And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These
things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and
the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a
name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and
strengthen the things which remain, that are ready
to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before
God. Remember therefore how thou hast received
and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou
shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and
thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not
defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me
in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh,
the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will
not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I
will confess his name before my Father, and before
| 41
his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches. (Revelations 3:1–6)
Sardis had few true believers, but not many. This was the
type of church one wanted to avoid. Jesus calls this church
all but dead. Sardis was on life support, breathing its dying breaths, and not watching for the return. Jesus said that there are a few “even in Sardis” who haven’t defiled themselves. That is like saying there are a few saints even in sin city. It doesn’t look good for Sardis at all, their faith hanging by a thread.
Looking along our church history timeline, this was the
organized church at its most powerful, in the late middle ages.
This was the time of the inquisition. When one who didn’t
convert to Christianity were treated to all sorts of inhuman abominations. Burning at the stake, the Iron Maiden, the
Rack. Does anyone recall Jesus teaching us to torture those
who wouldn’t commit? I surely don’t. This was the time of
terror upon God’s chosen people, the Jews. Millions of the
sons of Abraham perished at the hands of this church. This is what absolute power does.
The church was so corrupt at this point in time that there
was barely any spirit left in it, with suspicion and paranoia ruling the day.
The church during the late middle ages can be compared
to Stalin’s Soviet Union or Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Just as
those leaders annihilated their opposition, if one did not
conform to the wishes of the all-powerful church, those
42 |
subjects would be destroyed. Friends and neighbors telling on each other so that they could enhance their reputations in a completely corrupt church.
This is what happens when there is absolute power
concentrated to a few, like a pyramid effect, with one on top and millions on the bottom. It goes straight to their heads, in time, drunk with power, they declare themselves to be gods
over all.
This church was warned that if it didn’t keep watch, that
the Lord would come as a thief in the night. The same words
were used by Jesus on the Mount of Olives. This is a central theme given by Jesus in his prophecies, to “keep watch.” So
when you are going to your church on Sunday, is your pastor, teacher, reverend, or priest keeping watch? If they are, then your church is in good shape, if not, then Jesus will come as a thief and take that candle from that church. If you aren’t studying prophecy, then you should be. This book is a good
place to begin.
This was the flat earth society in terms of science. If one
like Galileo found out that science did not agree with church beliefs, then appropriate action would be taken. It may have been the middle ages for mankind, but this was the dark ages for the Godless church. But wait, change was soon to come in Germany by the name of Martin Luther.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write;
These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he
that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no
| 43
man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I
know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open
door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little
strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied
my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue
of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do
lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship
before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also
will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which
shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell
upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him
that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple
of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will
write upon him the name of my God, and the name
of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which
cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will
write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Revelations 3:7–13)
Once again, substitute the words Jews for mine.
This is the evangelical church with an open door put before
it because they have kept their word and have not denied the Lord. They are a patient church which has used every ounce
of the strength they have to accomplish their mission. This is a very active working church which cannot be dissuaded from
its objective.
44 |
Unlike the church previously mentioned, this is the type
of church which will flourish in times of distress.
Keeping with our church history, this is the church of
the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. The church that
traveled the globe preaching the gospel of the kingdom to
the masses. In our history books, this movement was called
the great awakening.
It all started with Martin Luther and moved on to Calvin,
Wesley, Knox and others.
Many told the church of old that they no longer needed
priests as intercessors to communicate with the Almighty, they could have direct contact with the Holy Spirit themselves.
Before this awakening of the church, one would have to
go through the church to pray. One would have a priest read
them the scriptures because they didn’t have access themselves.
The church had all power over Christianity before this great awakening that changed with the protestant reformation. The
church of Philadelphia symbolized this wonderful movement
of the evangelicals. Many died breaking away their grip from the old church, but it was worth the price in blood. After
centuries of tyranny, the faithful were finally free at last.
Because this church kept watch, he will keep them from
the hour of temptation. This is the famous rapture many of
us have heard of. The time when Christ comes in and sweeps
away those who are his from the face of the earth. There have been hotly contested debates over the timing of this. Some
say before the tribulation period, some say in the middle,
| 45
some say at the end. I will show you my viewpoint on this
when we get to that point of the seven sealed scroll. It’s all here in the book of Revelations.
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and
true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
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. Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant
to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in his throne. He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches. (Revelations 3:14–22)
46 |
The Church at Laodicea is the materialistic church of that
age and this one.
It is accused of being lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. It’s
not for nor against the kingdom of heaven. It’s neutral in all respects as long as it has its possessions, which sadly is the church of today.
Enter your nearby church and you’ll see people
looking at each other, wondering what outfit they wore
for the service, what kind of car they drove, and so on. It’s extremely materialistic.
In several churches I’ve visited, I have had to fill out one of those visitor cards they’ll give you if you are there for the first time. Then the church will do a follow-up on that person.
Once, in an evangelical church I had belonged to, we
followed up on these cards on a typical Wednesday night. I
sat and watched the leaders of this church go through these
cards and mention things such as, “Oh, we aren’t interested in this person, and he’s only in retail.” Or “Let’s get this guy, he’s a lawyer in a top firm in the city.” If you had money, they were interested, if not, they drove right on by your house without a visit. Needless to say, I left this house of worship.
I wonder what Jesus or John the Baptist would think
of such nonsense? One of those people’s cards that were
discarded may have turned out to the next Billy Graham! The
Lord works in ways we cannot see. When God chose David
to be the king of Israel, he was Jesse’s last choice. Often in
| 47
scripture, God’s choice is not man’s choice. The Lord knows
the hearts and minds of men and makes choices based
on that, not their wallets. This has been the error of many
churches who are interested in building these massive crystal cathedrals while many go homeless. “Money churches” as my
grandfather used to call them, he was quite correct.
It’s my opinion that when we reach the great tribulation
period, many Christians will fall away from the faith. Many
are called, few are chosen. They’ll have to choose as the Church of Smyrna had to. Are we willing to give up our possessions
to keep our faith? More on that later on.
Churches such as this one will have to face the valley
of decision. We will all have a choice, serve God or serve a future counterfeit Christ. If we serve God, we will lose all our material possessions; if we serve the false messiah, we can keep our BMWs and our $300,000 houses. God or money?
You cannot serve both or as it’s written in the Gospel of
Thomas, “You cannot ride two horses.”
The Lord asks here that we “buy gold tried in the fire.”
This is not literal gold but the souls of men. To baptize people in the name of repentance as John the Baptist did. This is
what it means here to buy gold tried in the fire.
It’s sad that on this planet, gold is valued more than the
souls of people. But there is good news ahead! This will
be one of the many changes in the future New Jerusalem,
money will no longer be needed. We will value the human
heart and mind instead of treating each other as a disposable 48 |
commodity. How many homeless people are there while
billionaires abound? We truly are a primitive society, but
that’s about to change with the coming of the Son of Man.
The Holy Spirit stands at the door knocking and waiting
for us to open up and let that spirit in so we can have supper together. Once this has occurred, nothing or no man can
harm us.
| 49
The Throne