Jesus is coming. . .soon! Are you ready?

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Jesus is coming. . .soon! Are you ready?
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The Seven Churches
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The history of Gods church through time,
beginning with the time of the Apostle John and
ending with the church at the time of Jesus
second coming in clouds of glory. This history
spans two millennia, from A.D. 31 until the
present day.
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These letters to the seven churches are not
merely historical portraits of the Christian
churches in the days of the apostles, but rather
are prophetic types of conditions within the
church universal until the second coming of
Christ.
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Significantly, each one of the reproofs,
exhortations, and promises have an accumulative
application for the people of final church the
Laodicean church that will see Christ come in
clouds of glory
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Protestant View

• From a commentary published in the 1600s we find
  this description of the seven church periods
• Ephesus apostolic age
• Smyrna period of pagan persecution
• Pergamos from Constantines time to the great
  apostasy

Johannes Cocceius, 1603 1669
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Protestant View
4. Thyatira period of papal persecution 5.
Sardis Protestant Reformation period 6.
Philadelphia Cocceius, writing in the 17th
century, called this a church yet to come 7.
Laodicea church of the last age preceding the
second coming of Christ
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Protestant View
From a Bible commentary published in Holland in
1705 we read Under this emblematical
representation of the seven churches of Asia, the
Holy Spirit has delineated seven different states
of the Christian church, which would appear in
succession, extending to the coming of our Lord.
Campeius Vitringa
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General Theme
General theme of the Book of Revelation concerns
the conflict between Christ and Satan as played
out through religious and political events
effecting Christs church on earth during the
last two millennia
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Ephesus
Christ introduces Himself to the church at
Ephesus by drawing attention to His position as
High Priest, walking among the candlesticks in
the Holy Place, or first apartment of the
sanctuary Rev. 21
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Ephesus
He further identifies Himself as the one who
controls world affairs the stars (leaders) are
in His hands Rev. 21
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Ephesus
Stars are used in other places in the Bible to
denote leadership, either religious or civil (as
lordship or kingship)
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Ephesus
The time frame for this prophecy begins in A.D.
31 (the year of Christs crucifixion) until the
death of John, the last apostle who personally
knew Jesus John died at Ephesus shortly after
A.D. 100
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Ephesus
Under Pauls influence and teaching, the power of
the Holy Spirits working was so great in Ephesus
that it threatened the supremacy of the goddess
Diana, and mob violence resulted
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Ephesus
Library front view
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Ephesus
In A.D. 431 the church held an ecumenical council
in Ephesus and declared that Mary was the
God-Bearer or Mother of God which echoed back
to the claim held for the ancient goddess, Diana,
who was called the Divine Mother
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Ephesus
During this period in church history, in spite of
orthodoxy and doctrinal purity, error began to
make inroads into the church, partly through the
influence of the writings of the Alexandrian
leaders, and partly through the influence of the
Nicolaitans
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Ephesus
The Nicolaitans were persons who excused certain
forms of impurity, and made the grace of God a
cloak for lasciviousness. I believe the heresy
was known in latter days as Antinomianism, that
the life character is of little moment
importance. G. Campbell Morgan
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Ephesus
Their doctrines and lives were equally corrupt.
They allowed the most abominable lewdness and
adulteries, as well as sacrificing to idols all
of which they placed among things indifferent and
pleaded for as branches of Christian liberty.
John Wesley
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Ephesus
Also during this period clergymen began to take
on more of an exalted status, exercising lordship
over the laity, and men were put in place of
Christ as the head of the church they left
their First Love, and began to assume that they
could be saved through their works
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Smyrna
Smyrna was built on the 500 foot conical-shaped
Mount Pagus
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Smyrna
As the centuries passed, more and more
corruptions began to creep into the church, until
today we find many pagan practices, which God
hates, as doctrinal norms among His professed
followers
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Smyrna
I know the blasphemy of them which say they are
Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of
Satan.
In Romans 228, 29 Paul says that he is not a
Jew who is one outwardly by circumcision and
keeping the ceremonial law, but he is a Jew,
which is one inwardly through circumcision of
the heart
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Smyrna
Smyrna was the very center of Roman religion in
Asia Minor. As early as 195 B.C. a temple to Dea
Roma (Rome the goddess) had been built in
Smyrna. In 25 A.D. many cities of Asia Minor vied
with one another for the honor of building the
temple to Tiberius the honor was granted to
Smyrna because of its worship of Rome.
