The laodicean messenger pdf

There isn't any man can fool you. Paul could not fool any elect, had he been wrong. And in that first Ephesian Age the elect there could not be fooled for they tried the false apostles and prophets and found them to be liars and put them out. I believe it. These words just make me want to shout. They bring such a spirit of reality into my heart. Just reading them without even waiting for a thorough revelation of the Spirit upon them thrills me.

The days of grace are winding up. He has looked from the first century right through to the twentieth, and told us all things concerning these ages. Before He reveals the characteristics of the last age to us, He gives us one final look at His own gracious and supreme Deity. This is the capstone revelation of Himself. Jesus is the Amen of God. Amen stands for finality. It stands for approval.

It stands for prevailing promise. It stands for unchanging promise. It stands for the seal of God. I said this is His end-time revelation of Himself. When the day of grace closes, then the millennium comes very shortly thereafter, doesn't it? Well, read with me Isaiah For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. This is the millennium. But as we go into the millennium, hear what He says about being a certain kind of God, Verse 16, "That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth. So we read it, "shall bless himself in the God of the AMEN, and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of the AMEN; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from My eyes.

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create, for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her; nor the voice of crying," Hallelujah. Christ did not come down to make Himself known.

He did not come to reveal the Son. He came to reveal and make known the Father. He never changes. What He does never changes. He says it, and it stands fast. He does it, and it is done forever. None can take from what He says or add to it. So let it be.

Aren't you glad that you serve that kind of a God? You can know exactly where you are with Him at any time and all the time. It means that whatever He said is final. It means that whatever He said to the first age and to the second and to all ages about His own true church and about the false vine is exactly right and it won't change. It means that what He started out with in Genesis, He will finish in Revelation. Now we can see again why the devil hates the Books of Genesis and Revelation.

He hates the truth. He knows the truth will prevail. He knows what his end will be. How he fights that. But we are on the winning side. We I mean the believers of His Word, only are on the Amen side. You know we often talk about a great unchanging God, Whose Word does not change. And when we speak of Him after that manner we often get a view of Him that makes Him seem very impersonal.

It is as though God made the whole universe and all the laws that pertain to it and then stood back and became a great impersonal God. It is as though God made a way of salvation for lost mankind, that way being the cross, and then when the death of Christ has atoned for our sins, and His resurrection gave us an open door to Him, God just folded His arms and stood back. It is as if we majored in believing in a great Creator, Who having created, lost personal interest in His creation.

Now I say that is how too many people are apt to think. Colossians By His own counsel He purposed the plan of the salvation of His own elect which He foreknew. The Son died upon the cross to establish the means of Salvation and the Holy Spirit carefully executes the will of the Father.

He is working all things at this moment according to the purpose of His own will. He is right in the midst of it all. He is in the midst of His church. This great Creator, Saviour-God is faithfully working amongst His own right now as the great Shepherd of the sheep. His very existence is for His own.

He loves them and cares for them. His eye is ever upon them. When the Word says that "your lives are hid with Christ in God" it means exactly what it says.

Oh, I am so glad that my God abides faithful. He is true to Himself, He won't lie. He is true to the Word, He will back it up. He is true to us, He will lose none of us, but raise us up in the last day. I am glad that I am resting in His faithfulness. Philippians You recall that it does not mean 'true' as in contrast with 'false. It expresses perfect realization in contrast to partial realization.

Now back in the Philadelphian Age, the coming of the Lord was drawing nigh. What great love that age manifested for Him. It reminds me of those beautiful words of I Peter , "Whom having not seen ye love, in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. We haven't seen Him, but we have felt Him. We know Him now as much as our limiting senses can let us. But one day it will be face to face.

That is for this age. He is coming at the end of this age. We have been looking through a glass darkly, but soon it will be face to face. Isn't that wonderful? We are complete in Him. That is true. He would not lie to us about that.

But one day we will be changed in the atoms. We will put on immortality. We will be all swallowed up in life. The Bible speaks of Stephen and Antipas and others as martyrs. They were martyrs; they were also witnesses. Jesus was a faithful martyr. The Holy Ghost is the witness to that. The Spirit bears record of that. The world hated Jesus. It killed Him. But God loved Him and He went to the Father.

