We are now in the Laodicean era of God’s church.
Mr.
Armstrong, God’s faithful steward, always taught that
we were in the Philadelphian era of God’s church. Now
I think we would all agree with that statement. But
Mr. Armstrong died in 1986. Fortunately, his teachings
have kept up right until the turn of this century.
Over the years since Mr. Armstrong’s death,
there has been little new knowledge put into the
church. That is because this church has become
the Laodicean Era.
This is now the Laodicean Era, this is the
church which will witness the time of Jacob’s Trouble
and the Day of the Lord. This is the church on whom
the ends of the age will come. These are very serious
times we live in. At any time the work as we know it
could come to an end. We have very little time left to
warn the world, and to make ready a people prepared
for the Lord.
This is God’s last era of the church before the
time of the end comes. Many
years ago the church was fervent about study and
prayer, members were zealous, on fire, because they
thought the end was very close. This is many
years later, why don't we feel like that now?
We don't know
exactly when Christ will return, but we know it is
closer than when we first believed. Why have we just
gone off to sleep?
Why don’t we
get interested in our calling? Are we waiting for
world events to wake us up?
What about the
fact that God will close the door on some of His
people before the obvious signs of the time of the
end come about?
This is made obvious in a number of places in
scripture. The 5 virgins, were too late, God said He
did not know them. Seek
the Lord while He may be found.
This is serious let’s look at this warning from
Christ:
Mat 24:43 But know this, that if the
master of the house had known what hour the thief
would come, he would have watched and not allowed
his house to be broken into.
Mat 24:44 Therefore you
also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an
hour you do not expect.
We do not know when Christ will return. Now
let’s see the remainder of Matt 24.
Mat 24:45 "Who then is a faithful and wise
servant, whom his master made ruler over his
household, to give them food in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is
that servant whom his master, when he comes, will
find so doing.
The church thought that 1972 would see the place
of safety, but that has come and gone, but that does
not mean that Jacob’s Trouble and the Day of the Lord
will not come. They are still going to come. The
scriptures still stand. Now we are getting very close
to that time now. There are some very serious things
which we need to do before that time comes.
We must get close to God. We must be without
spot and blemish, get serious about our calling. Try
harder to please God. We must be about our Father’s
business forget what this world is offering us in the
way of T.V. etc. the world is perishing...God’s word
is forever.
We must believe God, we must be able to stand up
and be counted before the terrible events depicted in
the pages of scripture, roll on into our lives and
catch us unaware.
Brethren this is not some fictitious story, this
is fact, these events are going to happen. The world
as we know it is going to perish, the greater majority
of mankind will perish in Jacob’s Trouble and the Day
of the Lord.
Wake up this
is real, God wants us to be on His side, He wants us
to be in His kingdom.
DO WE WANT TO
BE THERE?
It is not very popular to say we are the
Laodicean era of the church, but like it or not that
is what we are. We are not concerned with saying
smooth things, we are saying God’s words, which are
the truth to the last era of God’s church.
Let’s look at the description of the
Rev 3:14 "And to the angel of the church
of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the
Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning
of the creation of God:
In the opening verse here we see Christ
described, it is interesting to see that the fact that
Christ is the beginning of the creation is addressed
in the opening stanza. This brings to mind this
wonderful scripture "Christ is the firstborn of
creation" This is showing that this era of God’s
church, would have this precious knowledge of the
Father and the Son restored at this time. How
exciting.
Rev 3:15 "I know your works, that you are
neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold
or hot.
What a tragedy, this era of God’s church is
neither cold nor hot. They are not cold because they
still love God. They still do a work, they still keep
the Holy Days and the Sabbath, but they are not hot,
they are not on fire for God. They have gone to sleep.
This church has been fast asleep since the death of
Mr. Armstrong.
We are too busy sleeping. When we go to church,
God is rarely mentioned in our conversations before
and after church. How much prayer and study and
meditation do we do? When
was the last time we had a fast day? How serious do
we take our calling? Is
God first in our lives, or just shoved in somewhere
for appearance sake?
BE CAREFUL GOD
SAYS I KNOW THY WORKS.
Mat 25:1 "Then the kingdom
of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took
their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2 Now five of them were wise, and
five were
foolish.
Mat 25:3 Those who were
foolish took their lamps and took no oil with
them,
Mat 25:4 but the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps.
Mat 25:5 But while the
bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and
slept.
Mat 25:6 "And at midnight
a cry was heard:
'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet
him!'
Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins arose and
trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8 And the foolish said to the
wise, 'Give us some
of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No,
lest there should not be enough for us and you;
but go rather to those who sell, and buy for
yourselves.'
Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in
with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11 "Afterward the other virgins
came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said,
'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
Mat 25:13 "Watch therefore, for you know
neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of
Man is coming.
Notice verse 5, they all slumbered and slept.
This is the end time church, waiting for the
return of Christ. They all slept.
1Th 5:7 For those
who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk
are drunk at night.
1Th 5:8 But let us
who are of the day be sober, putting on the
breastplate of faith and love, and as a
helmet the hope of salvation.
We are told not to sleep, but be sober.
Rom 13:11 And do
this, knowing the time, that now it is
high time to awake out of sleep; for now our
salvation is
nearer than when we first
believed.
Note these points, knowing the time, we must
know what time we are at, this is the end time, and
note: awake out of sleep.
At the time of the end, we must wake up.
To be cold, is to turn away from God completely,
this is not the case for some in this era of God’s
church. We are still doing a work, we keep the Sabbath
and Holy Days. We love God, we are faithfully
fulfilling our commission, but some are lukewarm.
Mat 24:12 And because lawlessness will
abound, the love of many will grow cold.
But the church is not cold, it is lukewarm.
Let’s look at what it means to be Hot for God.
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.'
To love God with our whole heart, soul and mind,
would mean we would have to be hot. We would want to
devote a lot of time in prayer, bible study and
meditation, and good works.
Ecc 9:10 Whatever
your hand finds to do, do it with
your might; for there is
no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the
grave where you are going.
We must put all our efforts into this precious
calling, and do it with all our might.
The Laodicean church is not hot for God.
Rev 3:16 So then, because you are
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit
you out of My mouth.
Christ says He will vomit this era out of His
mouth.
We are about to be rejected by Christ.
Hos 4:6 My people
are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you
have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from
being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the
law of your God, I also will forget your children.
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
Rev 3:17……I am rich
Mar 10:24 And the
disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus
answered again and said to them, "Children,
how hard it is for those who trust in riches to
enter the
Mar 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter the
Mat 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal;
Mat 6:20 but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and
steal.
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
This scripture is saying to spend our time on
the treasures in heaven, not the material things on
earth, how can our heart be on the things of our
Father, when we have money matters on our minds all
the time? Where
is our treasure?
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
Become wealthy, and have need of nothing....
Pro 13:7 There is
one who makes himself rich, yet has
nothing; And
one who makes himself poor, yet has
great riches.
Pro 11:28 He who
trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous
will flourish like foliage.
The Laodiceans trust in their wealth and say
they don’t need anything, but we should know that we
need God desperately and riches can disappear very
quickly.
Rev 3:17……and do not know
that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and
naked
They don’t know that they are in this condition.
We must be aware of our spiritual condition. If we are
not close to God then we will be miserable, if we are
close to God we will be happy.
Psa 16:11 You will
show me the path of life; In Your presence is
fullness of joy; At Your right hand are
pleasures forevermore.
Rev 3:17……poor, blind, and
naked
Luk 12:20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This
night your soul will be required of you; then
whose will those things be which you have
provided?'
Luk 12:21 "So is he
who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich
toward God."
God says we must be rich toward Him, these are
the true riches in life, all material things will
perish, but riches toward God are eternal. The
Laodicean church is poor.
Mat 23:24 Blind guides, who strain out a
gnat and swallow a camel!
Mat 23:25 "Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside
of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of
extortion and self-indulgence.
These people were only concerned with outside
appearances, worrying about small things that mattered
not, the big things, and the inner man were left
undone. These people were blind spiritually, so is the
Laodicean era.
Rev 19:7 Let us be
glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the
marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made
herself ready."
Rev 19:8 And to her
it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts
of the saints.
Instead of being naked we must be clothed with
the righteousness of the saints. The Laodiceans are
naked.
Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me
gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich;
and white garments, that you may be clothed, that
the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;
and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may
see.
Rev 3:18……Gold refined in
the fire, that you may be rich,
Mal 3:2 "But who
can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand
when He appears? For He is like
a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap.
Mal 3:3 He will
sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will
purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and
silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering
in righteousness.
Gold tried in the fire is righteousness. White
garments that you may be clothed...
Rev 19:8 And to her
it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts
of the saints.
The Laodiceans need to be clothed with
righteousness, they have not got it, they are not
righteous,
Rev 3:18……that the shame of
your nakedness may not be revealed;
2Co 5:1 For we
know that if our earthly house, this
tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2Co 5:2 For in
this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with
our habitation which is from heaven,
2Co 5:3 if indeed,
having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.
2Co 5:4 For we who
are in this
tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to
be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality
may be swallowed up by life.
