Revelation 2:1 to 7 THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS

all right get your Bible out and turn to Revelation chapter 2. last time we finished up chapter one so now we're going to start chapter two in Revelation chapter two and three kind of go together because this is the seven churches and when we get into this about the seven churches we're going to find something very interesting now I don't have a red letter bible that's not what I use usually if you have a red letter bible tell me what you see about chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of Revelation is every single word in Red so chapter 2 and chapter 3 every word is Jesus speaking and he's speaking to these seven churches so I find that interesting it's all what Jesus has to say to these seven churches also these are the churches remember that turned against Paul now we might not have time to go to all the verses but in second Timothy 1 15 Paul says all that are in Asia have turned against me and yet we saw in chapter one that he says I'm writing to the seven churches where in Asia so these churches have turned against the Apostle Paul now that's very important to understand and to remember and that helps us to understand what does the Bible say we're supposed to do rightly divide so what we want to do is we want to rightly divide the Book of Revelation and the first thing we need to remember is as we go through Revelation Chapter 2 chapter 3 there's a lot of places where it sounds like somebody can lose their salvation now does Paul tell us so we can lose our salvation of course not he says we're sealed with the holy spirit so remember when God's writing to them he's writing to them he goes now I know your works and I know your Works do they have a Works gospel well I don't know but the first church is Ephesus and that's the book that Paul writes and says we're saved by faith and not by works so what is going on here and uh why is God saying you know I know your works and all this stuff and why did they turn against Paul you're not supposed to turn against Paul because he's our Apostle and he's the one that God revealed the gospel that saves so trying to apply all of this to us we need to take note of that first and foremost because we go by Paul and his Epistles and his Doctrine and we need to make sure I heard a guy say it like this the other day I always make sure that when you study John you see where he lines up with Paul because a lot of churches they forget Paul and they only go by John and they will go to chapter 2 and chapter 3 and they'll try to prove see you can lose your salvation and what are they leaving out Paul the Apostle so we cannot do that at all and in Revelation 1 verse 4 he says to the seven churches which are in Asia and then again in verse 11 um he says to the seven churches which are in Asia so this is an interesting book The Book of Revelation and the Book of Revelation let me say first has a three-fold application remember we started and I made a big deal about how there's these preterists out there that say oh the Book of Revelation is only past it's not present it's not future they must not even read the very first chapter because four times we're told that this book has a tri-fold or a three-fold application interesting it could have said it just three times but it said it four times so let's look at those real quick Revelation chapter 1 and verse 4. and for sake of time let me just skip into the verse where it says that from him which is and which was and which is to come so which is that's present which was that's pass which is to come that's future so I see past present future speaking of Jesus now look at verse 8. I am the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the ending saith the Lord which is which was and is to come he is present which was passed which is to come future you're getting this past present future all the way through as we're going through so it would stand to reason that when we read the application of the seven churches there's a past present and future application but look at the other places as well in verse 18 of chapter one I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I Am Alive forevermore amen and have the keys of death and hell so he's he that liveth present he was dead that's past but he's alive and he's alive forever more well that's for all eternity or for future now in verse 19 write the things which thou has seen and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter so you have seen past things that are which are that's present and shall be here after future I don't see how anyone can read the very first chapter and not understand it's not a book that's all past it's a book of Prophecy has a lot of future things and it has a lot of things to do with our present right now so when we get into this book we're going to see that and we're going to see there's a three-fold application of the Book of Revelation in Chapter 2 and chapter 3 contain a three-fold application of scripture what's amazing about the Bible is it can be talking about a prophecy of something that would happen 70 years later a thousand two thousand years ago and it happens but it's also a prophecy if something's going to happen to the Jews two or three thousand years after and it still happens there's a double application but there's also a triple application of scripture God is so smart he can say something in his mind he's talking about three different things at one time and that's why we get in the Bible to know the mind of God and we're just like wow he's so smart so when we get into this book in these two chapters we're going to be like wow God is pretty smart so we see this three-fold application in the threefold application of the seven churches would be they were actually seven literal actual churches during the time of John that John is writing to you John is out here on the island of Patmos and he's been put there by the the Roman uh Caesar or emperor and it's kind of like a little concentration camp so he was the first Jew put on a concentration camp before Hitler if you think about it and he's out here on this island and he's writing to seven churches that literally exist in his day while he's alive one of them we know was started by Paul and that's the first one mentioned Ephesus so you've got these seven now the way I remember them is ESP t s p l I'm going to show you that here in a minute I just always just remember the first letter of each one and that's how I try to remember it but uh sometimes there's two s's so sometimes I get my s's confused here sometimes I confuse Smyrna with Sardis but I remember the seven churches as Ephesus Smyrna pergamos thyatira Sardis Philadelphia laodicea ESP tspl and here's where they are and they were literally seven churches during that time and what we see as we read through these seven churches only one of them is good and all the rest are bad and God says I have somewhat against me and God's angry with some of them and he tells them to repent and to get right and what do we see these churches doing they're turning from the Lord and they're adopting paganism and worldly practices and even idol worship and fornication so they're they're becoming what they shouldn't be because they're not being what Christ would have them to be except for one which is amazing now so that's seven churches during the time of John that it's written to another application is seven Church periods uh the seven Church periods of time during the church age now I'll get into this more in detail here in a second but if you take the church age which is 2 000 years from when Jesus dies to coming back is two thousand years now how do we know that again I've got so many verses we're going to I don't have time to turn there but turn to Hosea chapter six sometime Hosea chapter 6 verse 1 and 2 is a prophecy given to the prophet Hosea by God and he says after two days in the third day will I revive you and raise you again well because they rejected their Messiah a day with the Lord's A Thousand Years thousand years one day they rejected their Messiah well after two thousand years if that's the church age then God goes back to dealing with Israel so we look at the church age as a period of time of about two thousand years and we are in the church age today and when you look at that each one of these would be a church period in history of the church and I'll get more into that here in a minute because I want you to see that it is uncanny if you study church history just how much they line up with what it says now the last one is and while I was traveling I've preached in about 200 churches in my life and I did what was called deputation which is you go and preach in different churches and try to raise support to go as a missionary and I went as a missionary to Honduras for seven years before that I was in Bible school I pastored for a while and I'm going around all these churches and preaching and I came across a man named Stan vespie a lot of these churches I went to they had tapes that the pastor would preach in the old days remember little tapes that you'd pop in your car well I spent more money on tapes of preaching from the preachers than I probably got in the offering I don't know how I made it to this day three years traveling around preaching because I spent all my money on all the preaching tapes to listen to I got a lot of tapes by James Knox you ever heard James Knox I got a lot of I used to listen to Phil Kidd a lot all the time I used to listen to Ruckman I used to listen to all these wonderful tapes of preachers and they were great King James Bible believing and they would go verse by verse well I went to Tennessee I still don't remember the name of the church it's been so long ago and the pastor's name was Stan vespie and Stan vespie I don't even know what happened to him I don't know if he's still in the ministry or what but he had some of the most amazing verse by verse Bible teachings I'll never forget the one he did on the Book of Ruth man I can't wait to teach the Book of Ruth he said give me goosebumps just thinking about how awesome his Bible teaching verse by verse was incredible and he had done one on the Book of Revelation remember the old books that they had that were plastic that had the tapes in them like that well that's what it was and so I'm driving down the road all over America listening to Stan vespie teach on the Book of Revelation and he said the first two but he said but there's some things in the Book of Revelation that are troubling he said I wonder if there aren't going to be these same churches in the tribulation after the Rapture now the church the body of Christ they leave but after the Rapture there's going to be people that come to Jesus and they're going to meet together underground and so I guess you could call that a church now there's a difference between a local church and in the church that's the body of Christ that's different but there will be literal churches somebody sent me an email and said brother breaker these churches still exist to this day over there the cities are still there but the cities are destroyed but there are still churches in those areas of people that claim to be Believers in Christ but do they have Paul's gospel a lot of them don't