The proof that He went to the Father is that the Holy Ghost came. If Jesus had not been received of the Father, the Spirit would not have come. Read it in John And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me: Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in this world instead of Jesus being here, proves that Jesus was righteous and went to the Father. But it also says in John But one day He is going to come back in flesh again. Now He Which establisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. But those words don't mean exactly as they sound to us.

Just taking them the way they sound has made some people in fact multitudes of people get the idea that Jesus was the first creation of God, making Him lower than Godhead. Then this first creation created all the rest of the universe and whatsoever it contains. But that is not right. You know that doesn't line up with the rest of the Bible. He is the Creator. John "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

Also it says in Ex. Surely we can see what these words mean now. To have any other interpretation would mean that God created God. How could God be created when He, Himself, is the Creator? This has to do with the church. This is a special designation of Himself. The heavenly Bridegroom created his own bride. As the Spirit of God, He came down and created in the virgin Mary the cells from which His body was born.

I want to repeat that. He created the very cells in the womb of Mary for that body. It was not enough for the Holy Spirit to simply give life to a human ovum supplied by Mary. That would have been sinful mankind producing a body. That would not have produced the "Last Adam". Mary was the human incubator and she carried that Holy Child and brought Him to birth.

It was a God-man. He was the Son of God. He was of the NEW creation. Man and God met and joined; He was the first of this new race. He is the head of this new race. Colossians , "And He is the head of the body, the church: Who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. It is another creation, distinct from the old one. No longer is He dealing by ways of the flesh.

That was how He dealt with Israel. He chose Abraham, and of Abraham's issue through the godly Isaac line. But now out of every kindred, tribe and nation He has purposed a new creation. He is the first of that creation. He was God created in the form of man.

God the creator, creating Himself a part of His creation. This is the true revelation of God. This was His purpose. This purpose took form through election. That is why He could look right down to the last age when all would be over and see Himself still in the midst of the church, as author of this New Creation of God. His Sovereign power brought it to pass. By His own decree He elected the members of this New Creation.

He predestinated them to the adoption of children according to the good pleasure of His will. By His omniscience and omnipotence He brought it to pass. How else could He know that He would be standing in the midst of the church receiving glory from His brethren if He did not make sure? All things He knew, and all things He worked out according to what He knew in order that His purpose and good pleasure be brought to pass.

Ephesians "In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.

Aren't you glad that you belong to Him! Revelation "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent. He makes two indictments and pronounces His sentence upon them. So then because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. It says that this Laodicean church age group is lukewarm. This lukewarmness demands a penalty from God. The penalty is that they will be spued out of His mouth.

Here is where we don't want to go astray as a lot of folks do. They very unwisely say that God can spue you out of His mouth and that proves that there is no such thing as any truth to the doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints. I want to correct your thinking right now. This verse is not given to an individual. It is given to the church. He is talking to the church. We are engraved on His palms. We are carried in His bosom.

Way back in the unknown ages before time we were in His mind. We are in His sheepfold, and in His pastures, but never in His mouth. But what is in the mouth of the Lord? The Word is in His mouth. Matthew "But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Now we know that the church is His body. It is here taking His place. What will be in the mouth of the church? The WORD. I Peter "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles Word of God. I am going to prove that right now. They say the apostolic days of miracles are over and there is no Baptism with the Holy Ghost, subsequent to believing.

The Methodists say based on the Word there is no water baptism sprinkling is not baptism and that sanctification is the Baptism with the Holy Ghost. The Church of Christ majors in regenerational baptism and in all too many cases they go down dry sinners and come up wet ones. Yet they claim their doctrine is Word-based. Go right down the line and come to the Pentecostals. Do they have the Word?

Give them the Word test and see. They will sell out the Word for a sensation just about every time. If you can produce a manifestation like oil and blood and tongues and other signs, whether in the Word or not, or whether properly interpreted from the Word, the majority will fall for it.

But what has happened to the Word? The Word has been put aside, so God says, "I am going against you all. I will spue you out of My mouth. This is the end. For seven out of seven ages, I have seen nothing but men esteeming their own word above Mine.

So at the end of this age I am spuing you out of My mouth. It is all over. I am going to speak all right. Yes, I am here in the midst of the Church. Revelation "And in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished as He hath declared to His servants the prophets. He is sending a vindicated prophet. He is sending a prophet after almost two thousand years. He is sending someone who is so far from organization, education, and the world of religion that as John the Baptist and Elijah of old, He will hear only from God and he will have "thus saith the Lord" and speak for God.

