The Rapture and the Throne of God

As I have mentioned in my previous message - "The Church Age - Part 3," the Church in Laodicea signifies the Church Age from the 1900s to the time of the Great Tribulation. This is the last Church on earth. This Church will be the Bride of Christ. But, this does not mean that the entire Church will be the Bride. There are conditions to be fulfilled. In order to understand the Rapture we need to understand God's purpose of redemption for Israel and for the Church.

God's purpose of redemption for Israel and for the Church

Exodus 19 contains a message God gave to Moses for the children of Israel after He had redeemed them from slavery in Egypt, brought them out by tremendous miracles and brought them to the foot of Mount Sinai and from there He proposed to enter a Covenant with them. Let us look at some verses.

"You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, the you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:4 - 6, NKJV, emphasis added).

When God said to Israel, "I brought you to Myself," He was telling the children of Israel His primary purpose of their redemption, i.e. to bring His chosen to himself! Notice that God first revealed His primary objective before He went on to outline the rest of His purpose - the details of His Covenant and the conditions attached to His Covenant (read the rest of Exodus).

Notice that the words spoken by God are not merely relevant to Israel after their redemption out of Egypt, but they are not less relevant to the Church today. I believe that most of the Jews have never discovered the purpose of their redemption, not even today. The Scripture says because of their unbelief and rejection of God, salvation came to the Gentiles (Romans 11).

Since Israel failed to understand the purpose of their redemption, God simply restated the same purpose for the Church of Jesus Christ, consisting both the Jewish and Gentile believers.

Peter said (to the believers), "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, ..." (1 Peter 2:9).

Therefore, God's primary purpose in redemption is always this - to bring His people (Israel and the Church) to Himself. Anything else is secondary.

The Bride of Christ

Now, God's purpose of bringing His people to Himself is to prepare a Bride for His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5 gives a picture of Christ's love for the Church.

Paul said: "Husbands love your wives, just as Chrsit also loved the Church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25 - 27, emphasis added).

The Bride is being prepared, "with the washing of the water of the Word." Therefore, without upholding the truth of God's Word, the Church will not be cleased and so is not fit to be the Bride. The Church cannot be cleansed by any other means - like observing Church doctrine, Church custom, Church tradition, and doctrines of men (even men graduated from Bible Colleges), because more often than not, these are contrary to the Word of God and therefore tarnish the Church! The Church that is not cleansed by the Word will not be holy; she will be full of spots and wrinkle and full of blemishes and therefore fails to be the Bride.

After the preparation of the Bride (the glorious Church), Jesus' ultimate purpose for His Church is to bring her to the Father's house for the marriage of the Lamb:

Jesus said: "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2, 3, emphasis added).

1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 give a picture of what will happen. A day will come when all true Christians will be caught up bodily and alive to meet the Lord in the air (please read my earlier message - "Imminent Pre-trebulation Rapture." This is what John means when he said in John 14:3 - "I will come again and receive you to Myself."

I believe the first event in heaven after our Lord takes us there, will be the Judgement Seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:12 - 15). This is not a judgment for condemnation but a judgment for reward. We must all give an account to our Lord for every action or failure to act, for every idle word and secret thought. After this the Groom will want to spend some time with His Bride, the now glorified Church in the Father's house.

In Christ's days the Jewish bride was taken to the father's house where the two were in seclusion for seven days (one week). Christ must have had that custom in mind when He promised to take His Bride to His Father's house. During these seven years (the 70th week of years in Daniel's prophecy - Daniel 9:24 - 27) the earth is going through the Great Tribulation period under the reign of the Antichrist! But, at precisely the same time in heaven, the marriage supper of the Lamb is being prepared (Rev. 19:7, 8)! The Bride of Christ escapes the wrath of the Antichrist. That is the way God protects His Church, fulfilling what Jesus said to Peter, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). He brings His Church to Himself! On the other hand, the gates of Hades shall prevail against the "church" that is left behind under the reign of the Antichrist. In fact the Antichrist together with his false prophet and his "elders" and "pastors" will be sitting at their gates - the gates of Hades!

The Rapture of the Church

In Revelation 1:19 John was told to write three things - "The things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this." (Please read my earlier message - The Church Age - Part 1). "The things which you have seen," correspons to the Chapter 1 of the book of Revelation. "The things which are," corresponds to the period of Churches (the Church Age) in Chapter 2 and 3. "The things which will take place after this," corresponds to the remaining Chapters (Chapter 4 to Chapter 22) which deal with things that will unfold at the end of the Church Age. So far we have looked at the first two of those things. Now, beginning with Revelation 4, we consider the third - "The things which will take place after this." This message deals with some of the things which will take place. This involves the Rapture of the of the Church to heaven into the very presence of the Throne of God. After this, we shall study The Great Tribulation.

The Throne Room in Heaven (Rev. 4:1 - 11)

John wrote, "After these things I looked, and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this'" (Rev. 4:1, emphasis added).

The panorama John now viewed had changed from earth to heaven. Only a short time before, Jesus stood in the midst of the golden candlesticks and spoke to the seven Churches. That scene disappeared, and when and awesome gate of heaven was flung open, a voice like a trumpet said, "Come up here." God will likewise use a trumpet sound when He calls the Church to meet Him in the air (read 1 Thess. 4:16, 17).

John was the last surviving apostle. His ascending to heaven pictures the Church at the end of the age that has prepared oil, being filled with the Holy Spirit (read Matt. 25:1 - 13), and with other conditions fulfilled, is taken up into heaven as the Bride of Christ.

It won't be long before that same voice will be heard by your ears and mine, and we also shall be taken up to heaven. As a door opened when John looked up, so a door in heaven will open for us, and we shall also ascend.

One Who was stting on the Throne (Rev. 4:2, 3)

As john looked into heaven, he first saw omeone sitting on a throne (Rev. 4:2). The center of heaven is the Throne of God, and on it are the Father, the Son and the Spirit. John thus described the figure of God the Father on the Throne - "And he who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald" (Rev. 4:3).

Jasper signifies the inscrutable divinity and holiness of God. The ruby-colored sardius stone signifies righteous judgment. When John first saw God, he felt not only the infinite divinity and holiness of God but also His sternness of righteous judgment, John's heart might well have trembled with awesome fear.

The rainbow around the throne resembled an emerald. When we see a rainbow from the earth, it looks like a half-circle. But when we see it from an airplane in the sky, it looks like a complete circle. The sight must have filled John's trembling heart with joy.

The origin of the rainbow goes back to the days of Noah. When Noah sacrificed animals after the flood, God made a covenant with him, saying He would not judge the world again with a flood (Gen. 9:11). As a sign of this covenant, God made a rainbow to appear in the clouds.

Thus, a rainbow resembling an emerald and surrounding the Throne means that God, in spite of His infinite divinity and holiness, has already accepted a sacrifice for our sins. That offering is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who died on the cross of Calvary. By accepting Jesus' sacrifice, God made another covenant between Himself and mankind - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Twenty-four elders around the Throne (Rev. 4:4)

After John saw Him who sat on the Throne, he also saw twenty-four thrones surrounding the Throne. Twenty-four elders, with crowns of gold on their head, sat on those thrones.

John promised the Laodicean Church: "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Rev. 3:21). Those who overcome will ascend to heaven and sit on the Throne that even angels cannot come near.

What do the twenty-four thones signify? I believe they represent the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament and the twelve disciples of Jesus in the New Testment. Altogether the twenty-four thrones represent the saints who were saved in both Old and New Testament times.

The twenty-four elders were human beings. Angels cannot have an office such as elders, neither does God give them golden crowns. Such crowns are given only to those who have been saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

The Throne (Rev. 4:5, 6)

John also saw "lightnings, thunderings, and voices proceeded out of the Throne" (Rev. 4:5). What comes after a flash of lightning and peals of thunder in a summer storm? A shower. God is ready to rain judgment (The Great Tribulation) upon this earth like a summer shower. But He is postponing His judgment until His children are taken away to heaven and seated with Him.

John also saw "... seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God" (Rev. 4:5). This image shows the Holy Spirit on the Throne in heaven, having returned there with Church.

In front of the throne was "a sea of glass, like crystal" (Rev. 4:6). This can be interpreted to mean the true Church after the Rapture. The description, "like crystal" indicates calmness and serenity. That means all our tears, cares and trouble will no longer exist.

The four living creatures or beasts (Rev. 4:7)

Next John saw four living reatures around the Throne of God. The first was like a lion and the second like a calf; the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle (Rev. 4:7).

Isaiah saw a similar vision. He wrote of seraphim standing above a throne (read Isaiah 6:2, 3).

Ezekiel also saw four living creatures in his vision (read Ezekiel 1:5 - 12).

What were the four living creatures in Revelation 4? They were cherubim, the angels that guard the holiness at His Throne. The first was like a lion. That symbolizes Jesus' coming as the King of the Jew, as Matthew's Gospel describes Him. The second creature was like a calf (ox), which signifies Jesus who works, as Mark's Gospel describes Him. The third creature was like a man, and Luke's Gospel describes Jesus as the Son of man. He had a complete human nature, being born of the Virgin Mary. The fourth creature was like an eagle which represents the divinity of God. John's Gospel emphasizes John was the divine Son of God.