so when the Rapture comes they'll be left behind and they'll claim to follow Jesus so could it be that there's a application to these future because when we get into chapter two and three we see some troubling things at the end of these churches and God says thanks to them like you've ever overcometh I'll let him eat the tree of life and things like that that's not us we've got eternal life we don't need to eat a tree to get eternal life that's somebody in the Millennium or something so could it be that there is a triple application or a tri-fold application and Stan vespie brought that out and I was like yeah that makes sense so as we rightly divide the Book of Revelation we understand oh there's a triple application and we need to understand that so we're going to look at this and I want to show you more about the church period so you'll know what I'm saying so you'll understand that but let me tell you what the churches mean Ephesus means fully persuaded and I've got it on the other side so let me flip it over here because we're going to go the other side here in a second so Smyrna means bitter perfume pergamos means much marriage thyatira means odor of affliction Sardis means red ones Martyrs if you will Philadelphia means brotherly love and laodicea means rights of the people now what is this thing about it being the seven Church periods okay a lot of people teach this nowadays and this is something that's been taught last three four five hundred years people reading the book of Revelation and going wow it totally corresponds with the history of the church so the seven Church periods during the time of the church age if you take these seven churches and you divide them into the 2000 years of church history and say well this was the first one for a short space and then later it was this one and this one do you all understand that how we're laying the seven out over two thousand year period of History you know that we're in the church age today the dispensation of the church age so in the dispensation of the church age if we take these seven and we apply them which one would we be in today laodicea and that's why you'll hear me say oh those laodicean Christians what am I saying those that aren't that good this is the time of apostasy even the King James Bible when it was first printed they laid it out like this so even back in the 1600s they they looked at it like this so you had the early Apostles from about 33 to 90 A.D and you have the early Apostles until they died off then you had the pre-nician because there was a nice seeing Council in 325 A.D and then you had the post Nicene well this would be Ephesus this would be Smyrna this would be pergamus this would be thyatira this would be Sardis this would be Philadelphia this would be laodicea now let me explain something to you about church history it's incredible when we look at church history we go wow Revelation Chapter 2 look at verse 2 and through six I know the word thy works and thy labor and thy patience and how thou can'tst not bear them which are evil and thou has tried them which say they are Apostles and are not and has found them liars and that's born and has patience and for my name's sake has labor and has not faded nevertheless I have somewhat against thee because thou has left thy First Love remember therefore from Once Thou Art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy Candlestick out of his place except I Repent now verse six but this thou Hast that thou hate us the Deeds of the Nicolaitans which I also hate I'm going to talk all about this later but in church history from the time of when Jesus died to the last Apostle dying now the last Apostle who died was John who's writing this book and he probably died in about 100 A.D but he wrote this book probably 95 A.D or so but this is the church age so we would say that time period would correspond with Ephesus fully persuaded the majority of Christians were fully persuaded we're going to follow the Bible we're going to go by what it says the majority were Paul says I am fully persuaded remember what he says that I am persuaded that neither life nor death or things like this but then you see some that claim to be Christians are beginning to go away so we're already seeing apostasy in the beginning so God's writing to these good ones that are fully persuaded saying hey and it's interesting they found some people that said they were Apostles and they found them to be Liars are there apostles today I don't believe so and we'll get into that here in a minute but I got to go through history and show you this what happened in history in history there was this thing called the Nicolaitans so they came in and they started to change Doctrine and I'll probably get into this more this is where your gnostics came in and the gnostics were evil what they did is they didn't want to give up paganism but they wanted to accept Christianity so they just mixed the two and so those are some of those that claim to be Apostles and they weren't and they were evil now so you go from that church period or time period of the church age to the next one called Smyrna Smyrna means bitter perfume what happened during that time let's look at that real quick go to 2 verse 9 and 10. I Know Thy works and tribulation they're going through tribulation aren't they and poverty but Thou Art rich and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not but are the synagogue of Satan some of these people in this time period that claim to be Christians said replacement theology you know what all that God promised the Jews that's to us now and they claim to be Jews when they weren't and we see that in church history and the synagogue of Satan so there's a church that is forming during this time that's not of God it's of Satan who Could That Be hmm I know of some one and something that is in Rome today that claims to be Christian huh and that that is set up over vatica like we saw before right uh interesting it says fear none of these things which Thou shalt suffer behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison that you may be tried and you shall have tribulation ten days without faithful unto death and I will give thee Crown of Life so this is quite interesting it says 10 days now I believe it's 10 days but uh during that time There Were Ten persecutions of Rome against Christians interesting the number 10. now it didn't happen over 10 days it happened over quite a few years I had it written down here somewhere from 67 to 313 A.D so clearly within that time period was 10 persecutions of Christians where they put them in prison and they killed them and they put them in the Coliseum and things like that so interesting well just a coincidence people say well as we continue looking at church history there's too many coincidences to say that's a coincidence all right so what's the next one the next one is pergamus well pergamus we would say started in about 325 A.D because there was a council called the Council of nicaea and because they couldn't defeat the Christians Constantine says well if you can't beat them join them let's just all be Christian and he called them all together and said well what are we all going to believe and he joined guess what the state with the church and it became the state religion he married the state with the church paganism also was mixed in so you see that and let's look at that real quick in Revelation 2 13-15 Revelation chapter 2 verse 13 I Know Thy works and where thou dwellest even where Satan's seat is where is Satan's seat Well he ruled through Rome now Constantine moved to Constantinople but eventually the whole head of the thing that he started moved back to Rome and thou holdest fast my name and has not denied my faith even in these days whereas Antipas was my faithful martyr who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth but I have a few things against thee because thou Hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught balak to cast a stumbling box before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed into idols and to commit fornication now we'll look more into all this but God tells them to repent as well again the Nicolaitans are mentioned so 325 A.D is when the official start of the Catholic Church started that's where they put together the state with the church and that lasted till about only say 500 A.D and that's really when the Roman Catholic Church was being formed and what did they start to do worship idols should we worship idols now if you're a Catholic you go out on worship idols I worship an image oh well do you know what it says in the book of Exodus not to make graven images and not bow down before them have you ever been inside a Catholic Church I walked in there before and I saw them doing a little sign of the cross and then get down on their knees and bow before a piece of cement or a piece of uh silver or a piece of gold or or wood and it's just like this this is not what the Bible says so you're seeing a true church existing but then you're seeing from that a false Church that is going away from God and going to the devil so you're seeing a false Church being formed and existing the same time that the true church exists throughout history what's the next one the next one is thyatira odor of Affliction let's read what it says about thyatira in Revelation 2 19. I Know Thy Works in charity and service and faith in my patience and thy works and the last to be more than the first notwithstanding I have a few things against thee because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel which calleth herself a prophetess to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols and he goes on to tell about she should repent of her fornication he gave her a space he gave her time well so what happens in this time period well this Begins the Dark Ages and what happens in the Dark Ages some bad stuff and uh there's a lot of worship of simmeramus the Queen of Heaven if you will but there in verse 28 look what it says and I will give him the Morning Star interesting so here's this time period and God says but I'll give you the Morning Star in history this is the Dark Ages and in the Dark Ages hardly anybody even knew how to read they were all in bondage to that church and much of that church was a false church that tried to tell them you know you got to give me money to get to heaven which you can't buy your salvation but that's what it became his system but in about 1300 something there was a guy named John Wycliffe you ever heard of John Wycliffe and he really started to kick off the the um the Reformation actually he was really one of the ones that started we say that the Reformation started in the 1500s but this guy is the guy that wanted people to be able to read the Bible because that false Church said no one's allowed to translate the Bible into their language well if you can't even read that's no good well what if you can read well then you can't read Hebrew and Greek you need it in your language he's like I think we should start doing I want the plowman he said to even know how to read the Bible because the clergy would say well it says this and it wasn't what it said and how do you find out if you can't read you know what that guy is called to this day in church history