Gentiles are vastly deceived. Christ is in Heaven with the Father sharing with Him in His Throne. Ministering among the mystical lamps of that Heavenly Temple, while the Bride, kingly and priestly living, is being educated on earth, preparing to take their regal place as co-rulers. These will continue, few or many, the Lord knows, until that solemn and marvelous day of the secret catching away of those watchful living upon the earth.

THE THINGS WHICH THOU  SAWEST (past) Those things John saw up to chapter 1 verse 18, THE THINGS WHICH ARE (presently abiding) answers to the Age of the letters to the churches, that now (the end of chapter 3) have been completed. Unbelieving Israel is now being positioned again in God’s judgment eye, along with that long delayed wrath of the Day of The Lord upon the World. NOW is the time THE THINGS which shall be hereafter; (prophetic future) are upon us.

As we move on into the 4^th chapter of the Book of Revelation and beyond, we no longer have mention of the churches per se. As the prophetic (the things which are about to take place) centers around the other key characters as this Age closes. The “servants of God” are now front and center in the vision now moving forward along with Israel and the World’s final judgments.

VERSES 18-22 Urgency for repentance is the Word of Christ to Laodicea: “….I stand at the door.”  As opposed to, I am the door of redemption open unto you. Now He is outside knocking, pointing to the necessity of yielding in overcoming. Now is “The hour of temptation….shall come now upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

We are done with the Church’s and its Age…..we are onto  “…things which must be hereafter.”

“What I say unto you I say unto all, WATCH.“

The problems connected with our Lord’s return become ever more urgent as the event draws nearer.  We see today, (amongst the vast majority of regenerate Christians), an extraordinary example of ‘wishful thinking’ – that all believers, including apostates and the grossest backsliders, will escape all the coming judgements and at once ascend with Christ, to rule and reign with Him, on the throne of the world.  It is difficult to understand how the grave warnings of our Lord and His Apostles, which have been constantly repeated to His Church, could have been so ignored, and can still today remain unheeded.  The issue at stake is far graver than a mere divergence in exposition: it is, (1) the fearfully practical issue of our plunge into the Great Tribulation or our escape: and, (2) the inconceivable glory of enthronement over the world (possibly only a few years from now), or a lost crown and throne.

Many are taking for granted that they are ready. Measured by Christ’s own words to His disciples, readiness for translation does not consist, as many erroneously suppose, in being saved or filled with the Spirit. We need to go to the Word of God and see for ourselves what conditions He imposes for translation and reigning with Him. In His Olivet Discourse, (Matt. 24 & 25) the Lord foretells the terrible calamities coming upon the whole earth. With pointed warnings and explicit commands He cautions His disciples to escape judgements. And He tells them how. It is not without significance that His words of prudence and caution are not spoken to the Church as a Body but to individuals: “Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged.“  The original Greek renders “yourselves“ and “your“ with particular emphasis.  “Watch YE therefore and pray always that YE may be accounted worthy to escape” … “Because thou didst keep the word of my patience I also will keep thee from the hour of trial which is to come upon the whole world.“ … “Blessed is he that keepeth his garments.“  In the Lord’s emphatic admonitions to His disciples to be weary and watchful does not encourage them to rest in any past blessing; nor does He tell them that, being filled with the Spirit, they can drift along.  The Lord’s emphasis is laid on WATCHING, HEEDING, PRAYING.  The escape according to Christ’s own words is made on condition of personal effort and is wholly a reward of the effort to be ready.

What Christ says should mean everything to us.  His oft-repeated command is to “WATCH.“  To watch means, in the original, “to be alert“; “to be aroused“; “to be awake“.  In this hour of His coming He has shown us in pointed warnings that the only way to escape the trouble coming upon the whole earth is to “WATCH AND PRAY ALWAYS“ (Matt. 24: 42; 25: 13; Mk. 13: 35; Lk. 21: 34-36; 1Thess. 5: 6; 1Pet. 4: 7; Rev. 3: 2; Rev. 16: 15).  Again the Lord says, – “Strive to enter in*… for many will seek to enter in and shall not be able“ (Lk. 13: 24).  The Greek rendering of “strive“ is “agonise“ – agonise to enter in.  Paul, seeking to win Christ, as the Bridegroom, said “I press“ towards the mark“ (Phil. 3).