Thus, the four living creatures standing around the Throne all symbolize the Person of Jesus Christ.

Worship (Rev. 4:8 - 11)

What comes next is a scene of worship. First the four living creatures worship God day and night, never resting. They ceaselessly say, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is to come" (Rev. 4:8).

When the living creatures give glory to God, the twenty-four elders also fall down and worship Him. They cast their crowns before the Throne and saying, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created" (Rev. 4:11).

This is the scene of heavenly worship which includes us, the heavenly glorified Church - "A sea of glass!"

The Church Age - Part 3

Continuing from Part 2 we are now going to study the remaining three of the seven Churches, prophetically covering the period 1517 to the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The three Churches are the Church in Sardis, the Church in Philadelphia and the Church in Laodicea.

The Church in Sardis (Rev. 3:1 - 6)

1. Name of the recipient Church

Sardis was a city that flourished some five hundred years before John (who wrote Revelation) was born. Later the city was conquered by Cyrus of Persia, then by Alexander the Great. Through those conquests Sardis was reduced to ruins. This city worshipped the goddess Cybele.

2. Christ's spiritual evaluation of the Church

The Church in Sardis signifies the period from 1517 to 1750. The name "Sardis" means "those escaping" - the people who left what became the Roman Catholic Church. In the light of Church history, the Church in Sardis refers to the Protestant Church founded by Luther, a priest who led the Reformation beginning in 1517, on the Biblical principle that we are justified by faith alone, not by good works and adherence to tradition.

Jesus appeared to the Church in Sardis as One who had the seven Spirit of God and the seven stars (Rev. 3:1). The seven stars signify the servants of God, and the seven Spirits of God signify that God gives the fullness of the Holy Spirit to the servants whom He has restored.

Jesus said, "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead" (Rev. 3:1).

Even though the Reformation was achieved, it had political as well as spiritual motives behind it. The Church was still bound by form and ritual. And the Church was actually still in the state of death, even though it had the appearance of being alive. That is the reason why many Bible teachers called the Church in Sardis a dead Church.

3. Christ's Commendation

Jesus commended the few clothed in white robes in the Church of Sardis (read Rev. 3:4). They were the ones who were justified before God by their faith, as were the leaders of the Reformation, who also retained pure faith. Because they believed in the precious blood of Jesus and His grace, He washed them clean and clothed them with white robes.

4. Christ's Rebuke

As mentioned earlier in Rev. 3:1, Jesus said that even though the Church had a name that they were alive, but they were dead spiritually. He meant that in the past the Church had been growing and was alive, but little by little their enthusiasm disappeared and their faith became cold. Only a memory of the past was left.

5. Christ's Exhortation

Jesus exhorted the Church in Sardis to be awakened to life from the dead state, to remember His graces received, to hold fast to the faith and repent (read Rev. 3:3).

6. Christ's Promise

Jesus promised that He would clothe with white robes those who were thus quickened to life and record their names in the book of life, that they might live forever (read Rev. 3:5). He would also vouch for those names before God and His angels.

The Church in Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7 - 13)

1. Name of the recipient Church

Philadelphia was located thirty miles southeast of Sardis. It was destroyed by the great earthquake of A.D. 17 and rebuilt by Tiberius. It was known for its wine, and drinking was a major problem.

2. Christ's spiritual evaluation of the Church

The Church in Philadelphia foretold the Church age between 1750 and 1905. "Philadelphia" means "brotherly love," and the Church there preached the gospel with such love. Indeed, proclaiming the gospel is impossible unless we have compassion for our fellow men and women. When we do, Jesus opens the door of revival.

The Lord appeared to the Church in Philadelphia as the One who had the key of David (Rev. 3:7). When He opens, no one can shut, and when He shuts, no one can open. This signified that the Lord would cause a great revival in the Philadelphia Church.

For a century and a half (from 1750 to 1905), Churches experienced wonderful revival movements, and the fire spread to various parts of the world. A Society for China Inland Mission was formed in Great Britain, and through its efforts the gospel was preached to the inner parts of China. The Student Volunteer Movement, also arising in Great Britain, became a great mission society.

Also during this period, the Methodist movement, the Salvation Army and the Holiness Church arose. George Whitefield shook England, America and Europe with the gospel. Following him, numerous evangelical revivalists such as Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, Charles Spurgeon and Dwight Moody set America and Europe on fire.

Jesus' prophecy came true during the Church age of Philadelphia. He also forewarned the Church of the coming Great Tribulation, but He promised He would cause the Church to miss that Tribulation (Rev. 3:10).

3. Christ's Commendation

Jesus commended the Philadelphian Church for doing many activities with little ability and behaving sincerely, causing no shame to His name (Rev. 3:10).

4. Christ's Rebuke

The Lord did not rebuke the Philadelphian Church, a faithful and missionary Church. He never rebukes a gospel-proclaiming and mission-sending Church. Neither He rebuked a persecuted Church (Smyrna).

5. Christ's Exhortation

Jesus exhorted the Philadelphian Church, which fulfilled its missionary role with little ability, to "hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown" (Rev. 3:11). He didn't demand more than that but urged the Church to preserve its enthusiasm for missions and service and to develop them more.

6. Christ's Promise

Jesus promised the Philadelphian Church that if it kept the word of patience, continuing its mission work, He would keep it from the hour of temptation, when God will judge all the people who have lived on the earth (Rev. 3:10) - the Great Tribulation.

To him who overcame, Jesus also gave the promise that He would make him a pillar in the temple (Rev. 3:12). The pillar of the temple or Church supports the house where God dwells.

Jesus also promised He would give the Church a new name (Rev. 3:10). he would write the name of God, the name of New Jerusalem and His own new name to him who overcomes.


The Church in Laodicea (Rev. 3:14 - 22)


1. Name of the recipient Church


Being a center of finance, Laodicea was very rich. It was one of the largest cities in Asia Minor. Moreover, it was a city of entertainment, where all the citizens sought continual pleasure. Since the Church had compromise with the world, it became neither cold nor hot (Rev 3:1).


2. Christ's spiritual evaluation of the Church


In terms of Church history, the Laodicean Church signifies the age from the 1900s to the time of the Great Tribulation. This slso describes, prophetically, the state of our Church today. "Laodicea" means, "the right of laity," namely the Church of people's rights. This is a time when the laity have become more "enlightened" than the ministers and when their power is such that they can even hire and fire a pastor at will.


Jesus appeared to the Church in Laodicea as One who was "Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God." Accepting the Word of God with "amen" expresses our sincere loyalty to the Lord. The Laodicean Church, howeve, had lost its loyalty to Christ, its true witness and the original purpose of creation. Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy and lifeless faith and urged it to repent.


From the beginning of the Laodicean aged in 1905, theology began to criticize the Bible historically, scientifically and philosophically by introducing rationalism and higher criticism. This started in Germany. The Scripture cannot be subjected to higher criticism through science and reasoning, however, for it was written by divine revelation. Nevertheless, the liberal new theology asserted that the Bible is not scientifically or historically correct; its accounts are mostly myth. Therefore all the miracles in it must be removed.


3. Christ's Commendation


Among the six Churches we have seen so far, no Church failed to receive a commendation. However, the Laodicean Church did not receive any commendation, only rebuke. It represents the Church age in which we now live.


4. Christ's Rebuke


Jesus rebuked the Church in Laodicea, saying, " I know your works, that you are neither cold nor ho. I could wish you wer cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Rev. 3:15, 16).


Jesus condemned the lukewarm faith of the Leodicean Church. But, many today's Churches are just the same - neither cold nor hot. The people offer lips service and make social noises when they meet in Church service or cell group meeting. They read the Bible but very often don't do what the Scriptures said.


Jesus hates the Laodicean Church's lukewarm faith. If faith is cold, Jesus can move a person toward repentance. On the other hand, people who vehemently oppose Jesus can easily be converted when their egos are crushed and they become hot with conviction. However, those people who go to Church and give agreeable answers but whose hearts are not in it are the last kind to be converted.


Why was the Church in Laodicea lukewarm in its faith? They had a wrong understanding of themselves. They said, "I am rich have become wealthy, and have need of nothing" (Rev. 3:17). But Jesus rebuked their spiritual powerty, "... you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked."


Today many Churches, the world over, also allow their worship services to degenerate into social gatherings. On Sundays they have a short worship service, and then they enjoy eating and drinking under the false name of Christian fellowship.


Paul said, "... the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but reighteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14;17).


5. Christ's Exhortation


Jesus first exhorted the Laodicean Church to seek true richness - spiritual richness that can be obtained only from Jesus through faith (read Rev. 3:18). Then Jesus said the Church should seek from Him white raiment. This is the robe Jesus clothers us with, signifying our righteousness through His precious shed blood.


Finally, Jesus exhorted the Laodicean Church to buy eye salve and anoint its eyes that it might see. This is the eye salve of the Holy Spirit, who opens spiritual eyes. In other words, the Church should look at its material and educational wealth through eyes of right spiritual-understanding. Then it would realize that the wealth of the world in which it put so much trust is only transient.