He will bring back the elect of the last day and they will hear a vindicated prophet give the exact truth as it was with Paul. He will restore the truth as they had it. And those elect with him in that day will be the ones who truly manifest the Lord and be His Body and be His voice and perform His works. Do you see it? In the Dark Ages the Word was almost entirely lost to the people.

The Lutherans spoke for God at that time. But they organized, and again the pure Word was lost for organization tends toward dogma and creeds, and not simple Word. They could no longer speak for God. Then God sent Wesley, and he was the voice with the Word in his day.

The people who took his revelation from God became the living epistles read and known of all men for their generation. When the Methodists failed, God raised up others and so it has gone on through the years until in this last day there is again another people in the land, who under their messenger will be the final voice to the final age. The church is no longer the "mouthpiece" of God. It is its own mouthpiece. So God is turning on her. He will confound her through the prophet and the bride, for the voice of God will be in her.

Yes it is, for it says in the last chapter of Revelation verse 17 "The Spirit and the bride say come". Once more the world will hear direct from God as at Pentecost; but of course that Word Bride will be repudiated as in the first age.

You have more Bibles than ever, but you are not doing anything about the Word except dividing and hacking it into pieces, taking what you want and leaving out what you don't want. I would sooner you were cold or hot.

If you were cold and rejected it, I could stand that. If you would get white hot to know its truth and live it, I would praise you for that. But when you simply take My Word and don't honor it, I in return must refuse to honor you.

I will spue you out for you nauseate Me. If you need an emetic, lukewarm water is about the best thing to drink. A lukewarm church has made God sick and He has declared He will spue it out. Reminds us how He felt just before the flood, doesn't it? Best of all, she should be fervent hot. But she is not. Sentence has been passed. She is no longer God's voice to the world. She will maintain that she is, but God says not. That voice is in the bride as we have said and we will talk more about that later.

See, they were speaking. They were talking as the mouthpiece of God. This proves exactly what I said verses meant. But though they say it, that does not make it right.

The Catholic Church says she speaks for God, saying she is the assured voice of the Lord. How any people can be so spiritually wicked is more than I know, but they produce according to the seed which is in them, and we know where that seed came from, don't we? She looked at herself and that is what she saw. She said, "I am rich," which means that she is wealthy in the things of this world. She is boasting in the face of James , "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?

But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy Name by the which ye are called?

It is the poor that predominate in the body of the true church. Now then, if the church becomes full of wealth, we know only one thing; "Ichabod" has been written over her portals! You can't deny that, for that is the Word. The beautiful sanctuaries are multiplied in number as never before.

The various groups vie with each other to see who can build the biggest and the loveliest. And they build education centers worth unestimated millions, and those buildings are used only an hour or two a week. Now that would not be such a terrible thing, but they expect this little time spent by the children in the education plant to take the place of the hours of training supposed to be given in the home.

They have poured money into welfare and retirement funds. Now this sounds good, but it has become a snare to the ministers, for if they decide to leave their group for more light or the love of God, their pensions are lost to them. Most can't stand this and stay with their pressure groups.

We know that this is the last age because Israel has gone back to Palestine. If we believe that He really is coming, then there must be something wrong with those who are building so vastly. It makes one think that these people plan on staying here forever, or that the coming of Jesus is hundreds of years off.

It is an absolute fact that they are placing business managers in the churches to take care of finances. Is this what God desires? Wealth pours and pours into the church, the membership increases along with the money, yet the work is not being done as it was done when there was no money, but men rested solely on the ability given them by the Holy Ghost.

Yes, the church is rich, but the power is not there. God moves by His Spirit, not by the amount of money or talent in the church. The churches have gone all out to get a membership, especially of the wealthy. Everywhere there is the cry to make religion so attractive and appealing that the rich and cultured and all who have worldly prestige will come in and be active in the church. Can't they understand that if wealth is the criterion of spirituality, then the world already has God, has all of God, and the church has nothing?

