SEVENTH CHURCH AGE, LAODICEA

SEVENTH CHURCH AGE, LAODICEA.

The Laodicean Church is the period from 1906 AD to today. In the six churches we have looked at, we have seen information that makes you know what the church went through to where we are today. How the church is purified from one step to another, and how denominations are born. We have seen the six angels sent by God to each generation and not one angel went to theological school and then became a messenger of God through the message of theological teachers (revelation of blood and flesh). Rather, they all had the revelation of God.

All the things written in this church are written to the angel of the church in these church ages, that is, this generation we are now in. Let's look at the story of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22.

¹⁴ And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

HE WHO SPEAKS

The character of the One who speaks has been different from other churches, different from the sixth church we just looked at which he identified himself as a saint. This generation we are in now is the next after the sixth church, by the revelation of John Wesley. But here Jesus Christ identifies himself to this seventh generation as the Amen! which means he is the faithful and true witness. He is faithful in the word of God, and true that is, he speaks the truth before God and lives the truth even as He Himself is the TRUTH.

This means that this church should be, a church that he expects to be faithful in his word and to speak or teach what is true. Now let's see how he saw them if they were staying true and true like John Wesley and the Methodists stayed holy as Christ was holy.

As he began to say, and to the angel of the church in Laodicea, write: meaning the messages that are written to the angel of Laodicea who is William Seymour. This one comes from America, he came with a revival known as the Azusa Street revival, America. William Seymour began his journey of salvation in the Baptist church, then the Methodist and later the 'Evening Light Saints' and the 'Apostolic Faith Mission'.

Remember the gospel during this period was centered on holiness, according to the revelation of John Wesley. Wesley taught two steps to salvation;

1. Being born again (the first work of grace)

2. Complete sanctification (Second work of grace).

In complete sanctification Wesley said it is the stage of receiving the Holy Spirit. But later the member of this seventh church William Seymour came with a revelation that receiving the Holy Spirit is the third stage after complete sanctification, that is according to William Seymour it becomes;

1. Born again (the first work of grace)

2. Complete sanctification (the second work of grace)

3. Receiving the Holy Spirit. (fullness)

Then Seymour prayed to God for people who had basically come out of the doctrine of total sanctification to receive the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit and it happened. The gifts returned, speaking in tongues, laying on of hands on the sick etc. But despite this, the Lord spoke of those who received these gifts as lukewarm, they did not appear before the Lord to have reached perfection as William Seymour saw. We will find out the reason later.

The return of the gifts became a new thing among many believers because they had died out in the church, they remained just a myth, and their return became a sign like the Pentecostals. And from that time, namely in 1906 AD, the Pentecostals we know today were born. This revival took a shorter time to reach the whole world than in all times. Thus, every Pentecostal denomination has its origin in this William Seymour. Worship and doctrine were centered on the gifts.

WARNING/SIN OF THIS CHURCH.

This church or this generation has not been praised at all, even with the restoration of the gifts, it was not seen as something to be praised. And instead those same gifts have made Laodicea (Pentecostals), lukewarm and proud. We will see why!

Verse 15 says;

¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; it would be better if you were cold or hot.

¹⁶ So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.

Jesus Christ tells William Seymour and his children (Pentecost) that your works are neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm. And because of lukewarmness Jesus Christ says I will vomit you out, that is, reject you from being mine (as He vomited out Israel). This is the prophecy of all Pentecostals in the world who are the silver that must be purified one last time to find what is pure, the Lord says that it is lukewarm!

No matter how hot you think you are, that's how you think you are (Who can know his own faults?), but before God you are lukewarm. And no lukewarm will enter heaven except by obeying the voice of the Lord today (Revelation 3:20).

Now, you may wonder why William Seymour and Pentecostalism are lukewarm when Seymour took what John Wesley loved and brought with him even the results of gifts that Wesley did not have?

