THE SEVENTH CHURCH


The World, the Word & You! Broadcast
Commentary by Dennis L. Finnan

"There are many people in churches, even entire congregations, who are lost. They may be sincere, zealous, and outwardly religious, but they are doomed, FOR THEY ARE MEMBERS OF THE SEVENTH CHURCH!"

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about this startling revelation God gives us in His Word….

…Hello listening friend and welcome to today's broadcast of the World, the Word & You!, featuring thirty minutes of biblical commentary and as always beautiful music for your listening enjoyment. I'm Dennis Finnan your host and speaker thanking you again for joining us today. If you are hearing us on the radio in the Unites States or by short-wave broadcast in the South Pacific, it is because of the kind care and prayers of Christians around this nation who believe in our work of spreading God's Good News to all the world. We are grateful indeed for God's blessings upon us for over twenty years to be on the air and the Internet with the saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, we make no apologies for that, but we do extend a heart of love for you our listeners.

Say, we would appreciate it if you who listen regularly, would write to us and let us know you do, and where you hear us, or access our internet broadcasts. Please write to us, for it is our only way of knowing that we are reaching out to you in your area of the world. Quickly our address is the World, the Word & You! Broadcast, Post Office Box 575, St. Charles, MN 55972 USA.

Well speaking of areas of the world, today we are going to visit Asia Minor, not in this century, but long ago, and we are going to visit a church there once established for God and His glory. Now as we go there, be prepared to find out some startling things that can help you in either seeking a religious faith of value, or maintaining the wonders of Christ in your heart till He comes in glory. But first, let's pause right now and listen to our first moment of music…

…Today we are going to study some of the very first churches established under the Christian faith that operated at the end of the first century. In chapters 2 and 3, of the Book of Revelation, we have individual letters addressed to the seven churches of Asia. The letters may be interpreted in at least three ways. (1) "First of all, they describe conditions that actually existed in the seven local churches at the time the apostle John was writing. (2) Secondly, they give a view of Christendom on earth at any one time in its history. The features found in these letters have existed in part, at least, in every century since Pentecost.  (3) Finally, the letters give a consecutive preview of the history of Christendom, each church representing a distinct period. Sadly, though the general trend of conditions reported is downward."[[1]]

But today I want to zero in on one of these seven churches in Asia Minor of the first century. It is called the Church of Laodicea, for in the Book of Revelation in chapter three from verses 14-22, God gives us an account that is startling, eye-opening, and a serious warning to any local church that exists today in the 21st century. Let's take a peek at it and find out what the Lord God wants us to know for our learning and edification. But before I present today's message entitled: THE SEVENTH CHURCH, let's pause once more and listen to this…

… The ancient city of Laodicea, spoken about in the Bible of the first century, was built by the Seleucid monarch, Antiochus II (261–246 B.C.), and was named after his wife, Laodice. It was a city of considerable size, trade, and wealth, specializing in the manufacture of wool. It was a bone of contention in Asia Minor under the Romans and under the Turks. In later times it was a Christian city of importance and was the residence of a bishop, as well as the meeting place of church councils. But, pride and self-satisfaction characterized the people of this city, and unfortunately it made their impressions on the local church there as well. In later years, the city was destroyed by the Moslems in the Middle Ages, and today the site of the once wealthy city is a mass of ruins, and forgotten memories.

Now the seven churches spoken about and to in Revelation chapters 2-3, can be summarized as follows:

1.     The Church of Ephesus - "The Backslidden Church" ( Rev. 2:1-7)

2.     The Church of Smyrna - "The Suffering Church" ( Rev. 2:8-10)

3.     The Church of  Pergamos - "The Compromising Church"( Rev 2:12-17)

4.     The Church of Thyatira - "The Corrupted Church" (Rev. 2:18-29)

5.     The Church of  Sardis - "The Dying Church" (Rev. 3:1-6)

6.     The Church of Philadelphia - "The Faithful Church" (Rev. 3:7-13)

7.     The Church of Laodicea - "The Apostate Church" (Rev. 3:14-22)

It is with special attention today we'll look at this last church which the Lord of the Churches, Jesus Christ speaks to, and  see why. Let's read the passage of Scripture that pertains to them right now.

Rev 3:14-22 (NIV)  ""To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.""