But I wonder if this is so. Is the church truly rich in the Spiritual things of God? Let us examine this Twentieth-Century Laodicean boast in the light of the Word. But exactly what kind of lives are these so-called spiritual and influential men of the community living? Out in suburbia, out in the better class districts, there abounds wife-swapping, prostitution, and bands of children crashing parties, exacting a terrible toll in property damage.

Immorality has reached an all-time high in promiscuous sex acts, narcotic addiction, gambling, stealing, and all kinds of evil. And the church goes on claiming how fine is this generation, how full are the churches and how responsive are even the natives on the mission fields.

The church has turned the people over to the doctors, especially the psychiatrists. How it can prate about being rich Spiritually is more than I know. It isn't true.

They are bankrupt and don't know it. Examine the people as they walk by. In the multitudes you see, can you pick out those that have the appearance of Christians? Watch how they dress, watch how they act, hear what they say, see where they go.

Surely there ought to be some real evidence of the new birth amongst all those we see go by. But few there be. Yet today the fundamental churches are telling us they have millions saved and even Spirit-filled. Can you call women Spirit-filled who go around with frizzy bobbed hair, shorts and slacks, halters and briefs, all painted up like Jezebel? If these are adorned in modest apparel as becometh Christian women, I would hate to think what it would be like if I had to witness a display of immodesty.

Hollywood does that. But listen ladies, they still sell yard goods and sewing machines. You don't have to buy what's in the stores and then use that as an excuse. This is a deadly serious matter that I am going into. Have you not read in Scripture that when a man looks on a woman and lusts after her in his heart, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart?

And suppose you dressed in such a way as to cause that? That makes you his partner in sin, even though you would be absolutely unaware of it, being a true virgin with no such desires. Yet God holds you accountable and you will be judged. The Bible forbids you to cut your hair. God gave it for a covering. He gave a command for you to wear it long. It is your glory. When you cut your hair you signified that you left the headship of your husband. Like Eve you walked out and went on your own.

You got the vote. You took men's jobs. You left off being females. You ought to repent and come back to God. And if all this wasn't bad enough, a whole lot of you took the idea that you could invade the pulpits and the church offices that God reserved for men and for men only.

Oh, I touched a sore spot then didn't I? Well, show me one place in the Bible that God ever ordained any woman to preach or take authority over a man, and I will apologize for what I have said.

You can't find that I am wrong. I am right, for I stand with the Word and in the Word. If you were Spiritually rich you would know that is true. There is nothing true but the Word. Paul said, "I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man. Sister, you had better listen to that Word. They say the same thing. Somebody made a mistake. Somebody was fooled. Wake up before it is too late.

Satan fooled Eve, your mother; he is fooling the daughters now. May God help you. You can express this any way you want, and it all adds up to the fact that the church is complacent. She is satisfied with what she has. She either figures she has it all or has enough.

And that is exactly what we find today. What denomination is not claiming that IT has the revelation and the power and the truth? Listen to the Baptists, and they have it all. Listen to the Methodists, and they have it all. Listen to the Church of Christ and everyone is wrong but them. Hear what the Pentecostals say and they have the fulness of the fulness. Now they know I am telling the truth about them, for not one of their manuals say any different. They wrote it all out just so nice and put their names to it and finished it all up.

God just doesn't have any more. And there are those who just don't want any more. They do not believe in healing and would not want it, although it is in the Word. There are those who would not take the Holy Spirit if God opened the heavens and showed them a sign. Yet is that the truth? Compare this twentieth century church to the first century church.

Go ahead. Do that. Where is the power? Where is the love? Where is the purified church that withstood sin and walked with faith toward Jesus? Where is the unity? You can't find it. If this church has all it needs, why were they crying out for more of God in the Book of Acts as though they didn't have it all, and yet they had far more than they have today? They said that they were rich in goods and Spiritually wealthy. They had arrived.

They had need of nothing. But God saw it otherwise. He said, "You don't know this, but you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Surely something must be happening. Is it not that God has blinded their eyes as He did to the Jews? Is the Gospel going back to the Jews? Is history repeating itself? I say it is. That word comes from two Greek words which mean 'endure' and 'trial. How strange.