6. Christ's Promise


Jesus promised the Laodicean Church, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Rev. 3:21).


There is no place to go except the throne of God. This is a wonderful saying, for when we go to the throne of God, the world ends.

The Church Age - Part 2

Continuing from Part 1 we shall now study the next two of the seven Churches, prophetically covering the period A.D. 312 to 1517. These two Churches are the Church in Pergamos and the Church in Thyatira.


The Church in Pergamos (Rev. 2:12 - 17).


1. Name of the recipient Church


Pergamos was the capital of Asia Minor and a flourishing center of politics, power, heathen worship and learning. It had temples of Zeus and altars offered to Aesculapius, its tutelary god. The people put serpents on their altars and worshipped them. This signified devil worship. Moreover, the cult of emperor worship flourished here too. It was the duty of every citizen to burn incense once a year to his deified image.


2. Christ's spiritual evaluation of the Church


Prophetically, the Church in Pergamos refers to the Church period from A.D. 312, when Constantine the Great proclaimed Christianity as Rome's state religion, until the year 590.


"Pergamos" means "marriage." While Constantine made Christianity the state religion, he also took advantage of it politically. He used the marriage of the state and Church (including the incorporation of the Babylonian religion's heresy) to consolidate the empire's unity.


Accordingly, in the annals of Church history, the Church in Pergamos represents the adulterous Church that compromise with the world. When suffering persecution, they became pure. But when they received blessings again, they compromised with the world, turning into Pergamos and falling to depravity in pursuit of worldly pleasure.


The Lord appeared to the Church in Pergamos as "He who has the sharp two-edged sword" (Rev. 2:12, NKJV).


Because this Church "have those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idol and to commit sexual immorality" (Rev. 2:14), it needed to repent, or He would come in judgment - fight against those people with "the sword of His mouth" (Verse 16) which is the sword of His Word.


3. Christ's Commendation


Jesus commended the Church in Pergamos for keeping its pure faith and not compromising with heresies. he especially pointed out a man named Antipas (Rev. 2:13). Tradition and history related this concerning the martyrdom of Antipas:


"At that time emperor worship was in full force. One day a Roman official took Antipas before the image of the emperor and said, 'Antipas, worship the image.'


Antipas answered, 'The King of kings and the Lord of lords is Jesus Christ only, so I will not worship any other god. Only Jesus.'


The Roman official was infuriated and shouted, 'Antipas, don't you know that all the world is against you?'


Antipas responded, 'Then I, Antipas, acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of lords against all the world.'


Enraged at this answer, the official ordered some men to heat up a brazen bull, and Antipas was put into it. There he was slowly roasted to death. Yet he never denied Jesus."


4. Christ's Rebuke


Jesus rebuked the Church in Pergamos, saying, "But I have a few things against you, because you have those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, ..." (Rev. 2:14).


When the children of Israel came out of Egypt and entered the land of Canaan, Balak, king of Moab, called Balaam, the prophet, and asked him to curse Israel. Balaam, whose eyes were darkened by power and money, advised Balak that if the Moabites tempted the Israelites with fornication, God would destroy them (read Num. 25:1 - 9; 31:16). So Balak had beautiful Mobite women dance lewdly on the altars of the idol, and the men of Israel committed fornication with the women of Moab and worshipped the idol. As a result, God's judgment came upon them, and thousands of people died in a single day.


The Church in Pergamos harbored fornicators, and the Christian Church of that day committed spiritual fornication by joining itself with the Babylonian religion.


The Lord also rebuked the Church in Pergamos for including some who held the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:15).


The Nicolaitans were the followers of Satan. They introduced Greek philosophy into the Church and also caused it to commit fornication and adultery.


5. Christ's Exhortation


Jesus exhorted the Church in Pergamos, "Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth" (Rev. 2:15).


From this we know how indignant He was. The Church He bought with His own blood was tainted with heresy and immorality.


6. Christ's Promise


He promised that He would give the hidden manna to the person who repented and overcame temptation (Rev. 2:17). This hidden manna is heavenly, spiritual food - Jesus Himself!


He also promised He would give a white stone to those who overcame. This refers to the stone the court of that day gave as token to accuse criminals when they were found not guilty. On the other hand, if they were found guilty they were given a black stone. Therefore, Jesus was promising that when people repented, He would forgive their sins and make them righteous. The promise extend to us as well.


The Church in Thyatira (Rev. 2:18 - 29)


1 Name of the recipient Church


Thyatira was a small city in Asia Minor. The chief industry of this city was fabric dyeing. Fortune-telling was also prevalent, and numerous people would gather for this purpose in large temple.


2. Christ's spiritual evaluation of the Church


"Thyatira" means "continued sacrifice," which the Catholic mass is all about. In terms of Church history, Thyatira signifed the Dark Ages of the Church from A.D. 590 to 1517, when Martin Luther began the Refomation.


Jesus was described to the Church in Thyatira as having "eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass" (Rev. 2:18). He penetrates reality with those eyes and judges the Church with those feet. Brass speaks of judgment.


After Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, the Church grew steadily more worldly. It left the true nature of the faith - the religion of the Word, praise and prayer. Lay people attending service only watched what was going on, while the priests offering sacrifices. Consequently, the faith of the laity atrophied into little more than spectating at rituals.


One of the abominable practices adopted by the Church was the selling of indulgences to collect contributions from the believers. It was a last unbiblical resort to finance the building of a new Church building for Saint Peter in Rome. Buying an indugence was a commercial transaction; it was like buying ticket to heaven, and it was adverised as such! However grave a person's sin may have been, it was immediately forgiven the moment he bought this indulgence. Even a person who was already dead and whose soul was thought to be in purgatory could get to heaven if his offspring bough indulgences for him!


A story was told that, Johann Tetzel, a priest who was commissioned to sell indulgences, beguiled believers, playing on their sympathies for departed relatives and friends whom they might release from the sufferings in purgatory "as soon as the penny tinkles in the box." Thus, God's spiritual gift of salvation was corrupted into a commodity to be fought like a sack of potatoes! In this manner the Church of that day, like the Church in Thyatira, became depraved. For this reason, most Bible teachers classified the Church in Thyatira as the corrupt Church.


Jesus said He would cast the Church that did not repent of fornication into a sick bed and kill its children (read Rev. 2:21 - 23).


Several times Jesus gave opportunities for the Church to repent in the dark period of the Middle Ages. Various movements arose and challenged the Church to repent and reform.


One of the first was the Albigenses, which arose around 1170 in southern France. Rejecting the rites of the Church, it put its effort into distributing copies of the New Testament. In those days the Church forbade lay believers to read the Bible. Every local Church had only one copy, and even that was chained to the pulpit so no one had access to it. When the reform movement became strong, Popel Inncent III sent crusaders and annihilated the Albigenses.


Another opportunity for repentance came with the waldense movement in 1170. Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyon, France, was their leader. The Waldence disguised themselves as tradesmen and peddled ware, distributing copies of the New Testament and preaching the pure gospel as they traveled. However, this movement also came to a halt through persecution.


Yet another opportunity for repentance appeared with the reform movement led by John Wycliffe, an Englishamn, he translated the Latin Bible into English and launched a compaign of spreading the Bible throughout the world. Jan Hus, who was influenced by Wycliffe, became the rector of a university in Bohemia. He cried for reform in 1369, demanding that the Church return to pure faith. In 1416 he was excommunicated y the pope and was finally burned to death in France.


On the day Hus was executed, the public square was filled with a large crowd. An effigy of a demon was bound to his body, which in turn was bound to a stake by a chain. Wood was heaped around his body up to his chin, and then set on fire. Historians noted that Hus sang hymns as the fire was ignited and began to burn his body. Numerous people witnessing the scene were moved to tears and became followes of the reform movement.


Because the Church refused to repent of her spiritual fornication, she had to be "cast into a sickbed" (Rev. 2:22). That bed was the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther, which supplanted the Roman Church as God's most faithful witness on earth.


3. Christ's Commendation


The Lord said, "I know you works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first" (Rev. 2:19).


He commended the works, love, service, faith and patient endurance of the Church in Thyatira.


4. Christ's Rebuke


The Lord issued a severe rebuke citing the Church's tolerance of Jezebel, the false prophetess (Rev. 2:20). Jesus was referring to a woman fortune-teller in Thyatira, who even went into the Church to practice her evil. But, symbolically He was referring to the Jezebel of the Old Testament. She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and Ahab, king of Israel, took her to be his wife (read 1 Kings 16:29 - 33). She brought the worship of Baal into Israel and had the altars of the Lord God demolished.


Jesus rebuked the spiritual adultery of this Church that followed Jezebel, mixing faith and divination.


5. Christ's Exhortation


The Lord gave the Church in Thyatira the exhortation that it should not compromise with the shamanistic faith, but stand firm on the Word (read Rev. 2:24, 25). Our faith also should be based firmly on the Word. Extravagant fondness prophecy - an obsession with details not revealed in the Bible - might lead your faith astray just as in the case of the Church in Thyatira.