Wow! If ever there was a "rebuke" given by God,  this is it. You see friends, the Christian faith and its local churches gathered together are not just an organization like the "Shriners," or any other organized group of people. The local churches of Christianity are really one Church, regardless of what differing viewpoints they may have as to Scripture ¾ provided of course, they "are" a true church of Jesus Christ. You see, just professing the name "Christian," or "Christ," even doing so for a thousand years and having a large number of followers does not constitute being Christian nor make it a legitimate church of Jesus Christ. This was an issue in the book of Revelation chapters 2-3, as the Lord of the Church, the resurrected and living Christ, by His Holy Spirit instructed the apostle John to write these letters to the seven existing churches in Asia Minor. In these letters, God spoke to the leader and his people who claimed His Name and told them of His praise and His disappointment and even anger with them. In the last church addressed, I believe we come to what might best be called the FALSE CHURCH, or APOSTATE CHURCH. What do I mean by that? Well, exactly as the words state. The Laodicean Church Jesus addresses, was a group of people gathered in Christ's Name who had essentially ended up abandoning Him and had left Him out! This is the concept and meaning of Christ's own words later spoken in,

Rev 3:20 (NIV)  "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

Here was a church, the seventh church of Asia-Minor, that was once organized in Christ's Name, filled with people who claimed to know and love Him, but God says they, in time, LEFT HIM OUT! The Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ, was not a part of this church at all anymore. Now, can something like this truly happen? The answer friend is YES! Even to this date there are many churches, even entire denominations, and sects that claim to be of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be Christian, but according to the Bible they are not! Now you might be asking, "well then, what constitutes a church that is Christian?"  "How can one tell if it is God's true church group or not?" "Is it in the name?" "Can I trust denominational or church names like Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Charismatic or Catholic?" The answer friend, startlingly, is NO! The question to be asked is,  "What does the local church teach about God, Christ, the Bible, Sin, Salvation, the Future life, etc."

Now all this shouldn't alarm you, for it's quite simple how to know if an organized body of people claiming to be Christian are or are not. Want to know how to judge? Well, here in a nutshell is a standard or criteria for testing them. Ask the following questions. "Does the church I attend, or group I belong to teach the following?" Do they believe …

  1. THE BIBLE BOTH OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS ALONE, IS THE COMPLETED, INERRANT, FULLY AND VERBALLY INSPIRED, INFALLIBLE REVELATION OF GOD'S WORD TO ALL MEN TODAY. This faith means a Christian receives no further revelation from any source, be it angel or men, and is to rely upon this book alone for all doctrine, teaching, faith, and ministry in the name of Jesus Christ.
  2. THAT GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF IN THREE DIVINE AND DISTINCT PERSONS, GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, YET ALL THREE ARE BUT ONE GOD. This is called the doctrine of the Trinity, and it teaches that God has miraculously revealed Himself as fully God in all three.
  3. GOD HAS REVEALED THROUGH HIS WORD THAT ALL HUMANITY IS LOST BY SIN, AND AWAITS AN ETERNAL JUDGMENT IN A LITERAL AND EVERLASTING PLACE CALLED HELL. This final destiny of unsaved souls that live forever. There future residence will be a place of torment, fire and suffering unending as long as God exist which is forever.
  4. GOD HAS REVEALED THROUGH HIS WORD THAT ALL HUMANITY THAT BELIEVES IN CHRIST'S PERSON AND WORK ALONE, IS SAVED FROM SUCH WRATH AND PENALTY AND IS GRANTED BY GRACE ALONE, HEAVEN, ETERNAL LIFE AND FULL FORGIVENESS FROM ALL SIN ONCE FOR ALL AND FOREVER, WHEN THEY TRULY BELIEVE. This is the doctrine of  salvation by "grace alone." It is a faith that trusts in Jesus Christ to save them by His substitutionary death on the cross. By the shedding of His blood, all sin is atoned for, and is applied to all who believe.
  5. GOD HAS REVEALED IN HIS WORD THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE PRE-INCARNATE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY, AND THAT HIS MIRACULOUS VIRGIN BIRTH WAS THE MEANS WHEREBY HE FUSED HIMSELF WITH MAN, AND MADE THIS GOD/MAN, THE PERFECT SINLESS SACRIFICE FOR OUR SINS. Jesus of Nazareth was and is forever our God, and His life, death and resurrection are the only means to saving sinners from a lost eternity.
  6. GOD HAS REVEALED IN HIS WORD THAT CHRIST ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN WHERE HE RESIDES IN A GLORIFIED, LITERAL RESURRECTED BODY, AWAITING HIS PROMISED LITERAL RETURN TO JUDGE THE WORLD OF ITS SIN, AND TO RESCUE HIS SAINTS FROM THAT JUDGMENT.