he's known as the morning star of the Reformation so that's just a coincidence right another one of those many coincidences or could it be when God is speaking in Revelation 2 he knew what was going to happen the next two thousand years and he says hey if you kind of divide these up over the this is what you'll see so God sent the morning star and he helped start the Reformation so let's go to Sardis now what is Sardis Sardis means red ones why are you Red because you're in your own blood somebody murders you I would say it sounds like a martyr and uh Revelation 3 let's read verse two and three 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 will not watch I will come on thee as a thief and it goes on but then it talks about in verse four some of those in Sardis so Sardis would correspond to this period a thousand to fifteen hundred still the Dark Ages but you're starting to see a light and the Reformation was the light many people started to read they found the true text of the Bible they put out the true Bible and all this stuff but what happened in this time period a thing called The Holy Inquisition have you ever heard of the Holy Inquisition was it holy to go murder people but this church centered in Rome murdered Millions now they say oh it wasn't Millions well it was a lot of people that they burned at the stake and they used what they called an Otto defe which was their like little thing where they would they would literally torture people until the person couldn't take anymore and they just okay fine I'm a heretic because they didn't want the pain and it's up your hair Tech well it's Mercy that we burn you at this day now does that sound Christian to you nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to go kill people so anyone that is engaging in that or does that is not a true Christian true Christians would never kill another human being in Cold Blood and that's what that was but that's where the most brutal in the name of religion thing happened the Crusades even too took place during this time and there were a lot of dead people many of them were true Christians while densons and albigens and lollards and cathari and people like that all those that believed and guess what the doctrine Nepal but that church centered in Rome says no it's not Faith only it's not justified by faith it's works and it's holy mother church and if you don't accept that then you have to die that's sick and that's where the Inquisition came in that's where the red ones were that's where people were most killed for their faith in Jesus Christ who were true believers because the false believers who claim Jesus were the ones killing them okay you all heard of the Inquisition no one expects the Spanish Inquisition right but it happened and they murdered people and it just so happens it was in that time period well what's the next time period Philadelphia all right what does it say about Philadelphia well this is the one that God says the best about and in Revelation chapter 3 verse 8 through 10 . I know that works behold I've set before thee an open door and no man can shut it well Paul tells us about if a door is open by the Lord you go through it this is one of the greatest times in history it's the knowledge from the Reformation more learning of any other time more exploration more gospel Ministry going out into the world of all times in history and look what it says here so more open doors what I'm trying to say and uh it says um for thou Hast the little strength and has kept my word and has not denied my name what is it that they've done they kept his word and then it goes on a little bit more about that but guess what happened during the Reformation there was a guy named Erasmus Erasmus was a Catholic but he was a scholar and he kept looking at the Catholic Bible and kept going man this has a lot of mistakes in it the Latin Vulgate and so he went over to Asia and the Byzantine Empire and he started getting all these Greek texts and the Greek texts he got together he said man they all agree and they're against this Catholic Bible so he got together as many of those Greek texts he could he put together the Texas receptus the great Texas receptus from which our Bible comes from and guess what the Catholics had a false Bible all those years with the corrupt Latin Vulgate now you talk to a Catholic they don't believe that but the Spaniards and I'd love to get into Spanish and all that as well but the Spanish Protestant Believers I've got the first Bible in Spanish from casiodoro de Reina and he says in the preface although it's old it cannot be denied that the Vulgate is full of errors so this guy has read it I would believe the testimony of someone that's actually studied Hebrew and Greek and read it and Latin and he read The Vulgate he said man that full of mistakes so during the Reformation they got the Texas receptus and they put it together and they said man our Bible's not right we found the true word of God now that didn't mean they didn't have it before there were a lot of true Christians that had copies but the Catholic church was the biggest and it didn't want people to get the Texas receptus what came out during this time period the King James 1611 and guess what time period that's in Philadelphia and from that book that's the most sold book in history the King James Bible and more Revival ever in the history of the world came from that book right there that cannot be denied is this just a coincidence or is that another reason we should be King James only because that's the book now all new versions of the Bible guess what they started in 1881 with Westcott and Hort text and their critical texts and that led to all these new versions coming and all those new versions are based on what vaticanus and sineadicus which are the alexandrian texts which are the ones that Jerome used and relied on most heavily to make the Vulgate so if you have a new version of the Bible they are trying to get you back to the Catholic church the church that is the one that killed all these people that's why we're not Roman Catholic and that's why we love the King James Bible so this was the best church and guess what it's called the Church of what Philadelphia we live in the United States of America guess what the first capital was in the United States of America Philadelphia just a coincidence right and Open Door to come to this country and it became the greatest country ever and the most prosperous so that from America went more missionaries ever than in the history of the world Americans that are Christians are the most giving caring people and want to do something for Jesus and it's all because we kept the word which was the King James Bible when you don't keep that word what happens apostasy and what we're seeing today is the time of apostasy and that's laodicea let's go to laodicea Revelation 3 15. so we're living in a day and age when they have not kept his word there's over 200 different translations and they're all full of Errors of mistakes hopefully this Tuesday I'll be with fabrielle again and we'll be doing a live stream where we talk about the errors in new versions of the Bible so look for that on the channel as well but here it talks about laodicea and look what it says in verse 15 in chapter three I Know Thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot I would thou work cold or hot so then because Thou Art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will spew the out of my mouth what did Jesus say he says you make me want to puke because your new versions per versions of the Bible you make me puke what you do in your churches have you ever seen what they do in churches nowadays it's it's sick it's sick when we were out in the woods I camped out there alone for a couple nights and we got TV on that little thing and I watched TBN and I watched some of these big names so-called preachers and it was just like never heard the gospel one time it was basically a whole bunch of you're good and God loves you and he's an ATM machine so just go to him and through prayer and he'll shower you with blessings boy I wish that's how life worked didn't work for those guys who died for Jesus you know so I saw a bunch of apostates that didn't even know the true gospel and I felt I felt like man but yet they all talked about the Prosperity Gospel and how rich they are well look at what Jesus says about that church because that's the church period that we're in today because thou sayest I am rich verse 17 and increase with goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked oh we're so rich it's all about money oh you're gonna send me your seat offering you know you'll be prospered and look how rich we are well maybe physically you got a bunch of money but spiritually in God's eyes you're poor blind miserable and naked are you even saved do you have a white robe a lot of those people in churches today aren't even saved they're shysters they're wolves and sheep's clothing 18 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 on and on and on and repent and all this stuff so we see as a period of time seven distinct periods of time and when you lay those out with history they line up and the last one is called what laodicea and that's where they're getting away from God and they're going no it's all about me laodicea means rights of the people what happened in about 1960 civil what the Civil riots movement isn't that right did I spell that right civil right oh I felt that wrong I'm sorry the Civil Rights Movement right civil rights it's all about my rights it's all about my that's what that means right to the people so we see in this period of the church where the church is all about well God it's all about me and if you read that it says behold I stand at the door and knock it's like God's going yo locked the door and you left me out and everything they're doing they're doing in the name of God but it's all about God give me this God and he's like can I get in there too can you imagine that's the condition of the so-called Church in the world today is they've kicked God out and he's just like can I come in so I don't want to be allowed to see and I like to back up to the Philadelphia how do we do that we keep his word we keep the right Bible not the perversions the NIV takes out over 60 000 words and it was put together by several people who are perverts in their lifestyle and things like that I don't want to follow that I want to follow the Bible so when we see that we clearly understand now second Thessalonians 2 3 what does the bible teach well the Bible teaches that in the last days there will be apostasy and so over here in second Thessalonians chapter 2 it talks about now we beseech you Brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Rapture Day of Christ verse 2 rapture verse three let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there be a falling away first so there's going to be a falling away before the Rapture and that's laodicea they've Fallen away from the lord they're in apostasy the Greek word for that whatever falling away is apostasia and that's where we get our English word apostasy what does apostasy mean a falling away from a standing position before you took a stand on something now you oh it's not important and you fall away