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When Christians refused to burn incense to the
emperor of Rome as god, they were accused of
treason and sentenced to die.
26
During this period of the churchs history pagan
Roman emperors attempted to destroy the new
Christian faith
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Smyrna
Christians were hated because they were seen as
inflexible, obstinate, superstitious, and
depraved.
When it appeared to the pagans that they were
making headway against the hated Christians, they
struck a coin in celebration of the triumph of
the pagan gods over the faith of Jesus.
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Jesus addressed these very events
By addressing this church period as the One
who was dead, but is alive By warning them of
their persecutions and trials and telling them
not to fear By promising them that, even
though they might lose their physical life on
earth, they were assured of eternal life in Him
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Pergamos
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Pergamos
When Cyrus captured Babylon, it was the
ancient seat of Satans counterfeit religion
The supreme pontiff of the Chaldean mystery
religion fled the city with his priests and
ultimately made their residence
in Pergamos
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Pergamos
At Pergamos there was a magnificent temple to
Zeus, which was also called the Temple of
Aesculapius or the Great Physician and Saviour
32
Pergamos
Pergamos has a double meaning elevation, which
carries the idea of exaltation union through
marriage (gamos)
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Pergamos
And out of one of them came forth a little horn,
which waxed exceeding great, toward the south,
and toward the east, and toward the pleasant
land. And it waxed great . . . Yea, he magnified
himself even to the prince of the host and from
him the daily was taken away, and the place of
his sanctuary was cast down
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Pergamos
And another shall arise after them and he shall
be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue
three kings. And he shall speak great words
against the Most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the Most High, and think to change
times and laws . . . Dan. 724, 25
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Pergamos
During the Pergamos period of the churchs
history we find an exalting and setting in place
of pagan ideas and practices within the Christian
church, creating a counterfeit religion and a
counterfeit Christ (antichrist)
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Pergamos
I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even
where Satan's seat is and thou holdest fast My
name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those
days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who
was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Revelation 213
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Pergamos
Doctrine of the Nicolaitans Doctrine of
Balaam
Balaam was an apostate prophet of God who
turned traitor to secure worldly gain and kingly
favors He seduced Israel into heathen worship
and whoredom at Baal Peor
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Pergamos
After centuries of persecution, Satan finally
realized that he could not destroy Gods church
by attacking it from without, so he joined the
church in order to ruin it from within through an
amalgamation with the world (baptized paganism)
and union of church and state (papalism)
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Pergamos
During the Pergamos period the transition between
pagan and papal Rome took place
The Pergamite period, in which true faith more
and more disappeared from view, and clericalism
gradually formed itself into a system, and the
Church united with the world, and Babylon began
to rear itself aloft.
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Pergamos
Constantine was the human agent through whom
Satan accomplished his counterfeit system of
church and state united
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Pergamos
Battle at Milvian Bridge
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Pergamos
Chi Rho became known as the sign of Christ
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Pergamos
Constantine signed into law the first national
Sunday law in A.D. 321
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Pergamos
On the venerable day of the sun let the
magistrates and people residing in the cities
rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the
country, however, persons engaged in agriculture
may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits .
. . Lest by neglecting the proper moment for
such operation, the bounty of heaven should be
lost. Edict signed March 7, 321 A.D.
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
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Thyatira
A.D. 538 Emperor Justinian issued a decree
elevating the bishop of Rome to sovereign power,
not just over church matters, but also over civil
affairs
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
Cardinal Baronius claimed that this was a
fulfillment of Christs prophecy of the
abomination of desolation and further stated
that the son of perdition occupied the papal
chair, not as vicar of Christ, but as the
predicted antichrist.
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
During this period of church history we find the
full development of the counterfeit system that
challenged Christs authority
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Thyatira
Jezebel usurped power from her husband, Ahab, and
assumed full control both of the state and the
church of the day (Baal worship)
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
Baal was the sun-god of the Sidonians. Under the
reign of Jezebel, Baal became the chief god in
apostate Israel. Sun worship is the foundation of
all pagan religions, and it is perpetuated under
the papal system.
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
College of Cardinals assembled at Rome
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Thyatira
Dagon, the pagan fish god of the Philistines, was
also worshipped in ancient Babylon and Egypt
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Thyatira
Pope John Paul II wearing his fish miter with the
tails coming down the back of his neck
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
The papacy forsook the true Sabbath of Jehovah,
the memorial of creation and the finished work of
Christ as our Sacrifice (He rested over the
Sabbath after His crucifixion). In place of the
true Sabbath, the papal system has adopted the
suns day, or Sunday, as the day of worship.