In this age of plenty, in this age of progress, in this age of abundance, how can there be trials? Well now, it is strange; but in this age of plenty and opportunity, when everyone has so much and there is so much more to be had, what with all the inventions to do our work and so many things to give us pleasure, SUDDENLY, we find mental illness taking such a toll as to alarm the nation. When everybody ought to be happy, with really nothing to be unhappy about, millions are taking sedatives at night, pep pills in the morning, rushing to doctors, entering institutions, and trying to drown out unknown fears by alcohol.

Yes, this age boasts of its tremendous stores of worldly goods, but the people are less happy than ever. This age boasts of its spiritual attainments, but the people are less sure of themselves than ever. This age boasts of better moral values and it is more corrupt than any age since the flood.

It talks about its knowledge and science, but it is fighting a losing battle in all fields, for the human mind and soul and spirit cannot comprehend or keep abreast with all the changes that have come upon the earth. In one generation we have gone all the way from the horse and buggy age to the space age, and we are proud and boastful about it; but inside is a dark void cavern that is crying out in torment, and WITHOUT A KNOWN REASON men's hearts are failing for fear and the world is so darkened that this age could well be called the age of neurotics.

It boasts, but it cannot back it up. It cries peace, and there is no peace. It cries that it has a great amplitude of all things, but it keeps burning with desire like an unsatisfied fire! They scorn pity. They are full of pride. They vaunt what they have. But what they have will not stand the test of time. They have built upon quicksand rather than the rock of the revelation of God's Word.

Soon cometh the earthquake. Soon there will come the storms of the wrath of God in judgment. Then comes sudden destruction, and in spite of all their carnal preparation they will still be unprepared for what comes upon the earth.

They are those who in spite of all their worldly efforts are actually opposing themselves and don't know it. Objects of pity are they indeed. Pity the poor people who are in this last day ecumenical move, for they call it the move of God, when it is of Satan. Pity those who do not know the curse of organization. Pity those who have so many beautiful churches, such lovely parsonages, such grandly trained choirs, such a show of wealth and such a sedate and reverent form of worship.

Pity them, don't envy them. Back to the old store buildings, back to the dimly-lit rooms, back to the cellars, back to less of the world and more of God. Pity those who make their great claims, and talk about their gifts. Feel for them as objects of pity, for soon they will be objects of wrath.

The sign of this age as it closes, is bigger and better churches, with more and more people, with more and more manifestation of what is supposed to be demonstrations of the Holy Ghost. But the filled altars, the gifts of the Spirit in operation, the remarkable attendance is not the answer from God, for those who come to the altars very seldom stay to go on with God, and after the great campaigns are finished, where are all those who came down the aisles?

They heard a man, they listened to an appeal, they came into the net, but they were not fish, and turtle-like they crawled back to their own waters. The revival is over. America had her last chance in Now the tongues are God's sign of impending disaster, even as they were when they appeared upon the wall at Belshazzar's feast.

Don't you know that many are going to come in the last day and say, "Lord, Lord, have we not done many wonderful works in Thy Name, even to the casting out of devils? I never knew you. Jesus said they were workers of iniquity. Yet, you get a man that can come and pray for the sick, get oil and blood appearing in the congregation, prophecy coming forth and all manner of the supernatural, and the people will gather round him, and swear that he is of the Lord, even though he is actually making a money racket of religion and living in sin.

The only answer they have is the absolutely unbiblical answer of "well, he gets results, so he must be of God. How actually poor this age is in the Spirit of God, and the poor poverty-stricken ones don't even know it. How can anyone be blind and naked and not know it? Yet it says that they are blind and naked and can't perceive it. The answer is, they are spiritually blind, and spiritually naked.

Do you remember when Elisha and Gehazi were surrounded by the army of the Syrians? You recall that Elisha smote them blind by the power of God. Yet their eyes were wide open and they could see where they were going. The blindness was peculiar in that they could see certain things, but other certain things such as Elisha and the servant and the camp of Israel they could not see.

What this army could see did not avail for them. What they did not see brought on their captivity. Now what does this mean to us? It means exactly what it meant back there in the earthly ministry of Jesus. He tried to teach them truth, but they would not listen. John Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

People have it all. They know it all. They cannot be taught. If a point of truth from the Word comes up and a man tries to explain his view to one with an opposing view, the listener is not at all listening that he might learn, but is listening only to refute what is being said.

