Apologetics

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SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS

From Patmos, Through the 20th Century to the Church of Acts
Looking at the Perfect Church

INTRODUCTION

“…upon this rock I will build my church;” Matthew 16:18
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

The Word of God contains the answer for everything. God speaks to us about how to become a member of His perfect church. He instructs us throughout the Bible, but most directly in Chapters 2 and 3 of The Revelation to John on how to be the perfect church.

Revelation is not a book of hocus-pocus, nor written to instill fear. This book deals with the appearance, witness, and judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is 'a revealing'! It is not a book by John. It is the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus given to John to record and “show unto his servants”. (See Chapter1 verses 1-3)

At the time of John's exile on the barren, rocky island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9), Christians were suffering great persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire. Some were imprisoned for their faith and forced to labor in the quarries. While others were forced to flee Jerusalem, dispersing throughout Asia, still many others were put to death. These early Christians lived in eagerness awaiting Christ's promised return. However, 60 years after His death and with ever increasing persecution, many began to waver and develop doubt.

The words of instruction given to John on Patmos were timely and offered encouragement to that first generation of Christians and all believers since. The Revelation extends hope and comfort. It contains assurance of final victory to the faithful who resist the demands and pitfalls of the world then . . . and now.

It is the revelation of Jesus and His enduring perfect church. Jesus instructs through these letters the do’s and don’ts of being a part of God’s true church. It is by Him, through John that the instructions are given to write to the 7 churches being in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. These seven were not the only churches in Asia, but I believe God specifically chose them because they typified all churches, then and everafter. You would not have to look far to determine that all churches fit somewhere in the seven descriptions.

More importantly, rather than looking around, look within as we are “a temple”. (1Peter 2:4-8) If we earnestly hunger for a more personal and deeper relationship with God, then we must see what he wants us to see. What can we learn from the letters to the 7 churches? Are they relevant to the churches of today? I believe the message is not only relevant to each church, but to each individual believer. These letters are relevant to all of who desire to be members of the only perfect church - His church!


~ I ~

Revelation 2
The Church of EPHESUS

The Apostle Paul began the church at Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia. After a few years, he sent Timothy, and later John arrived spending his last years there. Ephesus was widely known as a commercially important city and was at the center of the empire. It held The Great Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today, the ruins are still visible. Much of the same worldly power and influence prevails today as it did then.

The church of Ephesus is often called the cold church, or the church that lost its first love. They were busy about doing the work of Christ but forgot they were to be doing it out of a love for him and those they were serving. They were accomplishing many things through their 'works' mindset; however, it was a church that bore little spiritual fruit.

* Jesus establishes who He is - The Lord of All Churches and the divine author of this letter. (Chapter 1:8-20 and Chapter 22 verse 16) In the Chapter 1 verses, it is revealed just who and what Jesus Christ is. To him alone is given all power and dominion. He is the conqueror of all darkness and evil. He is our Savior and blessed Redeemer.

Verse 1:"Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;"

Here, Jesus is saying that He is head of the church and intimately knows their deeds. Jesus says He walks in the midst of the church, as He does in us individually. If he has been invited, He is in our hearts and inhabits our lives. Without Him, we have no light, no life, no power and no future but death.

*He recognizes their good:
Verse 2-3: "I know thy works and thy labour, and thy patience and how thou canst not bear them, which are evil: and thou hast tried them, which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And has borne, patience, and for my name's sake has laboured, and has not fainted.”

1. Jesus is saying He knows their good deeds and hard work. They had served the down and out, attended to the physical needs of others, and they had patience.
2. Equally important, they followed the epistles written by the Apostle John. (1John 4:1) In those scriptures, John acknowledged there are many spirits (good and evil) and he directs believers to “try the spirits” - determining if they are of God or false prophets. Paul too knew what this church had to endure. In Acts 20:29-31 he warned of the wolves (fakes, deceivers) who enter among them and some who would rise from within their own group. They critically examined the claims of [false] prophets and "tried them."
3. Jesus was highly commending this church for remaining steadfast and persevering. They endured hardships for His name. Regardless of how rough going it became they persevered and did not grow weary. They were determined, faithful, enlightened and had energetic stamina.

Unbelievers have used the excuse of churches being full of hypocrites as a reason to not attend. Is it no wonder that even they can spot the wolves in sheep’s clothing amongst us? We must use our God-given discernment to detect them (some may even be within the ranks of leadership) that will deceive for the purpose of sewing dissension, discord, and division among God’s righteous. Let us not be blind to the deceivers who come in or from among us.




Verse 4:
* Jesus then says, "Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
Many of the church founders had died and this second generation had lost their zeal. They were busy doing much to benefit the community and themselves. They were working out of tradition and with their own agendas. Their actions were not out of their love of God, but for all the wrong reasons. The loss of love for God ultimately results in loss of love for fellow mankind. In their testing everyone to determine the spirits, and their loss of love for each other, they developed a mistrust in which love could not survive. They lost sight of their first love. We should read His Word with a hunger to learn more and worship Him from a true heart. We can not ride into a relationship with God by way of the shirttails of a previous generation.