The answer is that John Wesley was absolutely right, even if he himself had prayed for the gifts to be manifested. William Seymour's addition that after complete sanctification a person receives the Holy Spirit was not a correct interpretation, although he was right to ask for the gifts. It was incorrect because the goal of the gospel or the word of God for man is holiness (Hebrews 12:14) and not gifts. So even if gifts were poured out to the extent of moving mountains, it would still not be seen as a thing of glory before God if those who practice them had not attained holiness. Seymour and the Pentecostals skip a crucial step beyond what they ask. That is, they lay the foundation and then begin to prepare for the roof without building the house itself.

Pentecostals, like William Seymour, are more eager to seek gifts and favors from God than holiness, and when they find them, they blaspheme the great things of the gospel, namely holiness. And for this reason they have come up with many doctrines to try to justify a lukewarm life in the church, and to defend themselves that they are right to be lukewarm.

The doctrine of grace was the one that really took hold for Pentecostals, that everything is grace, even living a holy life according to the word of Christ does not require effort but much grace (As Catholics say). Grace was exalted above the Word of Christ. And making everyone disobey and live in the Word of Christ. And by the manifestation of gifts, the hearts of many are made to believe that they are already saints.

This is where these people are not built to achieve holiness, that is, to be diligent, but they are built to be satisfied that the way they are is how they should be, even though God still witnesses that they will not be raptured. The gospel of the saved is of contentment in humility, of boasting. I do not say this to offend the saved because I also grew up there, but I say it in the way of the Spirit of the Lord so that they may see their mistakes so that they may remove them now before the wrath of the Lord.

John Wesley was loved by the Lord not because of speaking in tongues or seeing visions or dreams or prophesying but because of loving and keeping the word of God/Christ. But Pentecostals are self-proclaimed people, they do not seek holiness in the word of Christ but they seek gifts/gifts, success, comfort etc. The name of Christ has become their pillar rather than His word, (they have a name of being alive but are also dead). The Lord testified to me at first by being harsh with Pentecostals to the point of punishing me when I disobeyed. I was given a clear sign that the Lord intended something bad for Pentecostals by rejecting Him when He first revealed Himself to them in the years 1945 to 1965.

John Wesley was warned to hold on to what you have lest anyone take your crown, that is, lest anyone take away your conduct and your deeds. This means that they should not have listened to William Seymour, because they were better before God than the Pentecostals. This gives the interpretation that the Pentecostals are not faithful and true like Christ.

Pentecostals are like a man who was told to climb to the top of this mountain and then he would receive a crown, but Pentecostals did not see the need to climb the mountain to receive the crown but they made their own crown in the image of the one on the mountain and wore it. So when everyone looks at them, they see them as winners but the Lord knows that they do not have any crown. And for that reason He said to them that they are lukewarm, that is, they do not have a crown of victory. Look at these words;

¹⁷ Because you say, I am rich, I have become wealthy, and I have need of nothing; and you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

Revelation 3:17

These are the words of Christ to William Seymour and the Pentecostals that they do not want to repent or admit that they have counterfeited salvation and that they are arguing with the One who made the crown and placed it on the mountain. Pentecostals are a self-governing people, just like the Catholics.

They do not want anything except what they have, they do not look for the voice of God because they already have a crown (a crown they have made for themselves), and for this reason they argue with God who sees them as lukewarm, poor, blind and naked, and calls them to repent but they say, we have everything; gifts, we speak in tongues, the sick are healed, we know the judgment of God, etc. So they do not need anything else. And the Lord, in arguing with them, says, you are not rich but poor, blind and naked.

Now is the time for his nakedness and his blindness, and his poverty to be revealed so that everyone may know and the word of God may be fulfilled.

As the Lord said concerning this generation, namely the Pentecostals, that I will spew you out of my mouth, know and understand that it is not the Lord who is spewing you out, but you have already spew him out through the teachings and instructions of men as he did to Israel and the Catholics. Ask about what the Lord did to Shiloh, do you know the sin of Shiloh? Ask about what he did to Jerusalem, do you know the sin of Jerusalem? Ask about what he did to the Catholics, do you know their sin? Yes, sit down and ponder, why did the Lord turn away from his good and pour out his wrath.