Now I want to ask a fair question. Can Scripture fight Scripture? Does the Bible contradict the Bible? Can there be two doctrines of truth in the Word that say the opposite or oppose the other? Yet how many of God's people have their eyes open to that truth? If all Scripture is thusly given, then every verse will dovetail if given a chance. But how many believe in predestination unto election and reprobation unto destruction?

Those who don't, will they listen? No, they will not. Yet both are in the Word, and nothing will change it. But to learn about it and reconcile the truth of those doctrines with other truths that seem to oppose, they will not take the time.

But they stop their ears, and gnash with their teeth, and they lose out. At the end of this age a prophet will come, but they will be blind to all that he is doing and saying. They are so sure they are right, and in their blindness they will lose it all.

I cannot imagine anything as tragic as a man who is blind and naked and does not know it. There is only one answer—he is out of his mind. He is already deep in oblivion. His faculties are gone, spiritual amnesia has set in. What else can it mean? Can it mean that the Holy Spirit has taken His leave of this last day church? Can it mean that men have put God out of their minds to such an extent that it is happening even as stated in Romans Here is a people who say that they are of God and know God and have His Holy Spirit, and yet they are naked and blind and don't know it.

These are they who have become blind because they refused the Word of God. These are they who have stripped themselves naked by leaving God's care and protection and sought to build their own way of salvation, their own tower of Babel by organization. Oh, how lovely and beautiful dressed they appear in their own eyes as they formed their general assembles, and their councils, etc.

But now God is stripping it all away and they are naked, for these organizations have but led them into the camp of antichrist, into the field of tares, right up to their binding and burning. Objects of pity indeed they are. Yes, pity them, warn them, beseech them, and still they go their way headlong to destruction, wrathfully turning away any and all attempts to save them as brands from the burning.

Miserable indeed they are, yet they know it not. Calloused and beyond hope, they glory in what is actually their shame. Defiant against the Word, yet one day they shall be judged by it and pay the price of its awful indictments. Revelation As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

It is to the point. He directs this last day church to one hope. He says, "Come to Me and buy. Their transactions cannot be Spiritual.

They may think that they are Spiritual, but how can they be? The works in their midst are definitely not as Paul would say, "God in you willing and doing of His own good pleasure.

Thus what about all these churches, schools, hospitals, missionary ventures, etc.? God is not in them as long as they are denominational seed and spirit, and not the Seed and Spirit of God. It was that gold that bought men's lives and destroyed them. It was the gold that warped and twisted human character, for its love was the root of all evil. Revelation , "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine: and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God Who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning.

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The rapture has not yet taken place. The bride is not yet gone when these terrible conditions in this rich, false church exist.

I Peter That is the right kind of gold. It has but the worldly gold that will perish. It is rich. It is complacent. It has made affluence the major criterion of spirituality. The evidence of God's blessing and the correctness of doctrine, etc. Listen to me, "Naked physically we came into the world, but naked spiritually we will NOT leave it. What that something is, is ALL we can take with us, nothing less and nothing more. So we had better be real careful now to see that we take something that will make us right before God.

So, then, what will we take with us? Now what kind of character will you take with you? Will it be like HIS Whose character was molded by suffering in the fiery furnace of affliction, or will it be the softness of this character-less Laodicean people?

It is up to each one of us, for in that day every man will bear his own burden. It minted gold coins with inscriptions on both sides. Gold coins characterized the age—a flourishing commerce existed because of it. Today, the two-headed gold coin is with us. We buy ourselves out and we buy ourselves in. In the church, we attempt to accomplish the same.

We buy ourselves out of sin and buy ourselves into heaven—or so we say. But God does not say that. But their golden tower of Babel shall fall.

Only the gold tried in the fire shall endure. She has left the Word of God and taken her own creeds and dogmas; she has organized and joined herself to the world. Thus is she naked, and God is judging her lewdness. The only way she can get out of this dread situation is by obeying the Lord to come back to His Word.

Revelation , "Come out of her My people. Jesus is shown to be on the outside, knocking to get in. If He was inside, He would not be knocking. He is knocking at the door of the heart of every person who claims to believe in Him. Unfortunately, some believe that Jesus is already in their heart when He is, in reality, still on the outside.

