As previously stated: THE NATION OF ISRAEL IS GOD’S ELECT (Isa. 45:4). Because God has not, does not and will not change (Mal. 3:6), the entirety of His Holy Bible was written to and about His Elect. What I have written on this website and spoken about on my YouTube site have concerned only one entity–the globally scattered saints known as both “the church” and “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16). We will now see how He describes these people in general (His Elect) who are beloved for the sake of the Israelite Fathers. In the previous series we learned about the future of a small remnant of His Elect known as the Very Elect. These are they who, as verse 15 reveals, have become a “new creation.” The Word “creature” refers to a created entity.

In Colossians 3:12 the Apostle Paul calls God’s Elect (Israel) “holy and beloved.” In Titus 1:1 he writes about the faith, godliness and knowledge of God’s Truth exhibited by His Elect. In Mark 13:20 Jesus said that God would shorten the time of the Great Tribulation for the sake of His Elect Whom He calls His “chosen,” a tiny number (remnant) of whom comprise His true church (Mat. 7:13,14). In 1 Timothy 2:10 Paul stated that he endured the Jews’ hatred toward him for the sake of the Elect. In Romans 11:7 he noted that the Elect had been given the power to recognize and understand God’s Truth–His Word (Jn. 17:17). All others, he noted, have been blinded to Its existence and meaning.

In the Scriptures (Old and New Testaments) we find the Almighty saying that there would be two well- defined groups that would make up His Elect who were also referred to as “the people of God,” “My people” and “those who are called by My name.” In Revelation chapters 2,3 Jesus tells the Apostle John to write to the seven churches of Asia Minor that lay along a Roman mail route in the area today known as Turkey. John would identify each church by calling it “… the church of _________,” referring to the city in which it was located.

As the Bible student studies the Lord’s message to each church he will find that they were primarily messages of warning in which He chastises each church, tells it what it is doing wrong, then warns it to get back on the right track–or else. One will find no mention of such modern “truths” as “faith is all that is needed for salvation,” or “once saved, always saved.” Nor will one find Him saying that the church is comprised of “sinners saved by grace.” God simply says: “It’s My way or the highway.” An honest study of God’s Words to the churches of John’s Day leaves one with the knowledge that He was not pleased with them. However, the Bible student will find one church about which He had only good things to say–the Church at Philadelphia. Let us remember that all of the churches were experiencing the same rejection and persecution from non-Christians. By carefully studying the Scriptures we find that the Church of Philadelphia was the Very Elect while the other six churches were merely the Elect. We find the Lord making this distinction in Matthew 24:24. By comparing Revelation 3:7-13 to Matthew 24:24 one will conclude that the Lord is referring to people of all church eras who lived on the same spiritual level. These people believed and obeyed His Word during their lifetimes.

Let us understand that the seven churches John wrote to represented the seven eras of New Testament church history. The first era (Ephesus) began with the establishment of the New Covenant Church on the Day of Pentecost A.D. 31. The church is now in the final (Laodecian) era which will end with the return of Jesus Christ. God’s message to this church is found in Revelation 3:14-22. Note that the Philadelphia era was the next to last era. Note also that each church era bled into the following era and remained in existence while the next era was forming. The Philadelphian era came into existence during the 1930’s. Though today she is extremely small in number, rejected and considered socially insignificant, the Philadelphians continue to believe and obey God’s Word in spite of the rejection of the Laodicean church which is now in the dominant position. Read Revelation 4:14-22 for a description of the Laodicean (Catholic/ Protestant) system that today claims the title of “the church.” L.J.