6. Christ's Promise


Jesus promised He would give power over the nations and the morning star to him who overcomes temptation (read Rev. 2:26 - 28). I believe the morning star signifies the second coming of Jesus Christ. If we stand firm on the Word with pure faith, we will have the privilege of taking part in the second coming of Christ - our part as the bride of Christ!

The Church Age - Part 1

This is the follow-up to my earlier message - "Imminent Pre-tribulation Rapture."

The apostle John was probably already past eighty years old when he saw the awesome figure of the glorified Jesus. His terror was so intense he fell at His feet as though dead. When John fell, our Lord Jesus laid His hand tenderly on him sand said:

"Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and Death" (Rev. 1:17, 18, NKJV, emphasis added).

Jesus, who died on the cross of Calvary and was resurrected on the third day, has the keys of Hades and Death. Therefore anyone who believes in Him does not need to be afraid of anything, because both life and death are under the authority of Jesus.

The Keys to open Revelation

Revelation 1:19, 20 are keys that open John's revelation to our understanding. When misunderstood, however, these verses can cause one to misinterpret the whole book. Unfortunately, that happens frequently, even among Bible teachers and pastors.

"Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden hampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches" (Rev. 1:19, 20, emphasis added).

That which the apostle John was told to record falls into three divisions:

1. "The things which you have seen" - corresponds to Chapter 1 of the book of Revelation.

2. "The things which are" - corresponds to the period of Churches (the Church Age) in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. This message and the next one, deal with this period.

3. "The things which will take place after this" - corresponds to the remaining Chapters (Chapter 4 to Chapter 22) which deal with things that will unfold the end of the Church Age, such as the Rapture of the Church to heaven, the last days of the world and the unfolding of the new heaven and the new earth.


The Church Age


Christ's message to the seven Churches in Asia Minor were not only words of exhortation accompanied by praise and rebuke, but also words of prophecy coverning the span of Church history until the present time. That history falls into seven periods.

Examining the prophecy in the light of what has happened, we are thrilled to find that events took place just as foretold and are still being fulfilled. Studying Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of Revelation leads to a firm belief that this is truly the last age of the Church!


Each letter to the seven Churches can be divided into six parts:


1. Name of the recipient Church.


2. Christ's spiritual evaluation of the Church.


3. Christ's commendation..


4. Christ's rebuke.


5. Christ's exhortation.


6. Christ's promise.


In each letter we'll see how those things applied prophetically to the Church during the past two thousand years.


The Church in Ephesus (Rev. 2:1 - 7)


1. Name of the recipient Church


Ephesus was a major city in Asia Minor - a seaport and a commercial and export center. It was also the location of the great temple of Artemis (Diana). This large city was so thoroughly stirred by Paul's message that the silversmiths rioted because they believed their business of making shrines for Diana was threatened (read Acts 19:23 - 41). There were also many people practicing magic arts. As a result of Paul's preaching, a number of those who practiced magic arts believed in Jesus, then brought their books together and burned them (read Acts 19:13 - 19).


The Church at Ephesus was the most privileged among all the Churches because it was blessed with the best of that day's pastors. It was successively pastored by the apostle Paul, Apollos, Timothy and the apostle John. it was therefore the most trained in the Scriptures and doctrinally orthodox.


2. Christ's spiritual evaluation of the Church


The Ephesian Church represents the apostolic Church in the period from A.D. 33 - 100. The name "Ephesus" means "to relax and let go." Hence, the name implied that love had departed, and only only form and rituals were left.


The Church of Christ, which had been red-hot with the fire of the Holy Spirit in its initial stages following His ascension, slowly lost its first love. By the year 100 it had turned into a Church with nothing more than forms, like the Ephesian Church.


Many Churches today have members who simply attend the services. They listen to the pastor's sermon. They are interested in things that are entertaining, humanistic and philosophical. The sevices turn into entertainment meetings, void of spiritual nourishment and blessing. The Church degenerated into a humanistic body that leaned toward activity and organization.


3. Christ's Commendation


Jesus commended the Ephesians because their work had been Christ-centered. They also toiled sacrificially, bearing trouble and hardships in much perseverance. he also commended their purity; they would not tolerated those who were evil. Instead, they drove the false apostles out of the Church.


According to Jewish tradition, the Nicolaitans referred to in Rev. 2:6 were the followers of Nicolaus, one of the deacons chosen by the early Church. Nicolaus, who had fallen from orthodox faith, introduced heretical Greek philosophy into the Church. He held the belief that the spirit of man is good and pure, but his body is fundamentally forever evil. The spirit is by no means affected by the body's activities because the spirit is pure and holy forever. Therefore one's spirit is not affected harmfully even though one lives an unrestrained life of indulgence, drinking and eating as one wishes, living immorally. Since the spirit is purified, once a man believes in Jesus, there is no difference in his body even though it commits evil.


Many Churches followed the Nicolaitans and went into corruption and licentiousness. Furthermore, the Nicolaitans systematized the Church and set up a sinful hierarchy. Understandably, our Lord hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans. The Church at Ephesus did too, so He commended them for that as well.


4. Christ's Rebuke


The Lord sharply rebuked the Church that they had left their first love (Rev. 2:4). They had learned the Word well, but while they had been busy with their many activities, including service and sacrifice and bearing hardships, they lost Jesus from their midst - what was left was form and ritual.


Once believers' fervent relationship with Jesus has cooled off, they will just attend Church on Sundays out of habit. They are going through the motions without joy or enthusiasm. How many Churches today are like that? How fervent the early Christians must have been when they first believed in Jesus Christ! Doesn't the Bible say they were all filled with the Holy Spirit (read Acts)? The Church cannot please God unless the members maintain a constant, fervent fellowship with Christ.


5. Christ' Exhortation


Jesus exhorted the Church at Ephesus to "remember therefore from where you have fallen" (Rev. 2:5). We so easily forget the blessing of the Lord. We also forget His chastisement. In other words, Jesus is asking, "What happened that you now possess only a hollow faith?"


If we come to our Lord at such times, confessing what we've done and repenting, we can return once again to a fervent faith-life. Then we won't repeat the failure of the Church of Ephesus.


6. Christ's Promise


Jesus promised that when the Ephesian Church's first love was restored, two blessings would be given (Rev. 2:7).


1. He promised paradise. This paradise is far better than the one where Adam and Eve lived. The new paradiise will be in heaven. Christ will transform our bodies from their former state of dishonor to a glorious new state; from weakness to power; from the natural to the spiritual so that these mortal bodies will put on immortality, and we will live forever with Him.


2. He promised He would give the fruit of the tree of life. That fruit isn't given just for the pleasure of eating, but also for nourishment.


The Church in Smyrna (Rev. 2:8 - 11)


1. Name of the recipient Church


Smyrna was a seaport forty miles north of Ephesus. This flourishing city was situated on the trade route linking Rome to India through Persia, so commerce developed rapidly. Smyrna was founded by Alexander the Great and had temples erected to the sun god, Zeus. It was aslo the center of emperor worship and had temples honoring Roman rule.


2. Christ's spiritual evaluation of the Church


The Church at Smyrna characterizes the Church from A.D. 100 to 312, when Christianity was officially recognized by Constantine the Great. The Church of this period was under severe persecution. The name Smyrna means "crushed myrrh." Imagine! Myrrh is a bitter-tasting preservative, so wouldn't crushed myrrh taste ever more bitter? It was a prophetic name that foretold how terrible the persecution would be for the Church there.


The Church at Smyrna follows the Church at Ephesus. Don't forget that when love waned at the Ephesian Church, the judgment of God followed. Through persecution and tribulation God restores the pure first love to the Church.


The Bible says the Church at Smyrna would have tribulation for ten days (Rev. 2:10). This signified that ten Roman emperors would persecute the Church. According to Church history these Roman emperors, from the first to the tenth, were - Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Septimus Severus, Maximum, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian and Diocletian.


Jesus appeared to the Church at Smyrna as the One who was the first and the last; who had been dead and was now alive.


3. Christ's Commendation


Our Lord always commends the Church under persecution. He said, "I know your works, tribulation, and povery (but you are rich); ..." (Rev. 2:9). Tribulation and affliction always purify our faith.


The Lord also commended the Christians at Smyrna for overcoming the blasphemy they received form the Jews. Many Jews were executed for their monotheistic faith, and while being pulled to death they dragged the Christians to the same death out of hatred. Thus were many Christians at Smyrna were executed. Jesus said it wasn't the Jews but Satan who worked behind them.


4. Christ's Rebuke


The Church a Smyrna received no rebuke, as Smyrna's sufferings had helped to keep the believers pure in faith and life.


5. Christ's Exhortation


The Lord exhorted the Church at Smyrna to be faithful until death (Rev. 2:10). Jesus said He would be their guarantor and give them a crown of life. Since we are slso guaranteed by the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall also be taken care of if we have been faithful to the Lord, whether we live or die.


