For the last few years, since we have been learning this truth; we have found that some of the knowledge has been greatly resisted. One of these things is the eras of the church. We have found that very few people have any regard for Mr. Armstrong, or the Philadelphian church, as mentioned in Revelation. The churches that do acknowledge the Philadelphian era mostly say they are still in it. The reason for this is, to truly acknowledge Mr. Armstrong as being the physical leader of the Philadelphian church, means that we have to now admit, that we are in the Laodicean era of God’s Church. No one wants to be in that era, except God’s chosen people. This is the era with far and away the best reward. That fact is always overlooked, when the Laodicean era is mentioned.

Most of the offshoots of God’s church teach a variety of what they have learned from Mr. Armstrong, while absolutely refusing to mention him or acknowledge the work he did. We are now in a time, as described in the book of Timothy.

2Ti 4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

2Ti 4:4  and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

God’s people will not hear false teachers.

Joh 10:1  “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Joh 10:2  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

Joh 10:3  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Joh 10:4  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Joh 10:5  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

God has people reserved in this end time who will not listen to false doctrine.

The membership of the Laodicean church will be made up from people who directly or indirectly learned the knowledge from the Philadelphian era of God’s church. The knowledge of the truth is available to all. It is up to us whether we accept this truth. [This is different knowledge from the Philadelphian era, and very few will change their belief, when they see it in the Bible].

Let us not be like the Jews in the following verse.

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Satan hates the fact that the knowledge of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God from the beginning, is being restored in the Laodicean era. We have found tremendous resistance to this truth. Satan well knew that Jesus Christ [the Word] was God’s Son. Look how Satan addressed Christ.

Mat 4:3  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

The scriptures are plain that Christ is the Son of God from the beginning, but, it seems that only a few of God’s people will believe it.

Joh 17:3  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Satan has tried to get rid of the knowledge that English speaking people are modern day Joseph. This knowledge was given to the Philadelphian era, and is proved correct in the book of Ezekiel.

Eze 3:5  For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel,

Eze 3:6  not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

The scattered churches talk about the end time, and the state of the world, but they will not believe new knowledge, regardless of whom it comes from.

Luk 16:28  for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’

Luk 16:29  Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

Luk 16:30  And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

Luk 16:31  But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

We have showed some of the churches the knowledge of God from the book of Moses, and it has been flatly rejected. Only God’s chosen ones will believe God’s word.

God could find no fault worth mentioning, in the Philadelphian church; but He has plenty to say about the Laodicean church.

Rev 3:15  “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

Rev 3:16  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Rev 3:17  Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked

The overcomers in the Laodicean era of God’s church have an incredible reward waiting. There can be offered to us, no greater reward.

Rev 3:21  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

The gates of the grave will be a prolific enemy of this church. We will have to go through the time of Jacob’s trouble, which will decimate the English speaking Nations. This punishment will be brought on by God the Father; because of all the evils; which are now in our land. God will protect His people, during this time.

The actor James Stewart was a pilot in the Second World War, his father slipped a copy of the 91st Psalm into his pocket; when he went off to war. God backed up that faith, and James Stewart was unhurt during his time in the forces. This very same Psalm will apply to us during the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Psa 91:1  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

Psa 91:3  Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.

Psa 91:4  He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

Psa 91:5  You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Psa 91:6  Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Psa 91:7  A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.

Psa 91:8  Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.

Psa 91:9  Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

Psa 91:10  No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

Psa 91:11  For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.

Psa 91:12  In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Psa 91:13  You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

Psa 91:14  “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

Psa 91:15  He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

Psa 91:16  With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

The church will be protected during the time of Jacob’s trouble; but it will then have to go through the martyrdom of saints.

Dan 11:35  And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.

Jesus Christ lay down His life for us: we may have to lay down our life for Him. In the time of Jacobs’s trouble; people will die by God’s hand, for their refusal to obey God. In the martyrdom of saints; God’s people will die by Satan’s hand, for obedience to God. Much better to die for God, than by God.

Mat 24:9  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

There will be traitors and turncoats in this church. To be for-warned is to be for-armed. It is up to each and every one of us to ensure that does not apply to us.

Mat 24:10  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

Jesus Christ was put to death for saying that He was the Son of God. Satan will seek to destroy this church, because we also are saying that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Joh 19:7  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.”

Jesus Christ is now establishing His church, on the knowledge that He is the Son of God from the beginning. The Laodicean church will follow Christ, wherever He leads. This will be the work of God.

We will be hated by the other churches of God, who do not accept this truth.

Hos 9:8  The watchman of Ephraim is with my God; But the prophet is a fowler’s snare in all his ways Enmity in the house of his God.

Self-righteousness and complacency will be a big enemy of the Laodicean era of God’s church. Satan will be very real, and he will be after every one of us.

1Pe 5:6  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

1Pe 5:7  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1Pe 5:9  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

God’s pastors have let the membership down badly.

Jer 23:1  “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD.

Jer 23:2  Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the LORD.

It is extremely important that we don’t let anyone take our crown, or stop us from entering the Kingdom of God.

Rev 3:11  Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Mat 23:13  “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

The overcomers in the Laodicean church of God will have far and away the best reward of all the eras: and, as a result, will be the hardest era to be in. We must stay close to God, and have faith in the outcome even until death. The following scriptures need to be taken very seriously.

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Luk 13:28  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

I just want to talk about the law for a few minutes.

When Jesus came; He added love and mercy to the law of God.

Mat 22:36  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Mat 22:37  Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.

Mat 22:39  And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Mat 23:23  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Heb 10:28  Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

The woman taken in adultery was shown mercy by Christ. She was not condemned, but she was told to sin no more.

Joh 8:10  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

Joh 8:11  She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Jud 1:4  For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 3:31  Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

God’s law is established through faith, love and mercy. There are times when strict adherence to God’s law is actually breaking the law of love. If your neighbour’s ox is stuck in a ditch on the Sabbath, and you can help; it is breaking God’s law if you don’t help. Just remember God is not mocked.

We have been quite firm in this article about people not believing the truth. Please mark this well, we can only believe and accept the truth when God opens our minds to do so. At the time of writing God has not opened the minds of many people to believe and accept the new knowledge. This time is known only by God. We have made the knowledge accessible to everyone by the World Wide Web (internet) but it is up to God when people will accept and love this truth.