Chapter 16.3
The Sardis Letter
Philadelphia & Laodicea
Messages
to the Pastors or leaders of the three Churches
Chapter Three – The Sardis Letter
Revelation
3:1-3 - "To the
angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who
holds the
seven spirits of God and the
seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 Wake up! Strengthen what
remains and is about to die, for
I have not found
your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and
you will not know at what time I will come to you.
Sardis: Greek “Remnant”, “Escaped ones”
Warning to the
leader or Pastor of Sardis
Represented THE AGE OF
REFORMATION or
Protestantism in the First Century Church
Condition: Spiritual
Deadness. The church is
almost dead, a “Has
Been Church” and very little remains that can be saved. They are living on their great name and past reputation.
In about 500 B.C., Sardis was one of the
richest and most powerful cities in the known world. It became ethically
complacent and morally degenerate
and was conquered by Cyrus of Persia. Then by Alexander the Great, then leveled by
an earthquake in A.D.17. It was
later rebuilt by Tiberius Caesar.
They were famous
for the dyeing of woven garments. Christ
promises to the over-comer, “White Garments”. Christ will
return when He is least expected,
like when a thief breaks into your home[1]
The
worship of the goddess
Cybele was predominant... The
Church was guilty of living in the glories of the past. The Church sought to return to the “Pure Religion”
which the Apostles had known and this desire precipitated the Protestant
Reformation.
The
Reformed Church still fell short by continuing to embracing
infant baptism salvation, candles, robes and the union of Church and state.
White
Revelation 3:4 - Yet you have a few people in Sardis who
have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, (garments) for they are worthy
White
means righteous,[2] they have been judged worthy. God does not give an AVERAGE grade to the total membership of a
congregation, then condemn or reward. God does not
grade on a curve.
Each
one of us is personally responsible and accountable to God for our personal
life.[3]
The Book of Life
Revelation 3:5-6 - He who overcomes will, like them, be
dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his
name before my Father and his angels.
6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.
A cool note here: To
blot out, means our name “must already be in” the Book of Life.[4] In my
BS, I
believe it’s not our cleverness, ability or works that saves us, but is by the Grace of God[5]
and its the FREE WILL decisions we
make in our lifetime that determines if our name stays in the book or not.
That
the scriptures may be fulfilled, Christ has only lost one that the Father
gave Him;[6]
just the son of perdition, Judas from Iscariot Keroth, who was consumed by the
Devil in the
Flesh.[7]
The Philadelphia Letter
Revelation 3:7 - "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia
write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.
What he opens no
one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
Philadelphia: Greek - Brotherly
Love... preserved
Represented THE ERA OF REVIVAL AND MISSIONARIES in the First
Century Church
Commendation to the leader or
Pastor of Philadelphia (Only commendation mentioned)
Condition: An excellent Church where no fault was found.
The
key of David [8] is
the governmental authority, the grace and supplication over the Church to open
and close doors.[9] Christ holds all the keys.[10]
The FALSE
CHURCH in
its popularity, influence and money tried to close the doors of opportunity for this church, but could not.
The church was located 30 miles Southeast
of Sardis and destroyed in A.D.17 by an earthquake and then rebuilt by Tiberius Caesar. The
population was small because of the frequent earthquakes. Correspondently
the Philadelphia
church was also small.
It was the center of a THRIVING WINE BUSINESS and the wine
became a chronic social problem.
Bacchus,
the god of wine was worshipped there.
The Church at Philadelphia was commended
by the Lord for their “Open Door”,
a gateway of opportunity for EVANGELISM and
MISSIONS and was promised
deliverance from
the hour of trial and from conditions
that would discourage them from using the “Open Door”.
Christ’s prayer
was that the Father would not take the Church out of this world,
but that He would keep them from the evil one during
their hour of testing. [11]
Revelation 3:8-10 - I know your deeds. See, I have placed
before you an OPEN DOOR that no one can shut.
I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and
have not denied my name.
It seems that their “little Strength”,[12]
is that they were small in number, not small in Faith.
They were doing well with the few
that they had.
Hour of Trial
Revelation 3:9-11 - I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan,
who claim to be Jews though they are not,
but are liars.
I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have
loved you.
10 Since you have
kept my command to endure patiently,
I
WILL ALSO KEEP YOU FROM THE HOUR OF TRIAL that is going to (about to) come upon the WHOLE WORLD to test
those who live on the earth.
11 I am coming soon
(suddenly,
quickly). Hold on to what you have, so that no one
will take your CROWN.