6. Christ's Promise


The Lord promised the Church at Smyrna it would not be hurt at the second death. The first death is the death of the body, and the second is the death of the soul. The first death comes to every being on this earth, but the second death, signifying the death of the unbelieving souls in the next world, is identified as everlasting torment of the soul in the lake of fire burning with brimstone. That has no power over the faithful believers in Christ. This promise means that even though the Church at Smyrna was being put to death by Roman persecutors, the Lord guaranteed it would avoid the second death and be translated to heaven - as part of the bride of Christ!

The Head and the Body

An architect and builders are both required to erect any major building in the world. An architect conceives the design, prepares the plan, draws all to specification, and in short, supplies the mind. The builder is merely the bricklayer or the carpenter. The builder is the machine; the architect, on the other hand, is a power that puts it together and sets it going. Now, who was the architect of the Tower of Babel? As far as we know, there was no architect, only builders. That's why there was so much confusion. In fact, the word "Babel" means "confusion" in the Hebrew language. In fact, the Babylonian Empire (comes from the root word - Babel) was a confused Empire.

If you ever travel to England, be prepared to meet Paddington Bear. Somewhat like Winnie the Pooh, the Paddington bear is an interesting and humorous character. It is believed that this fictional bear first arrived from Peru, tagged only with these words, "Please look after this bear." Subsequently, everywhere these little teddy-bear-like-Paddingtons are sold they carry the same inscription - an appeal, to whomever the little stuffed toy comes, to "look after him."

There is something homey and touching about these words. All of us recognize the need for someone to "look after" us. It isn't simply a matter of a childhood need, for even honest adults are aware that one never outgrows the need for supervision. So, it can be a very gratifying thing to discover that watchful and authoritative supervision is a distinct function of Christ's ministry - Christ is the Head of the body, the Church.

The Head of the Church

God knew the Church needed a head. For this reason, Christ was given as the Head of the body, the Church. The primary function of the head is to supervise. And being the head, He is our mind or to use a colloquial expression, "the brains of the operation." Christ, in fact, supervised creation itself:

Paul said: "And He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence" (Col. 1:16 - 18, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Paul said the same thing, but with greater emphasis, in Ephesians: "And He 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 who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22, 23).

And also: "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body" (Eph. 5:23).

Paul pointed out that just as the husband is lovingly responsible for his wife's best interest, so Christ, our Head, is fully commited to each of us who constitute His bride - the Church.

2. The phrase, "The first born from the dead" means, at the head of those who rise from their graves. This does not mean literally that He was the first rose from the dead for He Himself raised Lazarus and others, and the bodies of saints arose at His crucifixion; but it means that He had the preeminence among them all. He was the most illustrious of those who will be raised from the dead, and is the head over them all.

Misconception of headship

Unfortunately there is a tendency by some to think of headship as being authoritarian or heavy-handed. It is as though they believe, being "the head" give them the right to be indifferently bossy or cruelly insensitive to those under their supervision. Because of this misconception, some of us who know Jesus as our Savior actually fear to acknowledge Him as our Head.

This misunderstanding manifests itself in the ways some of us face various details of life. Too often we fear bringing certain details before Him in humble acknowledgment of His right to supervise and direct our behavior. Because we have been exploited at one time or another by someone who was in a supervisory capacity over us (even an unkind parent), we somehow feel that Christ may abuse His awesome authority over us.

If you find youself in this position, it might help you to find victory over such fear if you draw an analogy from your own physical body's relationship to your physical "head." Your head - the core of your powers of reason and reflex - is a prime example of the care and concern for the body which any sane, sober head employs. The fact that your head has the power control over your body does not make your head indifferent or insensitive to your body's needs, feelings, or fulfillment. To the contrary, your head: (1) thinks of ways to better your body's circumstances (brings improvement); (2) perceives those things that might injure your body and avoids them (provide protection); and (3) designs ways and programs that will serve your body's needs (give assistance). Consider those activities of your head - improvement, protection, and assistance - and then ask youself, "Is Jesus less thoughtful about His body than I am of mine?" Surely you know the answer.

Practice the presence of God

Because our Lord is ever-present, we must recognize that He, the Head of the body, is always with us no matter where we go. And even though this ever-present "Supervisor" most often stands beside us in silence, He is nonetheless present, available on a moment's notice to those who would simply acknowledge His nearness. Sadly, too few of us have developed the habit cultivated by Brother Lawrence, the sixteenth-century monk, who learned to "practice the presence of God." We fail to realize our spiritual "Head" is with us wherever we go just as our physical head is attached to our physical body.

Christians have the assurance that they are constantly surrounded by the presence of God, and that the Almighty's presence abides with them through thick and thin.

He said: "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5, NKJV).

The psalmist said: "The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore" (Ps. 121:8, TLB).

Honestly compels us to admit, however, that although Scripture assures us that we are constantly guarded and surrounded by the presence of God, we do not always feel it. There could be many reasons for this, of course, but let it be understood right away that if we do not regularly experience God's presence in our lives, the fault is always in us, never in Him. We ask ourselves therefore; what can we do to practice the presnece of God in our lives? In other words, how can we increase, enhance and understand better the sense of God's presence? How can we sharpen our spiritual awareness?

Before we look at some of the ways in which this can be done, we must make the point that no one can practice the presence of God until first they know God. I am not talking about just knowing about God but to knowing God by maintaining an intimate relationship with Him. I am not talking about unbelievers who do not know God. By their own initiative unbelievers will not seek after God - they run away from God. They are fugitives.

Jesus said: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; ..." (John 6:44).

This is very clear - our salvation begins with God!

I have no doubt that many believers sense God's presence around them, but they can never sense God's presence within them until they invite Him to come in. He loves every one of His creation, but He loves them too much to gate-cash the personality. He comes in only as we give our consent.

James said: "Come near to God and he will come near to you" (James 4:8, NIV).

God said: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20, NKJV).

Now that we are clear about the fact that we cannot practice the presence of God until He resides within us, we are ready to begin looking at some of the things we can do to help us become more conscious and more aware of His indwelling presence.

Cultivating Closeness to God

There is nothing that promotes the awareness of God's presnece in a believer's life more powerfully and effectively than the regular practice of a morning Quiet Time. If your lifestyle or circumstances prevent you from finding either the time or place to be alone with God during the first part of the day don't be discouraged - any time will do. The story was told that Susannah Wesley (the mother of John Wesley) that when, because of looking after her many children, she was deprived of privacy for her Quiet Time, she would lift her apron over her head, and for a few minutes commune in prayer with God.

Start your Quiet Time by reading the Scripture. Let God speak to you through His Word. Then tell Him the things that are on your mind, the joyful things as well as the difficult things. If your mind wanders or gets distracted when you are praying, then pray about the things to which your mind has wandered.

Praying the Affirmative way

Praying the affirmative way is not asking for something to be so, but affirming it to be so. It is proclaiming to oneself that a matter or an issue is exactly the way God has decreed it.

The fact is that there are some things in the Christian life that we do not need to ask for at all, they are part and parcel of our Christian commitment. And the promise of God's continued presence is one of them.

Listen to what the Almighty says concerning this tremendous fact: "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5, NKJV).

The psalmist said: "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me" (Ps. 27:10, NKJV).

On the basis of these verses, and there are many more, once we surrender our lives to God and are His committed sons and daughters, then we have the guarantee that His presence will be in and around us every moment of the day. So do not ask for it, affirm it. Instead of praying: "O God, be with me through every moment of this day," say: "Thank You, Father, that You are with me right now." You may withdraw form Him, but He will never withdraw from you.

There are some things in life, concerning which we would have to say in all honesty, that we are not sure whether we know the mind of God about them. Thus we pray and petition God for light and illumination before we can proceed. But no Christian need be unsure of God's promise to dwell in the hearts of those who are His children. He has put the issue beyond all possible doubt by assuring us, as the psalmist said: "We live within the shadow of the Almighty ..." (Ps. 91:1, TLB) - that He is ever with us.

Meeting with God in Christian fellowship

Although the presence of Christ is with every Christian individually, whenever we meet together corporately for prayer and worship, the presence of the Lord seems to be more intensely felt with, within ourselves individually. Why should this be so? I believe, in the process of opening up our spirits to one another, we authomitically open up more of our spirit to God. The fact is that, Christians are, corporately, the body of Christ and Christ is the Head of the body. Therefore, when Christians praying together, singing together, something is triggered that opens one's spirit more to God. The closer we get to one another, the closer we will get to God, and the closer we get to God, the closer we will want to get to each other. This concept is something that we ought to be more aware of and pay more attention to, in the contemporary Church.

Transformed by God

If every Christian has the Holy Spirit, then why do we have this continuous debate among ourselves about such phrases as "the baptism of the Holy Spirit;" "being filled with the Holy Spirit;" "walking in the Spirit," and so on?

I thought long and hard about this in the early days of my Christian experience, but it was not until I discovered the three different prepositions which Jesus used in relation to the Holy Spirit that the matter become clear to me. When Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit, He used these three prepositions - with, in and upon. Let us look at each of them in turn:

First preposition - "with"

This is how the Spirit worked in our lives, prior to our conversion. He was with us in order to convict us of sin and to persuade us of the fact that without Christ, our eternal future was one of gloom and despair.