He deceives people into thinking they do not need anything because they think they have Jesus when the truth is that Jesus is still on the outside, knocking. It is important to recognize the voice of Jesus when He knocks. He is not using flattering words. No, the voice of Jesus says we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. There is a blessing promised to all those that hear His voice and open the door. If we will hear His voice in our hearts and open the door, Jesus has promised that He will come in to us personally.

Thus the message to the Laodicean church is a personal message. It is not just a doctrinal theory, but a personal experience with Jesus. This is what is needed to be ready when Jesus returns to the earth to gather His people. It is designed to arouse the people of God, to discover to them their backslidings, and to lead to zealous repentance, that they may be favored with the presence of Jesus, and be fitted for the loud cry of the third angel.

Jesus wants to come into each heart and make a positive change. The Laodicean message is given to fit us for the presence of Jesus. It is the preparation needed for the loud cry. The Latter Rain is nothing short of the presence of Jesus. Jesus wants to come and abide in each one of us. This is the essence of the Laodicean message. But what saith it?

The word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach. Jesus is very near. His presence is close by. No one needs to go to heaven or to the grave to find Him. He, the word of faith, can be in your mouth and your heart. Today we have the Bible, the Word of God, in our hands. It is not a theory or a book with just some interesting stories and counsels. It is the Word of God. This Word is to be put into the heart. The natural Laodicean person has the truth but it is not in the heart because Jesus is shown to be outside, knocking to get in.

In order for this to become a reality we will go through negative experiences, as mentioned, for reproof, warning and entreaty. The truth is that we will appreciate Jesus more when we understand that we have a need of Him.

When we feel we are rich and increased with goods, we feel that we have need of nothing. But if we will draw nigh to God then He will draw nigh to us and help us to overcome every negative character trait. This is a painful process for some. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.

Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. This is actually a positive experience. It is not beneficial if we do not see how sinful we really are. It is actually very dangerous. There is nothing as dangerous as the deception of spiritual pride. It is the one sin that is at the root of many church, as well as individual, problems. When we submit to Jesus, He will show us the plague spots in our character and we will want to come to Him for healing.

He has promised to help us to overcome. The Laodicean message is also a message of sorrow. Not sorrow in a worldly sense, but spiritual sorrow; sorrow for our poor and weak spiritual condition. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. The promise is that our sorrow will be turned into joy if we are faithful through the trying times. There is some close cutting work to be done in our character. Being sorrowful is essential for salvation.

We cannot be saved without going through this type of experience. The description the faithful witness gives of our natural condition is not one of dependence. The Laodiceans naturally feel they have need of nothing. They cannot be helped in this condition. They are saying that they are independent or self-sufficient. The truth is that their strength is proportionate to the strength of their dependence on Christ.

Without Christ we can do nothing. The natural mind does not realize this. In Matthew 18 we read how the followers of Christ are to be converted and become as little children. And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Little children are very dependent on their parents for all their physical, spiritual, and emotional needs.

In the same manner we are dependent on our Heavenly Father. We cannot go to heaven unless we are dependent on our Heavenly Father as little children are dependent on their earthly parents. A little child is not only very dependent, but also very trusting of the leading of their parents.

If they love their parents they are willing to obey without asking questions. This type of dependence we need to have in Jesus.

Although the Laodicean people mentioned in this message appear to be self-sufficient and blinded by their own righteousness, there is a remnant who will realize their sinful condition. These few cling to the hope that is promised. They understand that they do not need to remain in this condition.

There is a counselor who has provided a remedy. Jesus is a wonderful counselor. He makes no mistakes in His counseling. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. This is hard for many people to do. In fact it is impossible to be done without Christ. The challenge is to open the heart to Jesus when He knocks.

Some do not want to open up to Jesus because they are afraid that He will show them how sinful they really are. Yes, this is true, He will.

Jesus will reveal to us the things that separate us from God. They only want to hear smooth sayings and thus they stay away from Christ. They have some cherished sin they do not want to give up. Jesus is endeavouring to prepare our hearts, by breaking the self-righteousness and love of the world that many have been cherishing.

Remember that Jesus has promised to be a true friend. He is calling all sinners, even those in that terrible condition described. He wants to come in and clean up, and hopes that we will be willing to permit Him to do so. Not if you do not acknowledge yourselves erring, helpless, condemned sinners. Not if you are exalting and glorifying self. If there is any good in you, it is wholly attributable to the mercy of a compassionate Saviour.