Churches throughout history have been as dissuaded from their purpose as was Ephesus. How much of what we our do is out of tradition, ceremony or cultural rite? This is called Religion. Look closely and ask if your motives are out of this incentive or out of hearts with a pure and personal love for God. Too many churches are more concerned with their numbers or Programs used to increase those numbers.

Unfortunately, the biggest motive of all is pacifying the big money donors in the congregation. We must not compromise to the greedy and power-hungry ways of the world! This includes succumbing to any ‘government’ of men. This fornication in turn gives that government carte blanche ability to dictate what can and cannot be spoken from the pulpit. Like an awaiting bride, the awaiting church is forfeiting her virginity in allowing this rape. Jesus, the returning groom, must be the only ‘head of the church. (See 1 Corinthians 11:1-3)

As Christ's chaste and awaiting bride, we should be so in love with Him that we think of Him alone. As all virgin brides, we are to be looking forward to our wedding day union and the honeymoon that will follow. That kind of love should continue to grow with excitement each passing day and year until we are joined with the groom.

Verse 5: “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works;”
* There is something we can do about it:
The Lord then says 'remember and do'. Remember your first love. Remember from where you fell. Repent, and return to what you started out doing. Remember how you first loved with excitement. Remember when it was a joy to serve others. Remember when you wanted to shout to the world about being in love and your coming groom. Rekindle the sparks felt for him.

* But if we don't...Beware, we are warned! “…or else I will…”
He then says if this church does not [remember and repent], he will remove the lamp stand out of his place. This is a warning that if they do not change, they will die. The light of Christ that is to radiate from the lamp stand [the church], will be removed. When the light is removed, things will quickly grow dark. This is easily seen in countries that have removed Christ or never let him in at all. Do you also see this in our American school system, Courtrooms and Government Offices, since prayers and the Ten Commandments were removed? Let us not forget the attempts to remove “One Nation Under God” from our Pledge.

Verse 6: * "But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."
Who were the Nicolaitans and why does Jesus hate their practices? They were wicked followers of the teaching of Balaam and the false prophetess Jezebel. If we break down the word Nicolaitans, we see it comes from the Greek words nikan, meaning to conquer and laos, meaning the people (hence - laity). Simply - to conquer the people. The doctrine of Balaam comes from two Hebrew words bela, and ha'am, both describing an evil teacher, who has won victory over the people. Beware of church leaders who control rather than serve! The Nicolaitans also fell into the evil ways of the seductress Jezebel. (Who came from among them) She subtly led them into moral impurity, idol feasts, sexual perversion, and heresy. She was a controlling woman who wiled them into sin before they realized what was happening.

When we look at the teachings and acts of the Nicolaitans, we can know why our Lord hated their ways. Nor will He enable us to continue with these acts. His Church is to be pure and chaste. God will remove His light from the lampstands of such idolatrous, perverted and controlled people. They will fall unless they repent

Have we missed something? What about the 'conquering of people'? Do you see that separation of clergy and laity comes from the Nicolaitans and their root-word definitions? What should we see here? Simply, many churches have become under man’s control rather than allowing Jesus to be the head. In those churches, they have shut out the light of Christ. They are as darkened and dead churches playing the game of Religion.

Could it be, that the way our late century European and Western societies have been practicing, is a Nicolaitan doctrine that is displeasing and against our Lord's word. Has a large number of clergy become ‘conquerors of the people’ by setting themselves above the laity and accountability? Do Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12 not speak of the different gifts and ministries that have been given to all God's believers? Those different gifts are very specifically meant for us to minister to each other. Ephesians 4:12-13 says, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...” And 1 Corinthians 12:6 says “And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.”

Verse 7: "He that hath an ear, let him hear..."
* A promise that gives us hope
To "He that has an ear..." is speaking to those who are willing to listen for God's voice. It is speaking to those who want to know what He has for us. Just as with our own family members, when we have listened to their voices consistently, we recognize their voices without them telling us who they are. By communication with God and studying His Word consistently, we become so familiar with His voice, it is easy to identify.

And "to him that overcome will I give to eat of the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God." So take heed! Do not fall into the deceptions of evil and false prophets. We must discern and be watchful. They will be subtle and ever so convincing if we are not watchful. Ultimately, evil will be destroyed and believers in Jesus will be by his side. In Revelation 21:7 we are told to overcome means we will inherit all things. Romans 8:17 states if we are children of God, then we are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. God’s love for us is so deep that He gave us His sacrificial Son. What a tremendous gift to assure us the opportunity for everlasting life with Him! Spiritual Life (be it in heaven or hell) will continue after our physical death. It is not by a written-in-stone law, but by a loving sacrificial invitation that we are provided opportunity to accept the path of eternal life with the Lamb of God. ~

SUMMARY POINT: KEEP OUR FOCUS AND PRIORITY SET ON CHRIST
ABOVE ALL ELSE.
BE NOT DECEIVED BY OTHERS OR OUR PURPOSE IN DOING
Watch for Chapter II coming soon

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