from what you once stood for most Christians stood for the King James Bible I said we don't want those new versions we know they're no good now what are most Christians well any version is good just whatever translation you like the best they're all the same they are not the same many of them are tainted with that Vulgate Catholic reading many of them are to get you back to Rome and back to the false church back to the Dark Ages so be careful and stick with the King James Bible and you will do well now these seven churches line up with the seven Church age but they also sound like a Works gospel when we know that it's not a Works gospel that we're saved today so they must have something in them that sounds future like the tribulation so let's go through each seven of churches real quick and let's look at that and how it sounds like there's got to be an application over here because it doesn't work here in Paul's gospel let's look here at Revelation 2 and verse 5 what it says What God Says to Ephesus and let me show you this see you can't take these seven churches and say that this is the doctrine for us today sure it can line up spiritually with the church age but some of this stuff doesn't line up with Paul so you can't just pick and choose versus out of here and say see you can lose your salvation you've got to rightly divide so Revelation Chapter 2 Ephesus look at verse five through seven remember therefore from whence Thou Art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy Candlestick out of his place except thou repent but this thou Hast that thou hate us the Deeds of the Nicolaitans which I also hate he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God who's eating somebody that makes it through the tribulation into the Millennium then they can eat of that is that us and we go out at the Rapture before that so do you see how that doesn't sound like for us today so it must be a triple application of this book let's go to Revelation 2 and verse 10 and 11 and see what it says about Smyrna fear none of those things which Thou shalt suffer behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison that you may be tried and you shall have tribulation 10 days is that saying there's going to be a future time in the tribulation where they get 10 days in jail be thou faithful unto death uh-oh we know that they're cutting off people's heads that don't take the mark of the beast during the tribulation it kind of sounds like it's applying to that and I will give thee a Crown of Life he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death does that apply to us today are we in the endured of the end or overcome gospel or is that the tribulation gospel so do you see how that sounds let's look at the up next one 2 16. this one's uh pergamus repent or else I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth well when does he come with a sword of his mouth we saw that in chapter one here's when Jesus comes with a sword in his mouth and Armageddon so it sounds like this is the context so as you're reading through these seven churches there's a triple application here and you've got to rightly divide that you've got to understand it with a sword of my mouth then he says in verse 17 he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Hidden man what is this that reminds us of manna that Israel ate when they were in the wilderness well the tribulation they're in the wilderness again we'll see that in Revelation chapter 12 and God is protecting them sounds like they're going to be eating Manna as well and we'll give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it that's strange is that for us today it doesn't sound like it go to the next one Revelation 2 26 and this would be the Church of is it dieteria yeah 26 and he that overcometh and keep in my Works unto the end to him will I give power over the Nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a Potter shall they be broken two Shivers even as I received of my father and I will give him the Morning Star uh rule with the rod of iron that's Jesus in the millennial Kingdom he that overcome it sounds like somebody going through the tribulation and overcoming and then ruling with Christ there so you've got to understand the Book of Revelation and you know how few people do I don't know anybody that's teaching what I'm teaching to you except stand best be and a couple of others I think Rockman mentioned this too if I'm not mistaken once or twice how sounds like it could be tribulation but this is how you rightly divide the Bible if it doesn't line up with Paul then what's going on here except maybe there's triple application and God's telling now back here U7 now throughout history and then over here at the end and that has is what it's got to apply to let's look at Revelation 3 4. here's Sardis verse 4. thus a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy are we worthy to get to heaven no when I get to heaven the first thing I'm going to say is Lord I'm not worthy because I'm saved by grace that's the only way I can be saved because I'm not in my own righteousness Worthy but here's somebody that is how could that be us except maybe they gave their life for Jesus and died as Martyrs for him in the tribulation 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 the my father and before his angels now what is this blotting your name out of The Book of Life if we're saved can this happen to us well if you sin you'll lose it you don't even know what you're talking about Paul says we're sealed and we can't lose it there's two books in The Book of Revelation there's the book of life and there's the Lamb's Book of Life The Book of Life is everyone in this world when they're born and they're alive up in heaven their name is written down in a book they're somebody who's alive in the world then there's the Lamb's Book of Life every time somebody gets saved it's probably Written in Blood Jesus blood their name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life and that's everyone who has eternal life How Could You blot that out it would never have been eternal but if a person is lost and they go before the Judgment the Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation that when they're judged if they were never saved then their name is blotted out of The Book of Life because they don't have eternal life they had temporal life down here but it was all for nothing because they didn't come to Jesus and they're just scratched out and they go and burn for all eternity in the Lake of Fire so a lost person can be blotted out of the book of life but a safe person can't so how could that possibly apply to us under Paul's teaching in Paul's gospel Revelation chapter 3 and verse 10 here's God speaking to Philadelphia Revelation 3 10 because thou has kept the word of my patience I also will keep thee from the hour of Temptation what's the hour of Temptation well I don't know for the church age for us today but I know in the tribulation period they'll be tempted with the mark of the beast and if they say no okay the witch shall come upon all the world and try them that dwell upon the Earth that sounds like the mark of the beast 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 yeah but when we're saved we can go in and out it sounds like in the New Jerusalem and we Reign on Earth with Christ and I will write upon him the name of my God in 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 yeah but we're saved through Christ we're going to be ruling with Christ and our mansions in New Jerusalem so this sounds like a very different person than someone safe today and then look at laodicea in 3 20. in 320 behold I stand at the door knock If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me a lot of people use this for soul winning nowadays and say God knock in on your heart's door okay I opened my heart it but that's not an individual opening their heart that's a church and that's Jesus saying hey anybody in there if you want to be saved come on out here because the church is lost so that's not an individual I hate hearing people use that as a as a verse for getting saved because they're taken out of context it's not telling an individual to open their heart it's saying hey open the door of the church get out of the church basically that preaches a false gospel and come to Jesus and get saved through him because he's knocking and saying Hey I want you all to be saved and so it says that and and it says in verse 21 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 overcometh that sounds like the tribulation Gospel of enduring to the end it does not sound like the church age for today so you've got to understand a triple application of the Book of Revelation and it just makes sense so there were seven actual churches in that time and they read that to themselves and we're going wow what's this mean and a lot of them they were persecuted and killed it's talking about seven periods of time but it's also has to be there must be these churches again after the Rapture who realize you know what we messed up we need Jesus and now you have a tribulation Congregation of people that are now believing in Jesus and to prove it they have to endure the end without the mark of the beast or they have to die as a martyr for Jesus beheaded by not taking the mark of the beast all right do you all understand that so now we can start our verse by verse through the Book of Revelation I don't know what time is it how much time do we have here before we get started okay well we'll just keep going does that sound good to you so let's go to Revelation chapter two and when we get to the seven churches I'd love to go through all seven today but we won't get to but if we can get through Ephesus the next time we'll start with the next one and I wanted to at least start in verse 1 down to verse seven and then verse 8 starts the one to Samir so if we can get through verse one through seven today then next week we'll start on the others Ephesus means fully persuaded okay Ephesus is in Asia and it's the church that's the closest to the island of Patmos the closest to where John was when he's writing the book and oddly enough it's the one that Paul started and yet all in Asia have turned against me so is that a rebuke to them you know remember Paul remember that guy I don't know but the church in Asia was founded by Paul let's go to Acts chapter 18. let me show you this and Ephesus was a a wicked City a vile Wicked City full of perversion and wickedness so when people got saved and got out of that that was a great victory for God and the early church and Paul as a missionary in Acts 18 1-2 it says after these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth and found a certain Jew named Aquila born in Pontius lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla now I'm gonna stop there but there's two people that Paul met Aquila and Priscilla and with those two people he went to Ephesus so let's skip down to verse 18. and Paul after this tarried there yet a good while and then took his leave of the Brethren and sailed thence unto Syria and with him Priscilla and Aquila having shorn his head in centria for he had a vow and he came to Ephesus and left them there but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews which is what Paul always did whenever he went somewhere he always went to the synagogue first to try to win Jews to the Lord then he won Gentiles but he took these two with them and they're there as well and they're starting a church in Ephesus Paul is there doing it chapter 19 and verse 1. and it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth Paul having passed through the upper Coast came to Ephesus in finding certain disciples so these were disciples that claimed to be followers of God now I don't have time to read the rest of the passage you read it someday they didn't have Paul's gospel yet all they had was the baptism of John so Paul had to do some things to explain to them what had happened and to get them back on board which was what was taking place but look at verse 8 through 10. and he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God but when diverse were hardened and believe not but spake evil of that way before the multitude he departed from them and separated the disciples disputing daily in the school of one tyrannus which is funny it sounds like Tyrant doesn't he he's a tyrant and so Paul is there for three months now look at verse 10 and this continued by the space of two years so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus both Jews and Greeks so Paul is going to hear and he's getting converts and it sounds like it's going throughout all Asia from here if they would have stayed right then the others might have stayed right so the biggest rebuke is to the church that Paul started and we're going to see that God revealed to Paul that that church was going to go the wrong way a lot of times churches get started and they start good and then they end up messed up and that's a shame and why is it well when we get back to Revelation it says because they left the first love our first love should always be Jesus in the Bible when we love money or fame or or something more than him the church is not going to be good so let's always make sure let's make a pact that we always put Jesus first and the word amen not ourselves above that but he continued there for two years now let's skip to um oh we're in chapter 19. let's look at verse 13. now while we're looking over at verse 13 Ephesus was a cultural center at that time Ephesus had the biggest stadium of all that area they could seat 50 000 people in this huge Amphitheater and so it was like going to New York City in the old days but let's go to Ephesus man you know and it was gigantic but it was also the center of Witchcraft demonic activity and Pagan paganism it was also the center of idol worship and I've handed you all out this pamphlet here or this little thing that I printed up I'm going to show you here in a minute this but let's look at it later I'll show it to you because I want you to see exactly what this church was saved from and what a shame that they turned away from God but this is what they were saved from so Acts 19 verse 13. then certain of the Vagabond Jews Exorcist took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus saying we adjure You by Jesus whom Paul preacheth and it's interesting they didn't believe in Paul or his gospel or anything but they get these these Devils that they have to deal with and they're trying to cast out devils and they say well well we command you in the name of Jesus and that Paul guy watch what the devil say and there were seven sons of one skiba a Jew and chief of the priest which did so and the evil spirit answered and said Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are you even the demons knew who the Apostle Paul was because they knew he was from Jesus preaching the true gospel and getting people saved today in the age of apostasy in which we live there are many in the world today who claim to be Christians and here we are in laodicea who say no Paul shouldn't be in the Bible and we don't follow Paul and they're turning against Paul just like Ephesus they are Lost and Damned and they're probably led by demons and I don't like saying that but it's true that's why it's so important to understand Paul and rightly dividing get into the books of Paul for eternal security and faith in the blood and things like that so we're reading here and look what it says here and what verse did I stop on there verse 15 and evil spirit answered and said Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are you and the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them and overcame them and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded that's kind of funny and scary and sad at the same time but that's Ephesus people were full of demons full of demons or devils and this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling in Ephesus and fear fell on them all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ was magnified why was the Lord magnified well because they understood hey it's through Jesus and Paul's preaching of the blood that we can overcome these evil spirits and many that believe came and confessed showing their deeds verse 19 many of them also which used curious Arts do you know what a curious art is satanism or witchcraft now if you don't know what witchcraft is and hopefully you don't witchcraft is communing with devils all these spells of all these witches and things like that when you cast a spell you're literally talking to a demon and you're saying demon do this well they'll do that but they always ask a price when you make a deal with the devil you're going to have to pay pay the piper like they say so most people understand that's what Satanism is why does Satanist sacrifice kids why does Satan sacrifice dogs and animals because the demon demands sacrifice and usually they make you sacrifice an innocent person that's why paganism and Satanism is so scary because it's all about being Pure Evil and killing the Innocents which is you know what we saw in the Inquisition so the Curious Arts so these are all books of Harry Potter or no no what's that note I don't know Potter or whatever these are all books of Witchcraft and look what it says many of them also which use curious Arts brought their books together and burned them before all men and they counted the price of them and found it 50 000 pieces of silver now that's Revival this place you would go to Ephesus and you would go there to learn Witchcraft and you'd buy all the books every book on how to be a witch or a warlock and all the Spells and they came to Jesus and said we're done with this garbage and what do they do they threw it in the fire and burned it up isn't that incredible all the Ouija boards and Ephesus were thrown in the fire and that's a lot of money back then 50 000 pieces of silver I have no idea what that would be but somebody said it might be over five million dollars today you want to see true of a Bible wouldn't that be incredible go to where a bunch of witches are and they all get saved and then they take five million dollars worth of their books and burn them for Jesus that would be incredible and so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed now go down to verse 23. in the same time there arose no small stir about that way for a certain man named Demetrius a silversmith which made silver shrines for Diana brought no small gain into the Craftsman okay so this is an idol maker who made Idols out of silver whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation and said sir ye know that by this craft we have our wealth moreover you see in here that not alone at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people saying that they be no Gods which are made with hands so that not only this our craft is in danger to be said it not but also that the Temple of the Great Goddess Diana should be despised and her magnificence should be destroyed whom all Asia and the world worshipeth now who is this Diana woman well we're going to look at our paper here that I handed out today but look what it says and when they heard these sayings they were full of Wrath and cried out saying great is Diana of the Ephesians this is Diana of the Ephesians it's the same picture of the same woman but this is the fertility goddess of Ephesus in her name they called her Diana she's really semiramis all right and look how disgusting she is she's the goddess of fertility and she has something like 19 breasts that's a freak right that's a pervert what kind of person likes something that perverted and disgusting 19 boobies and they're all sticking out and showing everybody if you went to Ephesus and you're a Christian you would have been offended of that right but these people they loved it why because they were hooked on probably pornography and stuff like that because what do they do demons they're called seducing Spirits so it's all about seducing people but that is the most perverted disgusting thing and that's the kind of Idols that that guy made what a gross person why didn't he just go into making jewelry why did he have to make these Idols what was all this well you look into it there was fornication there were things like that a lot of times they fornicated to have a baby so they could offer it to their false god and they murdered babies it's sad but let's continue reading here what it says skip down to verse 34 but when they knew that he was a Jew all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out as great as Diana of the Ephesians so for two hours they're standing around this statue and saying how great it is you think that's great I mean that that just utterly disgusts me how people could be brainwashed into worshiping a monster I mean that's a monster right that's really that's a sick thing to look at but look at the rest of what it says here in verse 35 skip down a little bit to where it says you men of Ephesus what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the Great Goddess Diana is she great now she's perverted looking to me and the image which fell down from Jupiter now what is the image which fell down from Jupiter something came from Jupiter and it came down and they worshiped it what was it to this day people are I don't know what that was probably some sort of a stone and it's from outer space and the Bible talks about spiritual wickedness in high places and where are the demons they're in high places I think UFOs are devils or demons so when you look into this is there like a stone in the world today that's worshiped you ever heard of Mecca they have a cube over there on one side of the cube there's this Stone and they all go and they kiss it does that tie into this I don't know but I wonder I've always wondered what is that image from Jupiter that they worshiped could it have been it went over there and that's what it is and it's tied in with this I would call that a would you interesting enough as we go through Revelation it's talking about evil women a lot and watch out for evil women Jezebel and what is a chapter 17 the great that looks like a horrible horror to me you think she's great would you sit around for two hours and praise that that's how brainwashed these people I mean that's just gross I don't even want to look at it so let's go back to um uh let's see here Paul calls the elders together in Ephesus in Acts chapter 20. by the way Diana was what they called that goddess but