We need to have the desire to be clothed with
eternal life,
Rev 3:18…… and anoint your
eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
Luk 10:23 Then He
turned to His
disciples and said privately, "Blessed
are
the eyes which see the things you see;
Luk 10:24 for I tell you that many
prophets and kings have desired to see what you
see, and have not seen it,
and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."
Christ wants us to see the spiritual truths
which He reveals, and unfortunately the Laodiceans
cannot see these revealed truths. So they are
told to anoint their eyes. God reveals these truths,
but we need to ask Him.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Pro 13:1 A wise son
heeds
his father's instruction, But a scoffer does not
listen to rebuke.
We must listen when God rebukes us, it is not
easy but leads to our ultimate salvation.
Dan 10:12 Then he
said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first
day that you set your heart to understand, and to
humble yourself before your God, your words were
heard; and I have come because of your words.
This is the attitude we need to be looking for,
Daniel chastened himself, and examined himself
thoroughly, and God called him much beloved.
God rebukes and chastens us in the hope that we
will repent and be zealous.
Tit 2:14 who gave
Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every
lawless deed and purify for Himself His own
special people, zealous for good works.
We must be zealous, God demands this attitude of
us.
Mat 3:2 and
saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand!"
We are in the last days, now is the time to
repent before it is too late for us, God wants to see
this repentant attitude in us, but soon it will be too
late. God
will not wait forever for us. These are the last days.
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.
Rev 3:20…… Behold I stand
at the door and knock.....
God wants to come in to our lives. He is telling
us that He is at our door. He is very
close and can be found easily, but sadly most of us
are just too busy to open our bibles and invite Him
into our lives.
Rev 3:20…… If anyone hears
my voice...
Mar 4:20 But these are the ones sown on
good ground, those who hear the word, accept it,
and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and
some a hundred."
Addressing the Laodiceans, God says if any man
hears my voice. Unfortunately
it seems many do not hear, but if they do then they
will bring forth fruit. This is what God wants of us,
we must hear Him and open the door.
Rev 3:20…… I will come in
to him...
Once we hear God, we have to do something about
it, we must respond, we must open the door and then
God will come in to us, open our minds, believe God,
open our bibles, listen to God talking to us.
Joh 14:23 Jesus
answered and said to him, "If anyone loves
Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love
him, and We will come to him and make Our home with
him.
God wants to live within us, but He won’t force
His way in to our lives. He will only
come if we want Him.
We have to show Him we want Him to live in us.
We must believe Him, we must act on what we know.
Rev 3:20…… I will come in to
him and dine with him, and he with Me.
God wants a friendly relationship He wants to
really get to know us, and for us to really get to
know Him. This can only happen by way of a lot of time
spent in bible study, prayer, meditation and fasting,
we need to get really close to God.
This is the main meal that we want to share with
Christ, notice the following scripture.
Rev 19:9 Then he
said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are
those who are called to the marriage supper of the
Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true
sayings of God."
We all want the wedding invitation. Would anyone
be invited if Christ didn’t know them? Let’s get close
to God while there is still time.
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.
Look at the fabulous reward that awaits the ones
who overcome, they will sit on thrones, what a great
reward of authority. This is certainly worth trying
for.
Mat 19:28 So Jesus
said to them, "Assuredly
I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the
Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you
who have followed Me will also sit on twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
The disciples were also given thrones, so what a
great reward this will be.
Rev 2:29 "He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches."
We must be able to listen to what Christ is
telling us, this is said over and over again to the
Laodicean Era of God’s Church. We must heed
this warning if we want to obtain the reward Christ is
offering to us.
As was stated earlier, this is the Era of God’s
church which will witness Jacob’s Trouble and the Day
of the Lord. Therefore, there is a parable about
Jacob’s Trouble which is applicable to the
Laodicean Era of God’s church, and will apply to us if
we do not heed the warnings given to the Laodicean Era
by Christ.
Mat 20:1 "For the kingdom of heaven is
like a landowner who went out early in the morning
to hire laborers for his vineyard.
Mat 20:2 Now when he had agreed with the
laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into
his vineyard.
Mat 20:3 And he went out about the third
hour and saw others standing idle in the
marketplace,
Mat 20:4 and said to them, 'You also go
into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will
give you.' So they went.
Mat 20:5 Again he went out
about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did
likewise.
Mat 20:6 And about the eleventh hour he
went out and found others standing idle, and said
to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all
day?'
Mat 20:7 They said to him,
'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You
also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you
will receive.'
Mat 20:8 "So when evening had come, the
owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call
the laborers and give them their
wages, beginning with the last to the first.'
Mat 20:9 And when
those came who were hired
about the eleventh hour, they each received a
denarius.