In
my BS; “Keep you (the true believers) from the HOUR OF TRIAL” seems to me to reference “The Rapture”
before the tribulations
begin.[13] Just saying. This TESTING will occur
during the tribulation
period for those that have remained on earth; TRIALS are the teaching
method used by Jehovah God
to let
His people SEE what’s in their own hearts for
themselves.
Pillar in the Temple
Revelation 3:12-13 – To him who overcomes I will make a PILLAR IN THE
TEMPLE of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the
name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of
heaven from my God; and
I WILL ALSO WRITE ON HIM MY NEW NAME. (Universal
Passport)
13
He who has an ear let
him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
The
over comer will be a PILLAR,[14] who
has been TESTED;[15] a
strong leader
in the Church body that seeks God’s face and guides His people, keeps
and defends
His’s COVENANT.
I think it’s worth mentioning, that the Pillar in the
Temple sure sounds like the Two
Pillars in Solomon Temple, one named for the Priest Jakin whose name means “God will Establish” and another
was named for Boaz
whose name means “Strength”....
Did you see it? Jesus was in the line of Boaz and OUR PILLAR will be in the
Temple next to his.
The New Jerusalem is the Holy City
where God dwells among men.[16] We cannot comprehend the awesomeness of our
new home with Christ.[17] We can only see it in our spirit painted with
the limited imagination of what we have seen on earth. The Holy city will be elevated above everything else.[18]
We have been given the dimensions of the Holy City,
the length, width and height, but not the shape. What if it’s not a cube, but a FOUR SIDED PYRAMID, like the Great Pyramid
of Gizeh, which prophecies the coming of Jesus Christ? What if the throne is on top and the living
waters flows down all four sides? What
if the “GREAT PYRAMID” is a
shadow of things to come? [19] (BOOK; The Great Pyramid.)
The Laodicea Letter
Revelation
3:14-16 - To the angel of
the church in Laodicea
write: These are the words of the AMEN (God), the faithful and true
witness, the ruler of God's creation. (Christ alone, reveals all and tells
all truth)
15 I know your deeds,
that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you
were either one or the other!
16 So, because you are LUKEWARM
- neither hot nor cold –
I am about to
spit (puke) you out of my
mouth.
Laodikeia Greek
–
“The People’s
rights”, “The rule of the people”, “The Judgment of the people”,
Represented the era of CHURCH
GOVERNMENT during the First
Century Church age.
Warning to the leader or
Pastor of Laodicea;
their works are not good works, but are evil.
Condition: Lukewarm, self-sufficiency… The condition here
seems to show a slipping away from a spiritually “on Fire” church toward a “cold dead”
church. Outer worship with no inner
Spirituality.
God said this church made Him want to “THROW UP”.
Laodicea was a Democratic Church with truth deluded with error. It was located 40 miles from Ephesus, It
produced wool garments and had a wealthy banking center and its medical school
was noted for an eye healing ointment... This city had a huge race track and three
lavish theaters. The riches of the town spilled over into the Church and they
felt the need of nothing including the power of the Spirit of God. People have taken over the Church and the
Lord is no longer the Head. Conventions, denominations, boards, counsels and the like, governed by the people now run the
Church with a LUKEWARM-NESS toward God and
His Word.
A town on one side of Laodicea was famous
for their refreshing hot spring water.
A town on the others side had refreshing cool mountain water, but
Laodicea’s water was brackish lukewarm water.
The literal
interpretation is; this church made Him want to “PUKE” them out of His body. God sees
and knows
our deeds. THE QUESTION;
What are YOU doing
with
THE GIFTS of the Spirit
that God has equipped you with? [20]
Don’t need God
Revelation 3:17-19 - You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and DO NOT NEED A THING.' But you do not
realize that you are
WRETCHED, PITIFUL, POOR, BLIND AND NAKED.
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you
can become rich; and white clothes to
wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve (of the Holy
Spirit) to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and
discipline.
So be earnest, and repent. (And get on fire for God)
The typical person in our country does not
read the
Bible. What they read is the
people that represent the Bible. Too often, what they see, does not motivate
them to join the fellowship. The actions
of the professing members of the church at Laodicea did not look
much different than that of their pagan
friends. There was little evidence
to CONVICT them of being a Christian.
God in His love has just let them know in this
letter that if
they were NOT His children, He would not
have bother to give them a “COURSE
CORRECTOR”
to get them back on target.[21]
Nothing in scripture indicates that this “LUKEWARM” Church will be saved.