it's really simiramis okay and we looked at that before but go to Acts chapter 20 and verse 17. this is amazing because in Acts chapter 20 Paulo's in Ephesus now why am I going through all this I want you to go back to think about Ephesus in the history of Ephesus Paul was all about Ephesus toward the end of his ministry Paul is in Ephesus and he calls all the elders together and here's what he says Acts chapter 20 verse 17 through 32. we might go a little long today but it's worth it and from my elitist he sent to Ephesus and called the Elders of the church so that church this was around 60 A.D and this is about 30 35 years later that the Book of Revelation is written so in in 35 years the the Church of Ephesus turned away from Jesus and look at what it says here Verse 18 and when they were come to him he said unto them you know that from the first day that I came to Asia after what Manner I have been with you at all seasons serving the Lord with all humility of mine and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying and weight of the Jews and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repentance toward God and Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ so turning to God repentance is attorney so turning from Idols to God how by faith and now behold I go bound to the spirit under Jerusalem not knowing the things which shall befall me there say that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city saying that bonds and afflictions abide me but none of these things move me neither I count my life dear unto myself so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God and now behold I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God shall see my face no more wherefore I take to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men for I have not shunned to declare unto you the counsel of God take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood then Paul says these words for I know this that after my departing shall Grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock what the devil is doing since the time of Ephesus to today he's got wolves that he's trying to get into churches to mess them up watch out for those wolves and he says also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them so outside the church and inside the church they're bad people and when they get together they mess up the church and it says therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I cease not to warn every one night and day with tears and now Brethren I commend you to God into the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified what is it we should keep the word of God just like Philadelphia did keep the word I have coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel yeah you yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessity and on and on I won't read the rest of it there but uh he basically says look guys this is the last I'm going to see you watch out for the wolves that are coming in here to try to mess you up and watch out for people that are already here sitting on the pew who are going to try to mess up and draw people after themselves so now who would those be let's go back to Revelation but that's a good question who would those be well during that time we have a mention of a man named Nicholas and that's who the Nicolaitans were that we're going to read about here in Revelation chapter 2. but also that's when a group came in called gnostics and the gnostics were around that time in the gnostics were pagans before and they said oh we like this idea of Jesus being some sort of a prophet or something oh well we'll just we'll now we're Christians but were they really saved or do they just adopt the name only because the gnostics said well we don't believe Jesus was really God but he was the son of God so he was a he was an angel he's basically believed that Jesus was like a fallen angel that came down to the Earth or something they had weird beliefs these gnostics and they never gave up their Pagan ways and they always did fornication fornication is a sin according to the Bible it's not something you're supposed to be doing God hates it and we're going to see that as we read through of Ephesus but these these gnostics mixed paganism with Christianity they didn't believe Jesus was God they practiced fornication in the church they allowed spirits to possess the people the gnostics would come to church and they would try to get a spirit to speak through them and a lot of times it would blabber if you would have gone to a gnostic Church you know what you would have felt like you were in the Kundalini movement or a modern Pentecostal Church and you know what else the gnostics allowed women preachers and teachers so were those your first charismatics oh I didn't say that I didn't say that your first Pentecostals but when you look into them man there were evil a lot of fornication and evil and they would not believe that Jesus was God and a lot of them changed the Bible and that's where the Latin Vulgate came from was the text that they changed that in many places attacked the deity of Christ that's why I can show you in new versions of the Bible which come from that corrupt alexandrian text where it attacks the deity of Christ that's your gnostics I don't like the gnostics so let's go ahead and go and read Revelation chapter 2 verse 1 through 7. and we'll finish the on on Ephesus here unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus all right now we know that's a church Paul started right these sang saith he that hold it to Seven Stars in his right hand who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks we heard about those in chapter one the end of chapter one I Know Thy works and thy labor and thy patience and how thou can't not bear them which are evil and has tried them now who are those that are evil those that are coming in the wolves that Paul warned about and what made them evil was the fornication they went to church and had sex in the pews can you imagine a church like that today believe it or not I don't think we're far away from that the way churches are going nowadays that claim to be churches they'll probably I heard several years ago there was a church like a nudist Church where you come to church and take off your clothes and go in and sit on the pew that's that far away from going back to the ancient gnostics because they talk about free love come to church and have love and then you have sex in the pews now you think that's silly you think that's crazy you think that's that's what the pagans did they practice orgies and it was all about getting pregnant so when you had the baby it could be your sacrifice to your false god that's the way the world was do you not think it's going to come back to that unfortunately I think it is the only reason it hasn't yet is because there's been true Christians that preached against that but here they are practicing that and so God is talking to the Church of Ephesus and he's telling them hey I'm glad they're still ones that haven't become this and that hate this and then it says and has tried thou Hast tried them which say they are Apostles and are not and has found them Liars so there are people in that time period they were saying well I'm an apostle too just like Paul and just like John and they said no you're not yes I am let's look at what the Bible says about an apostle and what makes a person impossible because I've met in my life people that said I'm Apostle so and so and I laughed I said don't don't you know there's only 12 Apostles in the Bible and you're one of them I don't think so because there's only 12 Apostles in the Bible because there's the foundation of the Twelve Apostles in New Jerusalem so how can there be apostles today this clearly teaches us that there are no other Apostles than the ones the last one called to be an apostle was Paul the last one who died as the apostle was John and so look what it says in uh well Matthew 10 we won't turn there gives you the names of the Apostles now Acts chapter 1 verse 15. man I gotta hurry I got to get done here but Acts chapter 1 and verse 15 tells us what has to take place for someone to be an apostle in Acts chapter 1 verse 15 and in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said the number of names together were about 120. men and Brethren this scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas which was guide to them that took Jesus now Judas claimed to be one of the Apostles but was he no so we don't count him he was the one that entered in who was evil he was a wolf and she in in one of 12. somebody said in every church it's a 1 to 12 ratio of the demon compared to the rest of the church I always thought so if you have a church of 100 people how many of those are I don't know I'm not good at math but that's how many judases you have so always be careful not everyone in church is saved okay and then it says here for he was numbered with us and hath obtained part of this ministry now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity and falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels gushed out it was known unto all the Dwellers at Jerusalem and so much that the field is called in their proper tongue asseldama which is to say the field of blood for it is written in the Book of Psalms let his habitation be desolate and no man dwelled therein and as Bishop prick let another take now Bishop prick means what um like his office wherefore of these men which have accompanied with us all the time the Lord Jesus went in and out Among Us okay they're about to choose the replacement for this guy one of the Apostles and they say they had to have been with us the whole time of Jesus all three and a half years of Jesus ministry there had to be someone that saw that and then it says beginning from the baptism of John and to the same day that he was taken up from us must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection so in order to be an apostle you would have had to been alive at this time and witnessed everything that took place here from John the Baptist to the resurrection of Jesus I don't know anybody alive today that lived there in that time to you how do you get an apostle today now the word Apostle means one cent and so there's well in that I mean I'm an apostle in the fact that I'm sin I still don't think we should use that word Apostle because the apostles were back then now the apostles had signs and wonders let's go to Acts chapter 5. who are the signs and wonders for the Bible says in First Corinthians 1 22 the Jews seek after a sign the Jews wouldn't believe unless they saw a miracle do we need Miracles today no Paul says we live by faith and not by sight we have the Bible and we go by it and believe because we read it not because I saw some sign so in Acts chapter 5 and verse 12 it says and by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people and they were all with one Accord in Solomon's porch okay Acts chapter 2 and verse 43. x243 and fear Came Upon Every Soul all right look right before that verse 42 the apostles Doctrine and fear Came Upon every soul and Many Wonders and signs were done by the apostles so the apostles have signs and wonders what were some of the signs they could lay hands on someone