How great will be the disappointment of the careless, lukewarm, unready ones in the hour of the escape (Lk. 21: 34-36).  Now, before it is too late, is the time for us to awake out of sleep and stir ourselves to watching and prayer, for the signs of His appearing are everywhere around us.*  The tares are ripening.  So is the wheat.  The ingathering is near.

[* One prominent sign is apostasy: ignoring responsibility truths and conditional promises of God.]

The Lord rebuking the worldly Laodicean Christians said, – “I know your works, that thou art neither hot nor cold … so because thou art lukewarm, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”  Christian, is your service for the Master, your praying, your Bible reading, the testimony of your life in private and public, cold or hot, or lukewarm?  Ask yourself this question, – “Am I a wise virgin trimming my life by the Word of God, or am I a foolish one, looking for His Coming but not preparing for it?”  In contrast to the ease-loving, pleasure-loving Christian of today, how different was Paul’s pressing toward the goal.  He put forth desperate effort to win Christ as the Bridegroom.  He stripped himself of every weight; suffered the loss of all things that he might in the fervour of his effort attain to the first resurrection out from among the dead (marginal rend. Phil. 3: 11).

“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord“ (Luke 12: 35, 36).  There is a wall of worldly separation between most Christians and Christ today which renders impossible watchfulness and prayerfulness.  Our Churches are full of men and women living in slothful ease and selfish indulgence, un-watchfully gliding, drifting with the world, careless of the rigid requirements imposed by the Lord upon all accounted worthy to escape the things overtaking the world and to stand before the Son of Man.

“When he shall appear, we shall be like him:” … “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure“ (1 John 3: 2, 3).  “The imminent return of Christ,” avers Dr. Torrey, “is the great Bible argument for a pure, unselfish, devoted, unworldly, active Christian life.”  According to John, the apostle, everyone who hath this hope of Christ’s return, purifies himself.  Beloved, the question of great moment is not, Is the Church ready?  But are you ready?  The Lord is preparing to take His place on the Throne; and to those who will go all the way with Him to His standard of perfection, by watching and praying always, He gives this glorious promise: “To him that overcometh I will grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame, and am sat down with my Father in his throne“ (Rev. 3: 21).

THE PRIZE OF THE THRONE

BY  JESSIE PENN-LEWIS

“HE THAT OVERCOMETH, I WILL GIVE TO HIM TO SIT DOWN WITH ME IN MY THRONE, AS I ALSO OVERCAME, AND SAT DOWN WITH MY FATHER IN HIS THRONE“ (Rev. 3: 21).

These words were spoken directly by the Ascended Christ, and they describe the climax reward for all who will fulfill the conditions for obtaining it.  Many may ask why we should go forward in ceaseless conflict and warfare with the forces of evil.  It is for the PRIZE OF THE THRONE.  In His messages to the churches the Lord clearly holds out to all the incentive of reward. Paul’s writings are full of reference to ‘reward‘, to all who will fulfill the conditions.

Christ is not yet seated on His throne.  At His ascension God said to Him, “Sit Thou on MY RIGHT HAND until… “ (Heb. 1: 13).  He is “seated on the RIGHT HAND OF THE MAJESTY ON HIGH“ (see Heb. 1: 3; 8: 1; Acts 2: 34,35; Heb. 10: 12, and 12: 2) waiting for the time when He will have His Throne, and those who are to share it with Him.

The throne is for overcomers!  Is it possible?  Are they to share the throne of the Son of God?  We can see now why, as we pass through the closing days of the age, there must be such a terrible conflict, and why the prince of darkness will challenge every child of God who wants to ‘overcome‘.  It is the final testing and training of all who are to share the throne, and to rule and reign with Christ.

Now what is the throne which awaits our Ascended Lord?  It is the millennial throne of reigning and ruling the kingdoms of the world.  After it is given to Him, the voice from heaven said: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ“ (Rev. 11: 15).  This throne God promised to Him, when far back in the ages of eternity He was “appointed to be heir of all things“ (Heb. 1: 2).  This is foreshadowed in Daniel 7: 13, 14.