Mat 20:10 But when
the first came, they supposed that they would
receive more; and they likewise received each a
denarius.
Mat 20:11 And when
they had received it, they
complained against the landowner,
Mat 20:12 saying,
'These last men have
worked only
one hour, and you made them equal to us who have
borne the burden and the heat of the day.'
Mat 20:13 But he
answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing
you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a
denarius?
Mat 20:14 Take what is
yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last
man the
same as to you.
Mat 20:15 Is it not
lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?
Or is your eye evil because I am good?'
Mat 20:16 So the last will
be first, and the first last. For many are called,
but few chosen."
In this parable we see people who have been in
the church for various amounts of time, some, early in
the morning, could mean as long as 60 years, third
hour, sixth hour, ninth hour, eleventh hour, this
group of people could be new converts or even people
who repent during the time of Jacob’s Trouble. As is
pointed out in the following scripture, remember the
reward that Christ spoke of in the parable in Matt 20
was the same for all of them...eternal life....
Rev 7:9 After
these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude
which no one could number, of all nations, tribes,
peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and
before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm
branches in their hands,
Rev 7:13 Then one
of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these
arrayed in white robes, and where did they come
from?"
Rev 7:14 And I said
to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These
are the ones who come out of the great tribulation,
and washed their robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb.
Here we see a great multitude which has repented
during Jacob’s Trouble. That is why God sends the four
judgments, to cause
The fact that they have repented means that God
can now work with them, and He is pleased with their
attitude and gives them eternal life. They obviously
believe God and realise the error of their ways. They
obviously wanted eternal life, and asked God to help
them, they turned to Him with their whole heart, it
took Jacob’s Trouble to bring out the attitude in them
but they did eventually have that attitude.
The people going through Jacob’s Trouble will be
some from the Laodicean Era, some of them are vomited
out of God’s mouth. They will be forced to go through
the four judgments so they can see the error of their
ways. They
need to believe God. This is one of their great
sins, they will not believe God.
This is shocking truth here in the pages of our
bibles. We
can be in the church for many many years and because
of our attitude toward God, not believing Him or
worrying about what men think instead of what God
thinks, being lukewarm and generally going to sleep
regarding our calling.
If we are guilty of this attitude in our lives,
we will actually not be firstfruits but be someone who
hopefully repents during the time of Jacob’s Trouble.
This is a bitter pill to swallow, but notice how
the people in Matt 20 v 11 murmured against Christ. They were
not a bit happy when they realised they had failed to
become a firstfruit. Even though they had been in the
church for years and years and the last group of
people had only been in the church a short while.
This is difficult to accept and believe, but it
is true, let’s look at Verse 16, many are called but
few are chosen. We have an article entitled Called
Chosen and Faithful, which explains this process in
great detail.
Many people in God’s church have been called but
not chosen.
This is because they fail to believe God, they
worry about what the world thinks of them instead of
what God thinks of them.
They lack courage to step out and look into
their bibles and believe God, they are too busy with
this world and what it has to offer. They forget
about God, He comes a long way down the list of
priorities. They are lukewarm and asleep spiritually.
Wake up, God says the Laodicean era is lukewarm,
we will be vomited out of His mouth, if we don’t
repent and change the course of our lives. If we want
to be a firstfruit, we have to believe God, repent and
change our lives. We have to follow God where ever He
leads or we will go through Jacob’s Trouble.
That is why the pages of our bibles tell us what
is going to happen, we either ignore it and find out
the hard way, or we believe the bible, and what God is
telling us and change our ways before it is too late.
These are the facts in our bibles. We are the
Laodicean Era of the Church. We can be in the church
for as long as 60 years, and not be a firstfruit. We
can end up with the same reward as someone in the
world who repents in Jacob’s Trouble. If we do not
change our attitude Christ will vomit us out of His
mouth and we will go through the four judgments to
learn what God is trying to tell us right now. It is
the church that the parables of the 10 virgins and the
workers in the field are talking about. Not people who
have gone out from our church, not people who have
turned their back on God. It is us right now sitting
very comfortably in church every week nodding off to
sleep. We just love to sit there and point the finger
and say, these things apply to someone else.....no
they don’t....Wake up...these scriptures are talking
about God’s end time people and these warnings
regardless of how uncomfortable, no matter how hard
the saying, are about us right now. NOT SOMEBODY
ELSE....
WHAT ARE WE
GOING TO DO ABOUT THE WARNINGS?
WE ARE THE LAODICEAN ERA, WE WILL GO THROUGH JACOB’S
TROUBLE UNLESS WE REPENT AND CHANGE. WE MUST
BELIEVE GOD AND THE PAGES OF OUR BIBLES.