and heal them they could raise the dead they could be bit by a snake and not die there was a lot of things that they could do Paul was an apostle Romans 1 1 First Corinthians 1 1 Second Corinthians 1 1 Etc he says Paul called to be an apostle well look what it says in First Corinthians 15 verse 8 and 9. First Corinthians 15 I didn't write down all the verses so but uh First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 8 and 9 Paul tells us that he was clearly one of the Apostles so did Paul have sides and wonders did Paul do Miracles yeah But First Corinthians 15 8-9 and last of all he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time for I am the least of the Apostles that am not meat to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God but yet he was an apostle Romans 11 13 Paul says he's the Apostle to the Gentiles so Paul was an apostle and guess what he would have seen John coming and he saw Jesus and Jesus resurrection so he was during that time Paul is an apostle all right and Paul had signs and miracles did you know Paul did signs and wonders and miracles go to Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19 not only could Paul do miracles he had special Miracles that he could do Acts Chapter 19 Verse 11 and 12 and God wrought special Miracles by the hands of Paul so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons and the diseases parted from them and the evil spirits went out of them wow so he could do what they claimed to do on on these TBN channels send me your handkerchief in the mail and an offering of 500 . I don't I think they're just trying to get your money I think they are false apostles who have been what found Liars but uh this is Paul and is talking about his uh special Miracles if you will did I read verse 11 and God wrought special Miracles by the hands of Paul yeah okay so as you read through Hebrews though go to the book of Hebrews Paul begins to drop a hint you know maybe maybe just maybe we won't be doing these Miracles forever because God was still dealing with the Jews until the Jews finally rejected their Messiah now in the church age it's more Gentiles getting saved but over here God's going back to dealing with the Jews again if the signs and wonders and miracles are for the Jews why would we need them today and as you read your Bible you know what you find Paul's the last Apostle and he lost the ability to heal people he lost the signs and wonders because they're no longer needed because they were for Jews look what he says in Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 1. therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on into Perfection not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of Faith toward god of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on us hands there's your healing laying on of hands and of the resurrection of the Dead huh they're able to raise the Dead and of Eternal judgment and this will we do if God permit what a thing we'll keep doing these signs so I'm an apostle and we'll keep doing this as long as God permits was God permitting today are there apostles today is Benny Hinn really healing people is this Kenneth Copeland guy really somebody that I watched a video the other day where they brought this guy to Kenneth Copeland and he was in a wheelchair and Kenneth Copeland came over and prayed for him and says all right brother and walks away why didn't he grandmother hand said walk and walk with me like Peter did because he's a false apostle muscle have you ever looked at his eyes scare me just looks like Snake Eyes I wonder what Spirit these people have now when I say that they'll say oh you're against the Holy Spirit um well I have the Holy Spirit and uh Holy Spirit in me does not does not say that that's the holy spirit in you when I see that I say I have to go by the Bible and in the Bible these signs are no longer here because there's no longer Apostles here let me show you that quickly First Timothy chapter 5. the end of Paul's Ministry all right he wrote second Timothy was the last book that he wrote so first and second Timothy's toward the end of his ministry and in first Timothy 5 23 look what he says First Timothy 5 let's see I'm in second Timothy first Timothy 5 23. Paul says drink no longer water but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities so he says use a little wine for your stomach so for medicine why would he tell him to take medicine basically today that'd be like well if you're really sick have some NyQuil I'd be like well why would he say just send me a handkerchief I'll touch it and pray for it and send it back to you and you'll be fine why didn't he say that why is he recommending the use of Medicine now look at this one second Timothy 4 20. you see I'm not a Pentecostal I am not an Assembly of God I am not a charismatic they still believe that there's apostles today and many of them think they are Apostles with the signs and wonders all right if you are I'll meet you at the graveyard and we'll find a fresh grave and you lay hands on the dead person and raise them from the dead and I will believe you if you don't just like it says in Revelation then you're found a liar okay because that's what the signs were but here we have second Timothy 4 20. I believe is the one I want yes erastus Abode at Corinth but trophomas have I left at my lead them sick why would the Apostle Paul who could do signs and wonders of healing why do you leave a guy sick could he really have healed him but he's like I'm so offended by you I'm just no I'm keeping my gift back from you I'm not going to heal you I'll let you be that wouldn't be a very good Apostle would it if he still had the ability to heal why didn't he heal him why did he leave him sick I don't have time to get into other verses but remember he had problems with his eyes at the end of his ministry his eyesight's bad again why didn't he just go and they're healed again because the signs of the apostles were for the Jews so that the Jews would believe and now there's no more apostles today those were the apostles does that make sense to you so how could anyone be a good Pentecostal charismatic if you believe the Bible you can't and I was in the Assembly of God for four years before I got saved and this woman would come down for two years I watched this woman come down and they declared her yield of cancer and she'd go back to the doctor nope still there in two years I felt sorry for that woman and I'm like why isn't she healed one day I watched the pastor go well it's all your fault because you don't have enough faith and I just went I'm done I'm done like there's nowhere in the Bible does that happen the Bible says God did some Miracles with some people that didn't have faith so I saw that and I always wondered about that and then I read the Bible and I go okay that makes sense why there are people out there who are false Apostles because no longer do we have the gifts of healings and signs and things like that now let's go to uh uh uh Second Corinthians 11 13. Paul warns us as well second Corinthians 11 13. and uh Second Corinthians 11 13. Paul mentions false apostles and you know who he says they're working for Satan so if someone stands up today and says I'm an apostle because I know my Bible you know what my first thought is whoa that guy might have a devil or a demon or else he's a liar because those that claim the apostles today are found Liars and guess who's behind that and guess what we were warned in the Bible watch out for the Wolves so is that a wolf Paul says this a second Corinthians 11 13 for such are false Apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves in the Apostles of Christ now look at verse 14 and no Marvel for Satan himself has transformed into an angel of Light therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the Ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works what's the context of the ministers and who is his Satan's ministers if someone comes along and says they're an apostle and they don't do the signs and the Wonders are we not seeing someone that's working for Satan do they have a demon now this is the scary part because guess who shows up in the Bible go to Second Thessalonians chapter 2. in the Bible we do not see signs and wonders anymore and so the next time signs and wonders shows up would be the 144 000 and the two witnesses and all that during the tribulation so again for Jews because Jews need to sign but we also see a guy showing up and that guy is the Antichrist and do you know what the Antichrist does he does signs and wonders and miracles so the Bible says that the devil or the Antichrist can do signs so if I see someone today going around doing signs and wonders I'm not going wow they're of God my first thought is is that a devil doing that well I'm not a very good Pentecostal then am I I'm not a very good charismatic because I'm reading my Bible and I don't see we need signs and wonders look what it says there in second Thessalonians 2 and II Thessalonians chapter 2 and look what it says how the Antichrist will come second Thessalonian boy I'm losing friends today all my Pentecostal friends are all actually I don't know if I had any anyway so I guess it's no big deal but uh second Thessalonians chapter two in verse eight and nine and then shall that Wicked be revealed that's a capital W so that's the Antichrist whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming even him who's coming is after the working of Satan who's coming after the working of Satan the Antichrist with all do you see that word all power and signs and lying wonders wow and with all deceivableness of unrighteous in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved if you don't tell the truth then what are you a liar so I caution you as strongly as I can watch out for this Faith healing movement watch out for people that run around and say they're Apostles watch out for this charismatic movement that goes back to the apostles Doctrine and not to the doctrine of Paul because Paul is the one that gave us the gospel of Salvation and many of them they believe you can lose it Paul said no we're sealed until the day of redemption okay almost done go back to Revelation chapter two Revelation chapter 2 and look at verse two I Know Thy works and thy labor and thy patience and how thou can't not bear them which are evil and thou has tried them which say they are Apostles and are not and has found them Liars and it's born okay what does he mean by and has born well you've endured or you've you've allowed that to happen but you've lifted yourself out of it and has patience and for my name's sake has labored and has not fainted so they didn't just give up and say okay they fought against those people that were Liars that claimed to be Apostles boy if only the church today would do that to all these TV people that are on TV that claim to heal people you ever hear of Oral Roberts and how he says I saw a 700 foot Jesus in my dream and my vision and he said if I don't get eight million dollars by a certain time he's going to kill me and people sent that man money and he got eight million dollars you know I would have done I would have said don't send them anything let's see what happens let's see if he's a liar because guess what