He’s Knocking
Revelation 3:20-22 - Here I am!
I
STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
21 To him who
overcomes,
I will give THE RIGHT to sit with me on my throne,
just as I overcame and sat down with my
Father on his throne.
22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches."
Interestingly, Christ is not on the inside of this church, but is on
the outside
knocking. The door handle to our heart is on the
inside, you must CHOOSE to open it and fellowship with Him.
The conditions of the seven churches still exists today;
from Ephesus having left their first love
to Laodicea with a lukewarm spirit.
In the end times, “knowledge will
abound” and things we could not
understand before is now being revealed, the sealed prophecies are now unlocked more and more. Until recently man rode horses, now we go to
the moon in a rocket. Think about the
telegraph for communicating to the next town, now we have devices in our pocket
that can communicate anywhere in the world.
On the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the first five books of the Bible were found in Hebrew. A mathematician discovered the word “Torah”
encoded in each of the five books.
Today, with the aid of a super computer, “The Bible Code” has been
revealed prophesying many events down through the centuries that affect our
society including the election of President
Obama.
This is the SEALED BOOK mentioned in
Isaiah that could not be opened until Knowledge abounds; until the technology of the
computer was invented. [22] This just blows me away.
Dead
Sea Scrolls – Rabbit Trail
ü The Damascus Testament: Addressing those
who God
foreknew would
reject the Messiah: “And
they kept NOT the commandment of
their maker until His wrath was kindled against them”. “For God chose them NOT from the beginning of the world and before they were
formed He knew their works; and He abhorred their generation from old, and hid
His face from their land till they were consumed”. In my BS, this sounds like Devine Election/Predestination,
just saying.
ü Taxo - Moses
speaking... “Receive thou the writing that you may know how to preserve the
books which I shall deliver unto thee.
And you shall set these in order and anoint them with toil of cedar and put them away in
earthen vessels in the place which He made from the
beginning of the creation of the world, that His Name should be
called upon until the day of repentance in the visitation wherewith the Lord
shall visit them in the Consummation of the End of the Days”.
ü The Jeremiah letter - Jeremiah came and found a cavern in the
rock, and there he brought in the Tabernacle, and the Ark, and the Alter of Incense;
and he made fast
the door “Yea, and the place
shall be unknown until God gather
the people again together, and mercy come; and then shall the Lord disclose
these things”
ü Habakkuk Commentary - “For the
vision (the end time) is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it
shall speak and not lie.” God’s secrets
are wonderful, “but if it delays, wait for
it: for it will surly come, and will not
tarry”. The times of God will come in due time.
The Dead
Sea Scrolls are the final reference
to the Ark
of the Covenant and its location.[23] Other writing not found in the Bible suggest
that Solomon, concerned about an invading army, built a replica of the Ark of the
Covenant for protection and that
the real Ark was sent to Ethiopia[24]
for safe keeping with his son that he fathered with the Queen of Sheba and it is under guard there even today awaiting
its return.
There is an allusion that the Ark of the
Covenant, referred to as God’s Glory and His Banner, will be returned to the Temple.[25] It will be returned before the end time
invasion by Russia.
Temples – Rabbit Trail
Those destroyed and those yet to
come in the future
ü Solomon’s Temple – Destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar in 588 BC
ü Zerubbabel’s Temple – Pillaged and
dedicated to the God Jupiter by Antiochus Epiphanes in 170 BC
ü Herod’s Temple – Built 17 BC
and destroyed by Titus in 70 AD
ü Tribulation Temple – To be
completed during the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation. The plans
have been found and reports are that the stones have already been cut. The temple articles have
already been made and the Priests are already in training. According to reports that surfaced years ago, THE TEMPLE SOCIETY claim that they
are in possession of the Ark of the
Covenant. I urge you to google The Temple Society and be amazed at what they have
accomplished.
ü Millennial Temple – The Temple of
Jesus Christ’s 1,000 year reign before the Great White Throne Judgment.
Temple Institute – Rabbit Trail
The Temple
Institute,
founded by Yisrael Ariel is an organization in Israel known in Hebrew as Machon
HaMikdash. The Institute is
focused on the controversial endeavor of establishing the Third Temple. https://www.templeinstitute.org
The primary importance of the Temple
Institute is to provide
education about the great significance of Mount Moriah; the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem which is the only site in the world that is considered Holy by the Jewish
people, and the only site in the world which God chose to rest His Divine
presence through the establishment of the Holy Temple. Their ultimate
goal is to see Israel rebuild the Holy Temple in accordance with the Biblical
commandments.