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is
an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to
the authority of the Catholic Church.
Mgr. Segur Plain Talk About the
Protestantism of Today, p. 213.
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
It has not always been sufficiently considered
how much the Latin Church was a reproduction, on
a higher plane, of the old Roman Commonwealth.
The resemblance between the Roman Catholic
ceremonies and those of Pagan Rome has been often
noticed . . . .
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
. . .The Roman Catholic Church has borrowed
from Paganism saints days, incense, lustrations,
consecration of sacred places, votive-offerings,
relics winking, nodding, sweating, and bleeding
images holy water, vestments, etc. . . .
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
. . .But the Church of Rome itself, in its
central idea of authority, is a reproduction of
the Roman state religion, which was a part of the
Roman state. . . . It was the resurrection of
Rome,Roman ideas rising into a higher life. . . .
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
. . .The Roman Catholic Church, at first an
aristocratic republic, like the Roman state,
afterward became, like the Roman state, a
disguised despotism. The Papal Church is
therefore a legacy of ancient Rome.
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
Unfaithfulness to God is called fornication
because throughout the Scriptures the covenant
relation between God and His people is
represented by marriage. Christ calls Himself the
Bridegroom and His church the Bride.
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Thyatira
Church of the Dark Ages
The promise of the morning star to this church
indicates that at the end of its period of
darkness would come renewed light on the truths
of the Bible
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Sardis
Protestant Reformation
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Sardis
Protestant Reformation
John Wycliffe, the morning star of the
reformation b. 1320? d. 1384
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Sardis
Protestant Reformation
The Sardian period was the age of separation
and return to the rule of Christ the age of
comparative freedom from Balaam and his
doctrines, from the Nicolaitans and their
tenants, from Jezebel and her fornications . . .
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Sardis
Protestant Reformation
. . .an age of many worthy names, but marked
with deadness withal, and having much of which to
repent an age covering the spiritual lethargy of
the Protestant countries before the great
evangelical movements of the last hundred years
. J. A. Seiss, The Apocalypse, vol. I (1901)
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Sardis
Protestant Reformation
The letter to Sardis pictures the inauguration,
development, corruption, and judgment of the
Protestant Reformation
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Sardis
Protestant Reformation
Unfortunately, Protestantism came to a standstill
after the original men died though it claimed to
be alive for Christ, it was really dying
spiritually Due to pride of attainment and
popularity it failed to finish the work that
Jesus intended it to accomplish
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Sardis
Protestant Reformation
And so it has come about that the old enemies
are becoming friends in the presence of a common
foe. Catholics speak tenderly of Protestants as
keeping alive belief in the creeds, and look
forward to their return to the sheepfold . . .
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Sardis
Protestant Reformation
. . .while the old Antichrist, the Scarlet
Woman on the seven hills, drunk with the blood of
the saints, is now treated by Protestantism as an
old sister and a valiant ally in the great war
against infidelity. The points of difference are
forgotten the points of union are passionately
dwelt upon . . . The dread of popery is gone.