Second preposition - "in"

John 20:19 - 31 depicts that glorious post-resurrection meeting of Christ with His disciples in which, after commissioning them, He proceede to breathe on them, saying: "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). The Holy Spirit came inside the disciples to convert them.

Third preposition - "upon"

Jesus (post-resurrection) prophetically said to the disciples: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8, emphasis added).

What happened at Pentecost? The Holy Spirit came in fullness at Pentecost, the disciples, who hitherto, thought converted and committed to Christ, were somewhat frightened and dispirited, began to feel His personal presence in a way that transformed them withen. Now they had no doubt that Christ was actually living in their lives and, feeling His personal presence with them, they went out and began to turn the world upside down. You and I should do the same when the Holy Spirit comes upon us.

Conclusion

You must constantly remind yourself of the fact that you are never alone. He, being your Head (you are His body) is closer to you than you realize, watching every move you make on the chessboard of life. But do not take His presence for grated, practice it. He has said He will never leave you nor forsake you, but you must constantly remind yourself of that fact. Like all things in life, practice makes perfect. Go out now, then, and from this time forward, determine to practice the presence of God.

The psalmist said: "You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Ps. 6:11).

A Quickening Spirit

Paul said: "And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit" (1 Cor. 15:45, KJV, emphasis added).

The last Adam is Jesus (read my earlier message - "The Last Adam") and He is called "A Quickening Spirit." He is called a Quickening Spirit because He has divine vitality. We, who are His Church, His Body, ought to have divine vitality. Look around you and you will notice that most of the contemporary Local Churches lack divine vitality. They are like what John saw and recorded in the Book of Revelation, the Church in Sardis - a dead Church:

"These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: 'I know your works, and you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels" (Revelation 3:1, 2, 5, NKJV, emphasis added).

The phrase, "but you are dead," means, dead spiritually. This is equivalent to saying that our profession of Christianity is mainly in name. If we continue to do the "dead" things that we are doing, God will blot out our names from the Book of life!

Recently a pastor made an unfortunate mistake as he conducted a funeral. Before him, in an open casket, lay the remains of the departed brother. Motioning toward the deceased and speaking in somber tones, the pastor said, "This corpse has been a member of my Church for more than ten years." You may be tempted to laugh. But, quite seriously and unknowingly, the pastor's statement is an accurate description of the spiritual condition of not only his Local Church, but many other Local Churches as well.

Sadly, the contemporary Church appears to be filled with spiritual corpses - those who lack divine vitality. They may attend Church regularly, even occasionally read their Bible and pray; they attend Cell Groups, prayer meetings and other Church activities, but they lack a real quality of spiritual life. They come short of what is required as committed Christians.

An innocent young girl was trying to describe her pastor's sermon to her parents, who had been unable to attend Church that Sunday morning: "I really can't remember much that our pastor preached," said the child, "But I think his text was - 'Many were cold and a few were frozen.'" Again, I do not think that description of the condition of the Local Church was a coincident. I believe God used that young girl to reveal the spiritual condition of the Church.

A call for Prayer

But praise God, a thaw (for those who ar frozen) is coming for those who would learn to pray in the energy and vitality of Jesus' Name - "A Quickening Spirit." We need to pray that the entire congregation repent of their sins. We need to pray that our Church is filled with the Holy Spirit and that we "walk in the Spirit so that we wll not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). Without the anointing and the unction of the Holy Spirit (read my earlier message - "The Unction of the Holy One") we resort to our own wisdom and strength to do God's work in the Church of Jesus Christ. The result will certainly be disastrous.

Never trust man

There is a haunting phrase from the prophecies of Isaiah which captivates one's imagination:

Isaiah said: "Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he" (Isaiah 2:22, NIV).

We must cease to confide in or trust in men. In the related passge a few verses back (11 ant 17), Isaiah said that the proud and lofty people would be brought low; that is, the kings, princes and nobles would be humbled. They, in whom the people had been accustomed to confide should show their insufficiency to afford protection. The strength, pride, and pomp of men's finest and best is ultimately destined for failure. and he called on the people to cease to put their reliance on any of the devices and refuges of men, implying that trust should be placed on the Lord only.

The phrase, "who has but a breath in his nostrils," means that man is weak and short-lived and has no control over his life. All his power exists only while he breathes, and his breath is in his nostrils. It may soon cease, and we should not confide in so frail and fragile a thing as the breath of man.

The psalmist said: "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God" (Ps. 146:3 - 5, KJV).

Trust only the Lord

Let us read more of wht Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15: "And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. the first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven" (1 Cor. 15:45 - 47, KJV).

Held in stark contrast are two races and two sources of sustained strength. First, is Adam's fallen race, a race at the created level sustained by the breathing of air. Second, is Christ's reborn race, a people at the redeemed level sustained by the breath of the Holy Spirit.

All of us experience the first resource. Since creation when - ".... (God) breathed into his (man's) nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7, KJV), we all have depended upon our respiratory systems for survival. If breathing is denied for more than a few minutes, it usually results in at least some deterioration of certain brain functions. If air is denied too long, death is imminent. We are all creatures "whose breath is in our nostrils." But there is an added dimension of living energy (life-sustaining "breath") available to all whom Jesus has redeemed.

Consider the account following Christ's resurrection when He came into the room where His disciples were hiding in fear. It is interesting to note one of His first actions. Now that the process of salvation, through Christ's death and resurrection, was completed, Jesus operated as Lord of their new order. The Bible says, "He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (John 20:22, NKJV). This is clearly a direct parallel of the first creation, when the Father had created man and then endured him with life-breath. Now a new creation has been made possible. The Son of God from heaven had become man's Redeemer and now is making possible man's recovery from the limits imposed upon him by reason of sin and man's devastating fall from his originally intended order. All that "the first Adam" could bequeath to his offspring has now been exceeded by everlasting life available only through "the Second Adam" - the Lord Jesus Christ. By reason of His resurrection, He now transmits a life-breath that gives spiritual vitality far beyond the limits of unredeemed man. Therefore, we trust only the Lord, the Second Adam.

Our help in "Perilous time"

The term, "Perilous time," means time of stress, danger and trial. In 2 Timothy 3, Paul lists 18 moral blemishes and ends with - "Having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Tim. 3:5, NKJV).

People tend to display external appearance of following the Bible doctrine and practice. They go to Church but they lack power and conviction which only the Holy Spirit can bring.

People become restless in this perilous time. Most of us have been pressed into action by haste-filled situation where we have had to run until breath was no longer available. We are always in a hurry, even without reason to do so. Winded, we stop, bending over to nurse the pain in our sides. Gasping for breath, chests heaving and lungs burning, we have reached our limit.

David knew what to do in distress and he went to seek God for comfort - "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, where is your God" (Ps. 42:1 - 3, NKJV)?

Just like David, that is exactly where we should go - to the Lord!

The psalmist said: "Be still, and know that I am God; ..." (Ps. 46:10, NKJV).

In the context, the psalmist made God his refuge - "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, ..." (Ps. 46:1, 2).


In other words, God is for us as a place to which we may flee for safey; a sourse of strength for us in danger. The word "trouble" covers all that can come upon us which would give us anxiety or sorrow. Furthermore, if we fail to keep still we may miss hearing God's voice. We need Him all the time and He delights to speak to us all the time.


Our Lord is a quickening spirit - a revitalizing, breath-of-life-giving "resuscitator" of weary souls. When your spiritual breath rate seems too heavy and the pace impossible, it is probably a sign that you are functioning only with Adam's race, a race whose breath is in the nostrils. What we all need is "spirit-breath," and in Jesus' Name, our Quickening Spirit, is available.


Waiting on the Lord


Here is a remarkable promise of God: "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:30, 31, emphasis added).


The phrase, "those who wait on the Lord," means, those who wait for His help, that is, to trust in Him and put their hope or confidence in Him. Although, in the context, it refers to those who were suffering a long and grievous captivity in Babylon, the promise is equally applicable to all who feel they are weak, feeble, guilty and helpless and who, in view of this put their trust in the Lord.


However, it does not imply inactivity, or want of personal exertion; it implies merely our hope of aid is in Him. No man can wait on the Lord in a proper manner who does not use the means which He has appointed for conveying to us His blessing. To wait on Him without using any means to obtain His aid, is to tempt Him; to expect miraculous interposition is unauthorized, and must meet with disappointment.


The promise of spiritual vitality is linked to waiting on the Lord. We are called to slow down in the Lord. Someone said, "Just walk on uninterruptedly and very quietly; if God makes you run, He will enlarge your heart."


While waiting on the Lord we need to pray in Jesus' Name, our Quickening Spirit. Our confidence in getting the right answer rests upon - "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21).


In Jesus' Name we can speak death to whatever is robbing us of energy and vitality (whether be spiritual, physical, or material) while at the same time speaking life into situations or circumstances that need those same qualities. For example, we can speak death in Jesus' Name to resentment that may be destroying a marriage and life into the loving affection that once existed, even though it may seem to have long since disappeared.


Beyond that, praying in Jesus' Name, our Quickening Spirit, means using the power of His Name to awaken our own spirits in daily renewal.