NOTE: There is a
controversy about whether the Temple should be rebuilt by Human hands or Divine
hands. Jewish tradition believes that
the TENTH and Final Red Heifer will be sacrificed and burned by the Messiah
Himself. The Temple Institute
believes that the Jews have the mandate of purification and the
rebuilding of the Temple.
Haggai 2:9 – The
Third Temple will be greater than the former
9 The glory (honor) of this latter temple shall be greater
than the former,' says the LORD
of hosts. 'And in this place I will give peace,' says the LORD of hosts." (NKJV)
The TENTH Red Heifer: The Temple
Institute identified two Red Heifer candidates, one in 1997 and another in 2002 which
they had initially declared both “Kosher”, but later found each to be unsuitable.
In recent years, a cattle breeder in Nebraska has attempted to establish
a breeding line of Red Heifers to
export to Israel in the hope that this will bring about the construction of the Third
Temple and ultimately the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
In January of 2014, a 10th red heifer was found in America, and was
raised under strict Jewish laws and guidelines.
By August, upon close inspection
it had become disqualified on account of a change of pigmentation in a patch of
skin, as well as the appearance of white hairs in the affected area and is now
unfit according to Biblical law.
On November of 2018, it was announced that
a Red
Heifer was
born and then on March 21, 2019 another Red Heifer was born in Israel and
is being raised in an undisclosed location and under special conditions. To be KOSHER, at the
age of 2 years, no more than two
black hairs can be found on its entire body; February 28, 2021 another Red heifer was born in Israel and we are awaiting the outcomes.
Temple
Furniture and Vessels – Rabbit Trail
For the past 27
years sacred Temple
vessels and Priestly
garments have been created and fashioned by accomplished craftsmen according to
the exact Biblical requirements, specifically for use in the future Holy Temple
where they will be called into Divine service.
The Menorah; (the
seven candlesticks) which stands today in the Jewish Quarter of
Jerusalem's old city is the work of the Temple Institute’s full time staff of
researchers. It was painstakingly crafted
and created after years of extensive research to be used exclusively in the new
Holy Temple. It currently overlooks the
Temple Mount. It weighs 1,000 pounds and
contains forty five kilograms of twenty four karat gold and is valued at three
million dollars.
RITUAL OBJECTS have already been completed by the Temple
Institute; the reproduction of over ninety objects that will be used
in the new Temple. Here are a few as listed
by Wikipedia.
1) Copper Laver: For Kohanim to wash in at the start of the day
2) Small Mizrak: Holds blood from the sacrificial animals
3) Large Mizrak: Holds blood from the larger animals
4) Three-pronged fork: To arrange the offerings on the altar.
5) Measuring cup: To measure meal offerings
6) Copper vessel: To prepare meal offerings
7) Silver Shovel: To remove ashes from the alter
8) Silver vessel: For wine libation, for wine accompanying offerings
9) Lottery box: For Yom Kippur, which is the Day of
Atonement. Holiest day of the Year.
10) Silver alter cup: For water libation, for Sukkot
11) Silver libation vessels: For Sukkot, Festival of “Booths” or
“Tabernacles”; a dwelling.
12) Sickle: To reap the Omer of barley. The Omer is a unit of measurement
13) Other offering implements: To offer the omer of barley
14) Abby: To roast
the omer of barley
15) Menorah cleansing vessel: To clean the Menorah
16) Oil Pitcher: For replenishing the oil in the Menorah
17) Small golden flask: For replenishing individual Menorah lamps
18) Frankincense Censer: For burning incense - Smoke
19) Incense chalice: For Ketoret or incense offering
20) Menorah: The
lamp stand for the Temple
21) Table of Showbread: Holds the cakes or loaves of bread that were
always present.
22) Incense Alter: For Ketoret or incense offering
23) Ark of the Covenant: Holds the Ten Commandments, Aarons Rod and a
golden jar of Manna
24) Crown: Worn by
the High Priest, completed in 2007
25) Garments: Worn by
the High Priest - completed in 2008
26) Silver Trumpets: Announce special occasions and offerings
27) Gold plated Shofar: For Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
28) Silver plated Shofar: For fast days; Shofar is a hollowed out rams
horn
29) Harp: Musical
Instrument used by the Levitical choir
30)
Lyre: Musical Instrument used by the Levitical choir
[1] Matthew 24:43 – Jesus
will return when He is least expected. -- 2 Peter 3:10 - Jesus will come unexpected like a thief in the night.
