A few days ago the Jaques clan (children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren) was having a family get-together where the subjects of conversation can take any number of directions. At one point the subject turned to religion. I probably do not need to tell you where I fit in with the others in the spiritual realm. Only one of my extended family on both sides views my brand of Christianity with anything short of loathing. So I was not shocked when we were all told that God does not punish “saved” people (all who belong to a church) for their sins. He does not, we were told by someone who “knows” the “truth” about Him, punish us when we inevitably sin. I have become accustomed to being “put in my (spiritual) place” by those who know John 3:16 and little else–and they get that wrong. Read the series using the key word 3:16. As far as I was concerned, message heard–message ignored. Why? Because I DO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD. IT IS CALLED “THE HOLY BIBLE,” not church doctrine from whence came the “truth” that had just been used to “straighten me out” spiritually. Jesus was right, a prophet has no honor in his own house and within his own family (Mat. 13:57). I assume that an apostle would suffer the same fate, myself being a prime example.

At the time I thought nothing of the verbal “spanking” I had received relative to my theology ministry in that it was simply business as usual. Then a day or so later I was on the internet and saw a famous preacher/pastor debating someone so I downloaded the clip. For several years I had heard about him in glowing terms and wondered if he was the spiritual giant he was reported to be. I hoped to learn where he stood relative to God’s Word in hopes that he actually believed it, preached it and obeyed it. I was 0 for 3. In the discussion he proclaimed with Biblical authority that “… NO ONE CAN OBEY GOD.” Jesus Christ, he told the viewing world, died so that man would not need to obey God’s Word. His theme has been a church “truth” for 1900 years. The theme is: if you are “saved” (belong to a church) you need only to believe in Jesus’ sacrifice and repent following your inevitable, natural, “Adam made me do it” sins. Case closed. Don’t worry about sin; the fix is in.

I will recite a religious ditty I made up relative to the “sin is always en vogue” church “truth: “Sin and grin, my friend, for in the end, you’ll still win. Pie in the sky; sin till you die, for in the sweet bye and bye, you’ll still get to fly.” And the church world shouts: “AMEN.” But what does God say about that attitude? This ministry, including this series, answers that question. The church rejects His answer.

The conversation between the two religious leaders brought back memories of other such Satanic utterances the Lord has arranged for me to hear over the years. By arranging for me to be in an exact spot at the right time to hear a false prophet utter one of Satan’s proclamations. The following consists of several examples of such “truths” being put forth as “Thus says the Lord.”

One spiritual giant told his local and t.v. congregation to not even try to be righteous, that they would just make themselves sick. After all, they were nothing more than as “society of sinners.” Another one told his people: “You’re all saved; that’s already settled.” A local pillar of the church said that she was not concerned about sin, that, though God doesn’t like it, “He won’t do anything about it.” One religious t.v. star told his congregation one SUNDAY morning that “We must obey God’s Law.” Obviously, commandment #4 was exempted. With all of these “church truths” swirling around in my mind I wondered if God wanted me to write on the church’s continuous sin-repent mantra again. This morning at around 2:00 A.M. I received the answer from on high. It was a definite “yes,” but in a different way. The Lord then directed me back to a series I had written about before on this website. The subject concerned Christ’s messages to the early churches found in Revelation chapters two and three.

However, this time He showed me something I had not focused in on previously. He brought to my attention the fact that each message was in fact two messages to two different groups within each church. Moments ago I finished reading (again) Christ’s Words to the seven churches located along a Roman mail route in Asia between 90 and 100 A.D. These churches characterized the spiritual conditions of the church during the seven church ages (eras) that would rise, remain for a while, then die off as the next era came on the scene. The process has continued to remain true since that time. Today we are living in the seventh (final) church age–the Laodicean era.

The Lord had me to read again His Words to each of those seven churches (eras) in which He emphasized the dual messages declared to five of those churches. The messages to the last two churches contained only one message each. One will notice that the respective messages to the Philadelphia Church (sixth era) and the Laodicean Church (seventh era) not only contain only a single message, but that those messages are exact opposites of each other. We will now examine the Lord’s Words to the seven churches from the standpoint of the double-edged sword (His Word–Eph. 6:17) with which He addresses six of them. If you have not read “My People Who Are Called By My Name” and “Who Are God’s People?” I suggest that you do so following this series. Key words–Called and People respectively.

In the following posting you will find that things are not always as they appear to be relative to the believer’s relationship with the Lord. We will be examining the Lord’s “fine print” relative to the “headlines” that are always put forth as the “final word” on a subject. This series concerns some “fine print” that is summarily rejected by believers in every cult, denomination, faith, congregation, church, etc. Just as the Old Testament was written to, for and about physical Israel, the New Testament was written to, for and about spiritual Israel–the church which was established on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D. And just as God’s messages were two-fold in nature relative to physical Israel, they are also two-fold relative to spiritual Israel.

The central theme is God’s eternal Law which, depending on one’s approach to it, separates true believers from counterfeit believers. This series will emphasize this dichotomy in words that leave no doubt as to God’s attitude toward everyone involved in those churches during their respective eras. This is a very important series due to 1) the Biblical Truths it proclaims and 2) the timing of the last two messages. The signs of the times (read about using the key word–signs) reveal that Christ’s return to earth is rapidly approaching. I believe His arrival to be between four and six years. Regardless of the timing, this generation will find itself in a 3 1/2 year period of terror, destruction and death that Jesus said will be worse than all of the calamities that have come before it–COMBINED. The social, natural, medical, political, economic, military turmoil we are witnessing today is what He calls “the beginning of sorrows” (Mat. 24:8). The 3 1/2 year period to come is called The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord which will end upon His arrival. Read about it using the word Tribulation as the key. It is my hope that you will join the tiny group who will be taken to God’s place of safety before the Tribulation period. There they will be protected and provided for as the world around them is consumed by the flames of World War III. Read about the Very Elect’s place of safety using the key word–Safety. L.J.