The psalmist said: "Revive me, O Lord, for Your name's sake! For Your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble" (Ps. 143:11).


Let us use Dwight L. Moody's Prayer:


"Use me then, my Savior, for whatever purpose, and in whatever way, You may require. Here is my poor heart, an empty vessel; fill it with Your grace. Here is my sinful and troubled soul; quicken it and refresh it with Your love. Take my heart for your abode; my mouth to spread abroad the glory of Your Name; my love and my powers, for the advancement of Your believing people; and never suffer the steadfastness and confidence of my faith to abate; so that at all times I may be enabled from the heart to say, "Jesus needs me, and I am His."


In conclusion, let me add another prayer of my own:


"Lord, I come today as a part of Your New Creation. I praise You for the newness into which You've ushered me - new joy, because You've fogiven me; new hope, because of Your promises to me; and new love, because You first loved me.


But Lord, I am also very conscious of the finite limits of my flesh. Though part of a New Creation, I am also a creature of Adam's race. Oftentimes my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak. And so I come to this day to receive Your inbreathing - the inflow of the life-breath of Your Spirit. You know how it was that You breathed into Adam long age, and the First Creation sprang to live. Now, O Lord - O life-giving, Quickening Spirit - breathe freshness and newness of life into me. Let Your Spirit refresh me at my points of weariness, and by Your Spirit strengthen me beyond my weakness. In Jesus's Name, Amen.

The Kind of People we ought to be

Peter said: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with the promise we are looking forward to new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" (2 Peter 3:10 - 13, NIV, emphasis added).

As the time to the end is approaching, the key to success does not depent solely onl what we say or do, but what kind of people we are. We need to live holy and godly lives. We should feel that there is nothing permanent on the earth and that this is not our abiding home. Our great interest are in another world. We should be serious, humble and prayerful; and should make it our great object to be prepared for the solemn scenes through which we are soon to pass. A habitual contemplation of the truth, that all that we see is soon to pass away, would produce a most salutary effect on the mind. It would make us serious. It would repress ambition. It would lead us not to accumulate what must so soon be destroyed. It would prompt us to lay up our treasures in heaven. It would cause us to ask, with deep earnestness, whether we are prepared for these amazing scenes, should they suddenly burst upon us.

The true Christian does not dread the coming of the Day of the Lord. He looks forward to it as the period of his redemption, and would welcome, at any time, the return of the Lord and Savior. While he is willing to wait as long as it shall please God for the advent of His Redeemer, yet to Him the brightest prospect to his future is that hour when He shall come to take him to Himself.

The kind of Christian life we ought to live

In Revelation, John heard a lund voice saying in heaven: "They overcome him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" (Rev. 12:11, NKJV, emphasis added).

What does it mean - "They did not love their lives to the death"?

I believe it means, for these people (the true Christians) it was more important to do the will of God than to stay alive. In other words, confronted by a situation in which to do the will of God would cost them their lives, that is the price they would pay, they would not look for any alternative way, any way out!

The word I choose to use to describe such Christians is "committed." Such Chrsitians are committed to obeying the Word of God and to doing the will of God regardless of the consequences for their own lives.

Chapter 9:21 - 24 of the Gospel according to Luke pictures an enthusiastic crowd following Jesus, excited by the miracles they have witnessed. But apparently Jesus is more interested in personal commitment than in that kind of enthusiasm:

"Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it" (Luke 9:23, 24).

The message of Jesus does not promise any easy way through life. On the contrary, in the Sermon on the Mount, He exhorted:

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who finds it" (Matt. 7:13, 14, emphasis added).

I believe, if your picture of the Christian life does not include God's demands for sacrifice and a life laid down, you may need to question the "way" that you are traveling on. You may discover that you are on the broad, easy way that leads to destruction and not on the narrow, difficult way that leads to life. In the contemporary Church some ministries emphasize only the blessings and benefits of the Christian life and never speak about the conditions that we have to fulfill in order to obtain those blessings and benefits. Such ministries could be compared to a merchant who displays an attractive range of goods, but never attaches a price tag to any of them.

Paul's commitment to his calling


According to Galatians 2:7, God had committed to Paul the responsibility of bringing the Gospel to the "uncircumcised" - i.e. the whole Gentile world (read Acts 27 and 28). The key to this would be to establish a centre in the city of Rome. From there, many different channels would automatically carry the Gospel to the whole ancient world - channels of commerce, education, finance, governmental administration and natural social intercourse. Because of Paul's special calling, he was the person best qualified to establish such a centre in Rome.


Because of the significance of Paul's move to Rome, he encountered tremendous spiritual opposition on his journey there. I do not know if in Paul's day there was anything corresponding to the luxury cruises that are so popular today, but I do know that Paul was not on such a cruise. On the contrary, he was traveling on a freight ship as a prinsoner in chains. Furthermore, the ship was caught up in a storm so horrific that for two full weeks the people on board never caught a glimpse of the sun by day or of the moon and the stars by night.


Satan's challenges for Paul


Luke said: "But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, 'Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship. For there stood by my this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve'" (Acts 27:21 - 23, emphasis added).


Paul used two phrases here to describe his relationship to God: "to whom I belong" and "whom I serve." In the economy of God's household, these two can never be separated. If we do not belong to God, we have no right to serve Him. There are no hirelings in God's household. On the other hand, we cannot belong to God if we are not available to Him for His service. God does not welcome to His household spoiled, self-indulgent egoists. They have no place in His Kingdom.


In His Kingdom, God has no place for hirelings. Those who serve in God's Kingdom do so because they are members of His household. This means that we cannot separate the two phrases Pual used to describe himself - "to whom I belong" and "whom I serve."


Eventually, the ship on which Paul and his companions were traveling was dashed against a rocky promontory and began to break up. This gave those on board an opportunity to escape to dry land.


Have you ever wondered: Was Paul in the will of God in this whole experience? I believe that Paul was fully in the will of God, and his whole journey to Rome was ordered by God. But satanic forces that feared the possible impact of Paul's ministry in Rome did everything in their power to destroy him befoe he could reach his destination. The storm that he encountered was not of purely natural original but was brought about by satanic forces in the heavenlies. It was similar to the supernatural storm that destroyed Job's sons and daughters (read Job 1:19).


In His divine wisdom, God sometimes permits His servants who are doing His will to be exposed to the malice and rage of Satan. In this way, they get insight not only into the true nature of the forces that are opposing them, but also into their personal need for persistent vigilance.


Peter said: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lions, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).


It would be a frightening experience to encounter a hungry lion in search of prey! The Bible never instills fear into us, but, on the other hand, it never encourages us to underestimate the power and the ferocity of our satanic opponents.


After the shipwreck Satan had one more challenge. The people who had escaped safety to land began to collect fuel for fire. Paul did not merely stand on one side waiting for others to get their hands dirty; he was among the first to start gathering fuel. Satan used this as an opportunity to make one final attempt to destroy Paul.


"But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, 'No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, thought he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.' But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm" (Acts 28:3 - 5).


Out of all 276 people (Acts 27:37), why did the viper choose Paul as its victim? Was there some supernatural intelligence operating through that viper? Behind this was Satan of course!


But Paul was full of the Holy Spirit. He did not feel the need to pray or to speak in tongues. To the amazement of the local islanders who knew how deadly a viper's bite was, Paul simply shook the snake off into the fire and went on gathering fuel.


The secret of Paul's victorious life


What was the secret of Paul's victorious life? He himself explained in 2 Timothy.


"For this reason i also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day" (2 Tim. 1:12, emphasis added).


The secret of Paul's victorious living is summed up in that one word - "committed." He was totally at God's disposal - He believed and yielded to God completely.


In Philippians 3 he stated the supreme ambition of his life:


"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but on thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3: 13, 14).


Salvation and Holiness


In some section of the contemporary Church, an unscriptural separation has been introduced between salvation and holiness by careless pastors or teachers of the Word. Holiness is represented as being a kind of optional "add-on" to a package deal salvation. This is an unscriptural attitude toward holiness.


The writer of Hebrews said: "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).


Paul said: "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1, emphasis added).


The phrase, "these promises" refers to previous three verses - 2 Cor. 6:16 - 18):


"I (God) will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty".


Obviously, these are wonderful promises of God for people who pursue holiness. And without holiness on one will see the Lord - no salvation. Therefore, acheiving personal holiness is not something that God will do for us. It is something that God offers us the grace to to for ourselves! It cannot be separated from the fear of God. It is the logical outworking of our personal commitment to Jesus and an essential condition of the victory over Satan that God has promised us. Paul knew what holiness meant.


Conclusion


The last two verse of Acts give a wonderful picture of the victory that concluded Paul's tempestuous journey.


"Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him" (Acts 28:30, 31).


An appropriate comment would surely be: "Mission accomplished!" The Gospel for the Gentile has been established in the city that dominated the whole Gentile world - Rome!


Paul, being a person who "did not love his life to the death," is the kind of people we ought to be.