[2] John 20:12 – I saw two
angels in WHITE,
seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot --
Acts 1:10 - Suddenly two men dressed in WHITE stood beside them - Isaiah
1:18 - Come now, let us reason together: Though
your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as WHITE as snow; though they are
red as crimson, they shall be like wool
[3] Romans 14:12 - So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God
[4] Exodus 32:33 - Whoever
has sinned against me I will blot out of My Book
-- Deuteronomy 29:20 - The LORD will blot out his name
from under heaven -- Psalm 69:28 - May they be blotted
out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous
[5] Ephesians 2:8 - For by GRACE are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God -- Ephesians 2:8-9 - Not by works but by GRACE you have
been saved,
through FAITH-and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-
[6] John 17:12- None has been
lost except the one doomed to destruction so that
Scripture would be fulfilled.
[7] John 6:70-71- "Have
I not chosen you Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot to be one of the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!"
[8] Isaiah 22:22 – Placed on
his shoulder the KEY to the
house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and shut what no one can open
[9] Zechariah 12:10 - I will
pour out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication
[10] Revelation 1:18 - I am
the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the KEYS of death and Hades
[11] John 17:15 - I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them
safe from the evil one.
[12] Proverbs 30:25 - Ants are
creatures of LITTLE STRENGTH, yet they store up their food in the summer
[13] 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 - God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to
receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ
[14] 1 Kings 7:21 - He erected the PILLARS at the portico of the
temple. The pillar to the south he named
Jakin and the one to the north Boaz -- Genesis 35:14 - Jacob set up a STONE PILLAR at the place where God had
talked with him -- 2 Kings 23:3 - The king stood by the PILLAR and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD-to follow
the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his
heart and all his soul
-- Exodus 13:21 - By day the LORD went ahead of them in a PILLAR OF
CLOUD to guide them on
their way -- Jeremiah 1:18-19 - Today I have made you a fortified city, an IRON PILLAR and a bronze wall to stand
against the whole land. They will fight against you but
will not overcome you, FOR I AM WITH YOU AND WILL RESCUE YOU
[15] Revelation 2:10 - The
devil will put some of you in prison TO TEST YOU, and you will suffer persecution... Be faithful, even to the point
of death, and I will give you the crown of life
-- Judges 2:21-23 - I will TEST ISRAEL and see whether they
will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did. --
Deuteronomy 8:1-3 - The LORD
your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and
TO
TEST YOU in order to know what was in your heart -- 2 Corenthians 13:5 - Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the
faith; TEST YOURSELVES
[16] Revelation 21:2-3 - I saw
the Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming down from
heaven. Now the dwelling of God is with
men
[17] 1 Corenthians 2:9-10 - No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what
God has prepared for those who love him
[18] Micha 4:1 - The LORD's temple will be raised
above the hills, and peoples will stream to it
[19] Colossians 2:17 - These are a SHADOW of the
things that were to come;
the reality, however, is found in Christ -- Hebrews 8:5 - They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and SHADOW of what is
in heaven --
Hebrews 10:1 - The law is only a s SHADOW of the good
things that are coming-not
the realities themselves
[20] Isaiah 55:1 - "Come,
all you who are thirsty, you who have no money, Come,
buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
[21] Hebrews 12:5-8 - The Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes
everyone he accepts as a son... If you are not
disciplined then you are illegitimate children and not true sons
[22] Daniel 12:4 - 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
-- Isaiah 29:11-12 - This whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll and say to him, "Read this,
please," he will answer, "I can't; it is
sealed -- Isaiah 29:17-18 - And in that day
shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness
[23] 2 Chronicals 8:11 - My
wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, BECAUSE THE
PLACES ARE HOLY, whereunto
the ark of the LORD hath come
-- 2 Chronicals 35:3 - Put the Holy Ark in the
house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; -- Isaiah 18:3 - Hear ye “dwellers on the
earth” when he blows a trumpet and lifts up an ensign on the mountains -- Isaiah 18:7
- In that time shall the present be brought unto
the LORD
of hosts of a people scattered and peeled a nation meted out and trodden under
foot to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts,
the mount Zion
[24] Isaiah 18:1 - Woe to the
land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
[25] Jeremiah 4:6 - Set up the “STANDARD” toward
Zion: retire,
stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great
destruction -- Ezekiel 39:21-23 - I will
display MY GLORY among the nations, and all the nations will
see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them
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