August 10, 2019

WORKING OUT OUR SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING

In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, there are seven Church ages given. These are

The Church at Ephesus

The Church at Smyrna

The Church at Pergamos

The Church atThyatira

The Church at Sardis

The Church at Philadelphia

The Church at Laodicea.

The messages given to each Church Age would cover two thousand years of the Age of Grace, which had its beginning on Pentecost 33. The body of Christ, the Church would endure through time until the end of the Age of Grace. Only one Church would not so endure. The Lord said so in the first chapter of the Revelation saying “repent or else I will remove thy candlestick from out of its place” . The pitiful, unrepentant Church Age is Laodicea, the last of the seven.

Five of the Church Age Christians have all passed away and are with Christ in heaven. Two still have living members; these two are Philadelphia and Laodicea. Many of the Philadelphia Church Age have also died and are asleep in Jesus. But some still live. That makes the Laodicea Church Age Christians by fare the greater in number. By contrast, these are two entirely different acting bodies. Philadelphia today is just like the message to Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7ff. These Church Age Christians found that here in the end, they have little strength. Therefore, unlike His view of the other Ages, Christ found no fault in Philadelphia. It is, He found, largely helpless, but it did the right thing; it remained repentant and obedient to the Lord who bought it.

But not so, Laodicea Age Christians. These took root in huge massive movements like the Graham crusades, but like the seed in Matthew 13 that sprang up with joy, it let the cares of the world overtake it, and these Laodicea Christians found themselves at odds with their Savior. They took, as one tack, the idea that grace covers all and they could sin to their hearts content and still be saved. Well, yes, in a way, for the gift of God is without repentance, meaning He will not take it back, but neither will He rapture home any Christian not in obedience to His commands. Thus, while saved, this Church Age group must be tried in the fire of the Tribulation in order Christ to refine them as pure gold. OSAS yes, but rapture, no. This is what Jesus taught when He said to pray always that ye may be found worthy to stand before the Son of man. These worldly, unrepentant, carnal people in Christ will pay dearly in the great tribulation for their ignoring God's Holy Book. And these fluff preachers will pay even heavier for their failure to preach the whole counsel of God.

So in a sense, once saved is always saved, but it does not give license to anyone to do other than follow the One who saved them. Sadly, most of our world is divided into categories much like the following:

Laodicea Christian, neither hot nor cold, living in the world and refusing to come out of it. Refusing to respond to Jesus's knock on the door of their heart.

Lost humanity, worshiping anything and anybody except their Creator, denying even His existence. Idolators to the core.

Misled Christendom, serving false beliefs, smooth talking deceivers, and systems instead of Christ the Creator.

Only eight souls were saved in Noah's day. I wonder what percentage of all humanity then was this eight? I dare say that all of Christianity (not Christendom) but believing Christians is not even eight percent of the world population. This small group are the ready ones to be taken in the event of all time called the rapture of the Church.

God has done His part. He has sent men and women in these last days to warn by messages, youtube, instagram, email, twitter, facebook, etc. What the preachers are failing to do in the pulpit, these are now doing.

They post on websites such as Five Doves and other such sites. God is crying loudly to this sin soaked world for His Laodicea own to come out from among them and be ye separate. Time is running out for them. Prepare for His arrival, for it is at the door. Look up! Look up! In the words of the great hymn:

O Love that wilt not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee

I give Thee back the life I owe,

That in thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller, be.

Maranatha

Gerry Almond