Public Ministry and Personal Lives

Very often Christians are impressed by speakers who have "great" public ministry. They heal the sick and cast out demons and work all forms of miracles in Jesus' Name. Very often we are blinded by eloquent speakers and named them as great men of God who have strings of credentials. We welcome them to speak in our Church with opened arms. But one thing we often forget to do. We need to look into the personal lives of all speakers before we invite them to speak in our Church. This is not only a wise thing to do, but also Scriptural.

In Luke 13:24 - 27 Jesus addressed the question - are there few who are saved?

Jesus said: "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us.' And He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say. 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you where you are from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.'" (NKJV, emphasis added)

At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave a similar warning: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matt. 7:21 -23, NKJV, emphasis added)

Personally, I do not believe that the people who made these claims of working miracles were lying. They had actually done what they claimed. But being able to prophesy, cast out demons and work wonders does not necessarily prove that a person is one of God's elect.

In the Lord's answer to these people, there is one significant phrase that occurred three times - "I do not know you ... I do not know you ... I never knew you." They had never been on the list of God's elect. From His perspective in eternity, He had looked below their public ministry into their personal lives. He had searched for the nature of Jesus, the nature of the Lamb, manifested in meekness and purity and holiness. But in vain!

Outwordly, these miracle workers had busy serving the Lord, but in their innermost character God had discerned something described as "lawlessness" or "workers of iniquity." This expressed itself in attitudes such as pride, arrogance, self-seeking, covetousness, personal ambition. For such, He had no place reserved in heaven. There is one unvarying requirement of God that runs through the whole Bible - "... without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Endurance and Salvation

In His "end-time" discourse (Matthew 24), Jesus revealed another mark which characterizes God's elect - endurance. He gave a brief but vivid picture of the period leading up to the close of the present age (the Church Age).

Jesus said: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ... All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake (verse 9) ... Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matt. 24:4 - 13, emphasis added).

The phrase, "All these are the beginning of sorrows" was Jesus' description of a "birth pangs" or "labor pains" because they climax in the birth of God's Kingdom on earth. He warned His disciples that they will be subjected to progressively increasing presures.

Notice that the phrase, "He who endures to the end shall be saved" in Greek is more precise - "He who has endured to the end will be saved." In other word, enduring to the end is a requirement for salvation. Only those who have endured will qualify.

It is important to acknowledge that Christians in many parts of the world are already being subjected to tests of this kind. All the things that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:9 - 13 have actually been happening, and continue to happen, to Christians in communist lands, such as China and in many Muslim nations. Christians in the Western nations in this century have, for the most part, been exempted from test of this kind, but there is no guarantee that this will continue.

Divine purpose of endurance and tests

There is a divine purpose behind these tests, to which both Jews and Christians are being subjected. As the present age draws to a close, God intends to bring forth a people for His name, who will be fit to share His Kingdom throughout eternity. Therefore He will not spare His people any test that is needed to produce the kind of commitment and character that He requires. The same period of testing that faces Israel likewise faces the Church.

This is not a time, therefore, for Christians to stand back and say, "Let the Jews go through it; they deserve it." Rather, all of us - whether Jews or Christians - need to ask ourselves: are we prepared to go through what it will take to make us what God intends us to be? For those who make the right response, the end result will be a people pleasing to God, fit to share His glory.

Importance of blameless personal life of a minister

Recently a Local Church pastor invited Rev. Daniel Leo (not his real name), a retired pastor, as a special guest speaker to preach in a worship service. He was introduced with an impressive string of credentials published in the Church Bulletin - Graduated from a Bible College in a foreign country. He served as a pastor, a seminar speaker, itinerant speaker/evangelist and the like. He was a director in many sections of a denominational Church and so on ... But the pastor who invited him does not know his personal background. He only knows him as a "highly qualified" itinerant speaker - a deception in my opinion.

I got to know this person (Rev. Daniel Leo) when I was in a Local Church where he served as a pastor. In fact I was already a member of this Church fof about 10 years before he came. Being a member of the Local Church Board I was concerned about members not coming regularly to Church. And so I took time to bring this new pastor to visit some of these members. The first member we visited was a doctor's wife (I just call her SC) whose husband was not a believer. SC was a part time educationist who worked from home. She was a member of this Local Church for more than 15 years (much longer that me) but only came to Church twice a year - Easter Sunrise Service and Christmas Eve Midnight Service. When she saw us, she was extremely apologetic and promised she would begin to attend the Sunday Church Service in two weeks' time. In fact she turned up the following Sunday morning.

The pastor was of course delighted and within a month she took my place in the Local Church Board and was appointed a song leader. By the way she has a good voice. One thing leads to another, and before long, SC became a regular visitor to the parsonage. During that time the pastor's wife had terminal cancer of the lung. SC brought her maid with her to help to do the house chores. Instead of loving, helping and being attentive to her wife and praying for her (who was very weak), the pastor took the opportunity to commit adultery with SC! In fact they were soon caught red-handed by some senior Church members. To make the long story short, the pastor's wife soon died. Members of the Local Church then complained to the Head Office and almost immediately, the pastor was transferred away. Subsequently, SC divorced her husband and married the pastor. The busband of SC soon married again but had died of cancer of the nose within a short period of time. How sad and tragic!

Before the pastor was transferred away with his new wife, he lied to his fellow pastors (in a farewell dinner) in the same city that the Head Office wanted to send him overseas to enhance his music ministry. Of course that was not true. The truth is, he was sent to pastor a small Church in another city.

In my opinion, this pastor's lurid personal life discredited he "calling" as a minister of the Gospel!
What went wrong Biblically?

The shamful things committed by Pastor Daniel Leo, are forbidden by the Word of God - Adultery, divorce and lying.

1. Adultery - Willful sexual intercourse with someone other than one's husband or wife. Jesus expanded the meaning of adultery to include the cultivation of lust: "... who ever looks a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. 5:28).

In the Ten Commandments, God emphatically prohibited adultery when He said: "You shall not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14). Under the Mosaic Law, when a couple was caught in the act of adutery, both parties were to be killed (Deut. 22:22).

Pastor Daniel Leo was not walking in the Spirit, but walking in the flesh:

Paul said: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the last of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Sprit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do no do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornicaltion, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outburst of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:16 - 21, emphasis added).

Notice that Paul listed 17 works of the flesh of which "adultery" is numbered first among others. According to Paul those who commit adultery (and other works of the flesh) will not inherit the kingdom of God!

If you invite Pastor Daniel Leo to preach in your Church, you are actually inviting a person who will not inherit the kingdom of God to speak to Christians!

2. Divorce - The legal dissolution of a marriage. The divine ideal for marriage is a lifelong bond that unites husband and wife in a "one flesh" relationship.

Jesus said: "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matt. 19:4 - 6).

In Matthew, Jesus said: "... whoever divorces his wife for any reason except for sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery" (Matt. 5:32).

In Luke, Jesus said: "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery" (Luke 16:18).

In Mark, Jesus said: "And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" (Mark 10:12).

According to what Jesus said, and from the standpoint of what pastor Daniel Leo and SC did, it is clear that both of them committed adultery, except that pastor Daneil Leo committed adultery on two counts - one, committed adultery while his wife was still alive; two, committed adultery with a woman divorced from her husband!

It is true that pastor Daniel Leo did not divorce his wife while she was still alive, but SC, his new wife did divorce her husband. Shouldn't the pastor, who knows the Bible, pointed to SC the sin of divorce? There are two possible reasons - one, willful deception or he wasn't sure what the Scripture said!

Another case of a pastor's divorce

It is reported by "Ministry News" that Benny Hinn's wife, Suzanne filed for divorce on Feb. 1, 2010. The divorce papers cited "irreconcilable differences" with the famous healing evangelist. Pastor Benny Hinn and his immediate family were shocked and saddened to learn of this news without any previous notice. The couple has been married for more than 30 years. Although Pastor Hinn has faithfully endeavored to bring healing to their relationship, those efforts failed and were met with the petition for divorce that was filed without notice.

My comment is - you would think that Benny Hinn's wife understood what the Bible says about divorce. If not, wouldn't Benny point out to her even if she refused to listen?

3. Lying - In its very essence, a lie is any statement or act designed to deceive another person. The motivation for most lying is a desire either to hurt the one whom the lie is directed (Gen. 3:1 - 13; Romans 3:13) or to protect onself, usually out of fear or pride (Matt. 26 - 75; Acts 5:1 - 11).
On the other hand, it is possible to be truthful with the intention of hurting another person. The Bible teaches believers to be truthful in love (Eph. 4:24).

The punishment to be meted out to liars is of the severest kind. They are positively and absolutely excluded from heaven (Rev. 21:27; Rev. 22:15), and those who are guilty of this sin are cast into the Lake of fire:

"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars whall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstones, which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8, emphasis added).

Notice that "all liars" means "liars of all description." Notice also that liars and murderers receive the same penalty!

The psalmist said: "You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man" (Ps. 5:6).

Solomon said: "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies will not escape" (Pro. 19:5).

Conclusion

It is imperative that we examine the personal lives of preachers before we invite them to speak in our Local Church. Preachers' personal lives reflect their credibility in Christian ministry.