Then the millennial throne of Christ is to be shared with others on certain conditions, by the gift of Christ Himself.  “I will give to him to sit with Me.”  Paul refers to this heirship in his unfolding of the work of the Holy Spirit in Rom. 8.  “Joint-heirs with Christ … if so be that we suffer with Him“ (Rom. 8: 17).  This is foreshadowed in Daniel 7: 22-27, where it says, “the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”  The fact that Christ’s coming throne is to be shared by overcomers, who are appointed by the Father to be ‘joint-heirs‘ with Him, who was “appointed heir of all things,” is therefore quite clear.

Glimpses are to be found, too, into the future time when the Christ, and those who are to share the throne with Him, will reign.  Paul said: “Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?”  “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” (1 Cor. 6: 2, 3).  What angels?  Certainly not the unfallen ones.  The explanation will be found in 2 Peter 2: 4.  “The angels which kept not their first estate … judged.”  These fallen angels – Satan and his hierarchy of evil powers – are to be judged by those who reign with Christ on His throne.  In brief, they who are ‘overcomers‘ – those who overcome the world and Satan now will be the ‘judges‘ of the fallen hosts of evil, when these overcoming ones are ‘glorified together‘ with Christ upon His throne.

The obtaining of the prize of this ‘high calling‘ of sharing the Throne with Christ was the incentive which urged Paul on to count all things loss to obtain it, and to be willing to be made conformable to the death of Christ as the primary means for reaching such an end (see Phil. 3: 10-14); for each believer who reaches the prize of the throne, goes by way of the Cross in the path of the Ascended Lord.  “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection … being made conformable to His death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from among the dead“ wrote Paul.  In Greek it means the resurrection “out from among the dead.”  A little later in this same chapter, Paul says “I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Notice the word ‘if‘ which Paul uses, “If by any means I may attain …“  ‘If.’  Paul was perfectly sure of his eternal salvation as a ‘free gift‘ from God, through the finished work of Christ.  Rom. 4: 4, Rom. 6: 23, and many other passages make this clear, but he again and again refers to a ‘Prize‘ which even he could not be sure of, unless he pressed on to fulfill the conditions for obtaining it.  In Romans 8: 17, the same ‘if‘ comes in again in connection with the same subject; “joint-heirs with Christ IF so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with Him.”  We shall be ‘joint-heirs with Christ,’ and be ‘glorified‘ with Him, when He is given the millennial throne of visibly ruling over the kingdoms of the world, if we are willing for the path He trod.  He obtained eternal life as a ‘free gift‘ for all who will believe on Him; but for His new government over the world when it has been re-taken from the hand of the enemy, He must have those who will have gone through the same ‘made perfect through sufferings‘ that gave Him the throne.

What is in the balance, therefore, for every believer in the present warfare with Satan, which must intensify as the age closes, it is the millennial crown and throne.  The question for each is, how to hold fast all spiritual victory hitherto obtained, that we do not lose the crown; for we must expect that Satan will challenge every one he sees moving on to the throne, where, with Christ, he will ‘judge angels‘.  In brief, he contests the future judges of the evil hosts of darkness when he contests and hinders those who, like Paul, press on toward the goal.

Now consider the qualification for obtaining the prize of the throne.  The Ascended Lord gives it in the words, “He that overcometh will I give“ – a personal gift – “to sit with Me“ – a personal sharing with Him – “ON MY THRONE“ – Christ’s own throne open to the overcomer – “EVEN AS I OVERCAME.”  Here is the qualification, and the path made clear.

Notice again that in qualifying for the ‘prize‘ each believer must stand ALONE.  It is “HE that overcometh.”  Each future ruler with Christ must have individual preparation and training, and his environment and Satan’s attacks upon him will be specially permitted and weighed by Christ (1 Cor. 10: 13) to bring about the required results.  Each ‘heir‘ to a vast estate must be carefully trained according to his capabilities and sphere (Gal. 4: 1, 2).  There may be only one placed by the Head of the Church where ‘Satan’s seat‘ is, but he must ‘overcome‘ or lose his crown (Rev. 2: 13).  He must not look for a second to ‘overcome‘ with him, for “one receiveth the prize“ (1 Cor. 9: 24).  He, alone, must alone qualify for the throne, by a faith developed by trial (1 Pet. 1: 7), and a triumph over Satan because of the Spirit of God in him as the sufficient power.

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