Pentecostals are one step ahead of the fulfillment of prophecy, because they are eager to hold to doctrines that are clearly hostile to God. They make everything of God, they make all the gifts in the image of the gifts of God. And because of that they consider themselves rich.

That is why this church was called Laodicea! Because its translation is the leadership of the people, that is, the people are the ones who lead the church and not Jesus. They mention Jesus as their leader but they have denied him everywhere, they grieved him and quenched the Holy Spirit, his works left that is, he left, leaving them to lead themselves.

Then you will see that every gift they have is not real, but a show. They have gone from pretending to having gifts to inventing others that are directly insulting to God. And with that knowledge they do not need the gift of Christ because they have the ability to have it without Him. And you cannot touch them because they consider themselves rich. Even the world sees them that way but not the Lord, that is why the Lord says;

¹⁸ I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness may not appear, and eye salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be diligent therefore, and repent.

It is clear that the wealth they boast about does not come from God, for He would not have opposed them. It is the glory they inherit from one another, from theological colleges to teachers, pastors, and the entire church.

And that is why he tells them in verse 18 that buy from me gold refined in the fire, that is, the pure words of God to make you rich. Gold refined in the fire is the pure words of God, and it is God's message to this church to bring them to perfection (they rejected it at first, this is the final step in your warning, you do not want to hear the voice knocking at your door, you will not stand, but you will be consumed as the dew disappears.

The Lord says, buy white garments from Him, that is, the revelation that will make you Amen in the eyes of the Lord, that is, the true one. And eye salve that you may see, that is, the revelation that will make them realize their mistakes so that they will come out of thinking themselves rich. Because the Lord still loves you, he advises you what is best for you.

Now what is that revelation? And where is it? Because this is the seventh church and Christians (the saved) are waiting for the rapture, that is, to see Christ in the clouds, they are not waiting for the full revelation. They are not waiting for the Word of God but for the rapture, in their eyes they are clean and white, they have no need for the white clothes that Christ speaks of; but they would not be blind if they saw themselves naked, they have no clothes. And for that reason hear the Word of God! And it is a shame to say that we are waiting for the rapture from now on because those who will be raptured are those who hear the voice of him who knocks at the door.

The Lord says;

²⁰ I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he with me.

The revelation of Christ (gold refined by fire) that they are to buy does not come from afar so that they may say who should we send to bring it to us, but He Himself brings it to their door. That is why He says I knock, if anyone hears My voice! This revelation is a preaching like Noah's when that generation was called to repent so that it would not perish. Noah stood at their doors but everyone considered themselves holy, needing nothing else. That is how Christ spoke of these times saying;

26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

27 They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Luke 17:26-27

Eating and drinking is not a sin but here it means they do what their souls desire because they love them. They are focused on bothering God about what to eat?, what to drink? what to wear? when will they get a car, a good job, a husband, a wife, money, fame, greatness, pastor, bishop, teacher, etc. All these are human desires, and these are what they worry about day and night. Their gospel carries these things, what to eat? what to drink? Their gospel preaches loving your soul.

He who is faithful and true says I stand at the door, but in the church they say Jesus Christ is about to come and take us away. They are two completely different languages. That is why he says He who hears his voice will enter into him. That means he will receive that denomination as his own. It is a gospel that preaches only to the called, namely Christians, especially Pentecostals, who are warned here that they are his offspring but have deviated, they do not go forward but go back. It is a gospel like he came to the Jews refusing to preach to the nations.

²¹ To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

He who overcomes will sit with him on the throne of the Father in heaven. Now those who will overcome are those who will hear his voice, that is, the voice of another angel besides William Seymour. You may ask yourself, are there still angels coming to preach?

Yes, there are more. The Lord has testified to me that His word will come through three angels and when His Word Revelation 14:6-9 is fulfilled.

You should have waited for the voice of Him who knocks at the door (Revelation 3:20) and not the rapture because that is the rapture for you. You will faint in vain if you wait for the rapture that does not concern you because it is lukewarm. But hear the word of God to remove your lukewarmness first and then you will have the right to wait for the rapture.

²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

As he says, repent, yes, repent!

Communication;

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