God wouldn't have killed him he was making that up to make money and when he didn't then we would know ah thou has been found a liar right watch out for that don't be so gullible amen don't be so gullible so it says verse 4 nevertheless I have someone against thee because thou has left thy First Love who would that be that would be Jesus did they love the world more than Jesus remember it was like the New York City of its day maybe they loved the things of the world and they just loved the world more than Jesus I don't know I don't want to be that kind of church remember therefore from whence Thou Art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come into thee quickly and remove thy Candlestick out of his place except thou repent what does it mean remove the candlestick he's not saying you'll lose your salvation but he's threatening hey I'm going to take this Candlestick out of it I don't I don't understand that I don't know I don't understand how that applies to today but I know that doesn't apply to an individual losing their salvation but I can see how a church can fall but this thou Hast that thou hatest the Deeds of the Nicolaitans which I also hate now verse 15 also talks about the Nicolaitans when it talks about the Church of pergamus but look at this Nicolaitans briefly who were the Nicolaitans the Nicolaitans were followers of Nicholas who taught that Christians did not have to be moral so they could be immoral and live in fornication and whatever now they were followers of Nicholas so back in Acts chapter 20 when Paul is saying I'm crying you know three years I tried to warn you watch out wolves and sheep's clothing are coming in the Bible tells us the name of one of the guys who was that his name was Nicholas isn't that something Saint Nick no no that's a different one anyway uh Nicholas isn't that weird and the nicolaity or the Nicolaitans were the ones that followed Nicholas and Nicholas said no it's okay to do wrong because it's all Grace there's the beginning of the hyper Grace movement you ever heard of the hyper gracers that run around and they're all like we're under grace so it's okay you can do whatever you want I'm saved it doesn't matter well you can but should you doesn't that kind of prove you don't love Jesus if you go do wrong and you claim to be a Christian you know you left your first love if you go live in sin so shouldn't you love Jesus enough to live for Jesus he loved you enough to die for you shouldn't you love him enough to live for him so Nicholas now I'm not going to get into this Nicholas guy but he also ate things sacrificed to idols or drink blood and that's something that they did back then and we're told in the Bible not to do that I have to take you there quickly Acts chapter 15. this was something that the early church said to the Gentiles when Gentiles started getting saved the Jews that were saved were like this is this is strange what do we tell them to do this is what they told them to do in Acts chapter 15 verse 28 and 29. for it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things so this is a command from the early church to those that used to be uh Gentiles that got saved that she abstained from Meats offered to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication from which if you keep yourselves you shall do well fair you well so the first command for Christians is don't eat meat sacrifice to idols don't eat blood and don't commit fornication and here comes Nicholas going no that's okay you can do all that and he did and he led people astray into a cult of fornication so Nicolaitans like I said were the first hyper Grace movement of the time who thought well I can do whatever I want because I'm under grace what did Paul say in Galatians 5 13. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 13 what did Paul say if if if they've been reading their Bible they wouldn't have thought that which makes me wonder are they even reading their Bible Galatians 5 13. for Brethren you have been called unto Liberty only use not Liberty for an occasion to the flesh but by love serve one another Galatians 5 13. and what's interesting is verse 19 through 21 are the works of the flesh now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness that has to do with unbridled sexual desires idolatry witchcraft were they getting back under that remember they destroyed most of the books of Witchcraft and Ephesus but was this guy saying Hell no it's okay Nicholas to go back into it I hope not witchcraft hatred variants emulations wrath Strife seditions heresies envyings murders drunkenness revelings and such like so these are all things that a person can do who's saved but they shouldn't even though you're saved you could still go back to doing those things but you shouldn't because what do you lose rewards and then it tells us the fruit of the spirit in verse 22 I don't have time to get into that but look at verse 24 and they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts so if we're saved we do not need to be engaging in fornication and other things that are evil and wicked we should be serving the lord because what are we doing when we're living in sin we're literally telling the Lord you know I don't love you that much isn't that sad so how much do you love Jesus do you love them enough to get your life right and your testimony right and not do these things God is rebuking this church over that one thing fornication and we will see that as we go and read the others over and over and over he rebukes them for fornication in Chapter 2 and verse 21 in verse 20 Jezebel who's teaching them to commit fornication he says I want her to repent I want them to repent so back to Revelation chapter two we'll finish up here Revelation Chapter 2 and verse 6 but this thou Hast that thou hatest the Deeds of the Nicolaitans which I also hate the Nicolaitans were most known for committing fornication and God says I hate that and he said to the Church of Ephesus I'm glad you hate that too do you hate fornication you should I'll just leave it at that in the Bible there's a passage where um the children of Israel committed fornication and God killed something like was it 20 000 or something I forget I should have written that verse down but they died because of that sin today do we think fornication is a sin most people now they go oh no that's just normal oh no that's just wrong that's just you know everybody does that well if everybody's jumping off a cliff or you're going to go jump off a cliff that's what Dad and Mom used to say I'm like no because other people do it doesn't mean you should do it it's a sin it's a sin out of wedlock to do something like that and God hates it and God commended them for hating it as well so do you hate it is the question you need to get married and then you can do it you shouldn't do it before in the Bible God killed people that did that that's how much God hates it how sad that nowadays they make it normal in your schools they teach it's okay they teach kids five years old about it you go to colleges that's why I'm against College most colleges are just party schools or that's all they do all day I don't even know how they graduate they probably pay the teacher off or something but you need to remember God says no no this is something I hate then let's close right there in verse seven he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches okay are we listening remember maybe this is for them in the future maybe but there's still stuff which is for us today and the main take that I get from Ephesus is uh God's telling us not to fornicate I believe it's Hebrews chapter 13 where it says that let's turn it real quick I want you to see that Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 4. marriage is Honorable in all and the bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge God is going to judge people who commit sexual sins and yet today we think nothing of it well as Christians we need to realize God was angry at this church for that and we need to make sure that we don't engage in such a thing amen and so he says he didn't have to near let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God well that sounds like that's in the millennial Kingdom so that sounds like that applies to during this period and if that's the case then it sounds like in the tribulation they will go back to doing that in churches and that the world will become paganized and in the name of religion there will be people doing that in their religious services and a person who truly comes to Christ during that time you would think his conscience would say you know I think this is wrong maybe I need to get away from that and to get away from that well then they get on the radar and then they'll probably beheaded and not want to take the mark of the beast so here we are I hope that was a blessing we went through a lot today didn't we but at least we got through verses one through seven we saw how does does anyone have any questions I wanna I wanna make sure that you understand how it applies to the the church age those seven periods do you all understand that a lot of people it's hard for them to get a hold of you any questions or anything on this anybody have a question it's an STD he said he might have killed them then but oh yeah they're sexual from age and then how many people have this STD sexually transmitted disease yeah and people don't think about crabs and gonorrhea and syphilis and all living a wicked lifestyle is leading to uncleanness like the Bible says and the best thing to do is to stay away from that be clean wait till you're married and you'll be happy you'll be way happier but look at the the Goddess Diana she was a seductress because she's out there openly showing everyone her chest even though she's a monster with like 19 different breasts it's just gross but that's that's what this whole thing was about and it sounds like I I called it New York City you go to New York City what do you see all the trendy people right and and oh look at the in the windows of all these stores and they sell this what is that Victoria's Secret type stuff I mean you get to the big cities you see where the demons and devils are a lot of times they're in the big cities that's why I like the country you get away from them but let's remember this first lesson to Ephesus and let's make it our point to be the type of church that loves the Lord and puts him first and the Bible First and then let's make up our mind we're going to follow the Bible amen and do what the Bible says all right if there are no more questions we'll go ahead and close there I guess we'll close the word of prayer Lord help us to take heed to what we heard today thank you Lord for the opportunity to study this I can't wait till next week when we can continue going through seven churches but uh I pray this would be a blessing to someone and be an encouragement and be edifying and I just pray in Jesus name amen all right amen

Channel: Robert Breaker

Views: 101,939

Keywords: The Book of Revelation, Revelation, Revelations, King James Bible Study, Verse by Verse Bible Study, Verse by verse bible study through Revelation, Robert Breaker

Id: JjelNfmBxy4

Length: 94min 29sec (5669 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 05 2022