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Philadelphia
The Great Revival period of church history
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Philadelphia
With the work of John Wesley, George Whitefield,
Jonathan Edwards, and others the Protestant
Reformation had new life breathed into it during
the First Great Awakening revivals in Britain and
the American colonies during 1730 to 1770
George Whitefield
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Philadelphia
With the work of Charles Finney, Lyman Beecher,
Alexander Campbell, and others in America, there
developed an exceptional fervor for the soon
coming of Christ
Charles Finney
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Philadelphia
Missionary efforts expanded around the globe
1793 William Carey to India 1797 first
missionaries to Tahiti and South Seas 1804
first Bible society was formed in England 1807
Robert Morrison went to China 1816 first
Bible society in America 1817 Robert Moffat
went to Africa 1840 David Livingstone to
Africa
Bible translation into many languages was an
essential part of the work during this time of
world-wide evangelism
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Philadelphia
The work of the 1830s to 1840s in America under
the preaching of William Miller led to the
searching of the prophecies and a desire be ready
when Jesus returned
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Philadelphia
Side by side with the revival in the study of the
Bible came an explosion in scientific
investigation, which created an era of invention,
and industrial revolution.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal
the book, even to the time of the end many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased. Daniel 124
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Philadelphia
It was a time of revolution in many areas
Industrial began in 1830s Spiritism 1848
with the Fox sisters Evolution 1859 Darwins
book Higher critical Bible study 1846
American and French Revolutions
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Philadelphia
Lisbon Earthquake Nov. 1, 1755
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Philadelphia
Jesus second sign of His soon coming was the
Dark Day of May 19, 1780
"In some places, the darkness was so great, that
persons could not see to read common print in the
open air. . . . The extent of this darkness was
very remarkable." Prof. Samuel Williams,
Cambridge MA
80
Philadelphia
The dark day was followed by a night illuminated
with a full moon that had the color of pure blood
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Philadelphia
These things saith He that is holy, He that is
true, He that hath the key of David, He that
openeth, and no 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 Revelation 37, 8
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Philadelphia
The door of the tomb The door into the Most
Holy Place The doors of missionary
opportunity The door of probation
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Laodicea
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Laodicea
The word Laodicea means the judging of the
people or the judgment of the people, which is
not to be understood as a negative definition. It
is a time of reconciliation, of getting things
right with the Lord, of repentance and
reformation among Gods remnant people.
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Laodicea
Under the church of Laodicea the three angels
messages and final warning (the loud cry
message) go out to the entire world. This work
will be accomplished through the power of the
Holy Spirit poured out in the latter rain.
86
Laodicea
Before the final visitation of God's judgments
upon the earth there will be among the people of
the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as
has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The
Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon
His children. . . .
87
Laodicea
The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work
and before the time for such a movement shall
come, he will endeavor to prevent it by
introducing a counterfeit. . . .
88
Laodicea
In those churches which he can bring under his
deceptive power he will make it appear that God's
special blessing is poured out there will be
manifest what is thought to be great religious
interest. . . .
89
Laodicea
Multitudes will exult that God is working
marvelously for them, when the work is that of
another spirit. Under a religious guise, Satan
will seek to extend his influence over the
Christian world. GC 464
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Laodicea
A true revival did begin in 1888 under the
preaching of A.T. Jones and E.J. Waggoner, but
just like the revivals Christ attempted under the
churches of Sardis and Philadelphia, this one
also is sputtering and flickering, unable to
accomplish its intended work.
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Laodicea
An unwillingness to yield up preconceived
opinions, and to accept this truth of Christ and
His righteousness, lay at the foundation of a
large share of the opposition manifested at
Minneapolis against the Lords message through
Brethren E.J. Waggoner and A.T. Jones. By
exciting that opposition Satan succeeded in
shutting away from our people, in a great
measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit
that God longed to impart to them. 1
Selected Messages, pp. 234, 235
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Laodicea
Sir Robert Peel in 1840 said The day is not
far distant, and it may be very near, when we
shall have to fight the battle of the Reformation
over again.
The Reformation cannot be completed until Gods
people are brought all the way up to the faith
once delivered to the church by Christ Himself.
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Laodicea
This is why Christ pleads with His people to be
zealous and repent, to buy of Him the necessary
faith (gold), white robe (His robe of
righteousness), and spiritual eyesalve that we be
not deceived.
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Laodicea
To us has been entrusted the privilege of
vindicating the character of God, but it comes at
a cost the cost of our self-centeredness. We
must learn the first works the works of faith
and love, that have been missing from the church
since the Ephesian period.
95
Eden Lost
Eden Restored
1. Grace restores the Tree of Life to us 2. Grace
gives victory over the second death 3. Grace
provides hidden manna for us 4. Grace promises
power over all nations 5. Grace puts on Christs
robe of righteousness 6. Grace places us before
the throne of God 7. Grace gives immortality
1. Sin deprived us of the Tree of Life 2. Sin put
us under the death sentence 3. Sin sent us out to
earn our own bread 4. Sin stole our rightful
dominion over earth 5. Sin left us naked 6. Sin
drove us from Gods presence 7. Sin returned us
to dust
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"Most of what you've heard, read or been told
about the End Times is wrong," says popular radio
host and bestselling apologist, Hank Hanegraaff.
"We have come to accept a wide range of beliefs
and teachings about the future, about the
ultimate battle between good and evil, about the
last days, and about how our world will end. And
most of these beliefs and teachings are based on
fundamental misinterpretations of what the
scriptures really say about the end times." Hank
Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code.