Although there is much more doctrine and teaching of the Christian faith, the truth is if your religious group does not hold to any one of these "fundamentals," then…. you and your church are members in a sense, of the SEVENTH CHURCH of Revelation.

Now let's examine closely this APOSTATE CHURCH. First of all, there are four areas of failure, the Lord of the Church told these people, who were gathered as the Church of Laodicea..

(1)They lost their Zeal & Emphasis, (Rev.3:16-17),

(2)They lost their lost their Values & Purpose (Rev.3:17-18).

(3)They lost their Priorities & Principles (Rev.3:18b).

(4)They had abandoned "the Faith" (Rev. 3:17-22).

Listen to Christ's sharp words…

Rev 3:16-22 (NIV)  "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.""

The Lord says here that although the church was founded on truth, and started off rightly, somewhere along the way through decades of its existence, it lost all these important facets of the true faith. It no longer zealously taught the need for souls to be saved, for saints to grow in the Word, to trust it, to live it, and to zealously share it.

You know, in the Christian life, there are three “spiritual temperatures”: a burning heart, on fire for God (Luke 24:32), a cold heart (Matt. 24:12), and a lukewarm heart (Rev. 3:16). The latter is one which describes those who no longer care for the things of God at all! This church, had lost its fire! The "fire" of the Holy Spirit who energizes and gives life to all had departed. In short, it was a church that I believe, became apostate. An apostate church is one that once believed and taught the truth, but moved away to its own concepts, ideas, ideals and pride in humanistic values. In so doing, those who entered, or grew up there were no longer evangelized, and hence they were unsaved. Soon they gathered to themselves teachers who were the same, and before long there was nothing left, but perhaps, a small remnant of individual believers who clung to the organized group hoping it would one day return to the faith once delivered to the saints. This is why the Lord even spoke to this church, since His own were within this apostate assembly. The sad truth friend, is those churches and denominations that turn away from the faith rarely if ever go back. The true believers in them hang on in the hopes of restoration, but it never comes. God wants them to get out and join up with those who do love the Lord and his Word. Scripture is clear on this for it says in,

2 Cor 6:17-18 (NIV)  “”Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.””


Now, these "fundamentals" I've talked about today are vital to our faith. If you drop any of them by turning to the popular religious teachings of the day, or follow a hierarchy of religious men claiming to be Christian but deny these fundamentals -- then you are in grave danger of losing all and one day ending up in a fiery Hell for all eternity, if you are yet to be saved as a result.

What can you do about it? One simple thing to start. Right now, if the Spirit of God is speaking to your heart, and you sense a lostness, or distance from these truths, change it now! You do this by putting your full trust, right now, on all those truths. Then, believe what the Bible says about Jesus Christ, His Person and His work for us.

John 1:1 (NIV)  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

John 1:14 (NIV)  "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Friend, believe what the Bible says about your sins and your future too, for unless something is done about it, you will perish when life is over for you.

Rom 3:23 (NIV)  “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

John 3:18 (NIV)  “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

John 3:36 (NIV)  “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.””

You see, this is the simplicity of the true Christian faith. It is not a "do" religion that has a list of rules, regulations, rituals and sacraments you must perform to either be saved, or be kept saved. True Christianity is a "DONE" religion and faith. Jesus has done it all and continue to do all for our forgiveness, salvation, and promise and hope of eternity in heaven with Him. Are you trusting in the Christ of the Bible alone for all this? Have you spoken in your heart to God and said,

 "Lord Jesus I now believe you are my God and Creator, I believe that on the cross of Calvary you died there to pay for my sins. I also believe that your Word, the Bible, is the true and unvarnished revelation to me that I can trust in every word. I further believe what it says that if I put my hope and trust, and turn my life over to Christ, He will save me and set me upon my feet, by giving me a new heart, a new  mind, a sure hope and full strength to live a life pleasing to Him."

This is what it means to be saved, and this alone is what each one of us must do personally in our hearts as we present ourselves before God. The Laodicean Church, the "Seventh church," began well, but was ending in failure. It became the apostate "poster church" for the millennium.  Now today, there are many following in its steps. They've turned away from the fundamentals of the faith. Some have done so for over a 1000 years! Others in recent centuries. Oh, I trust and pray you are not in one of these apostate churches, and you are not one who is following it straight to Hell!  As such, it is my prayer for you today that God may grant you eyes to see this , a heart to experience this and melt before God's goodness and grace, and holy lips to speak for this truth to others ¾ if so cry out now ¾ Lord Jesus, save me! If you do and are sincere, the GOOD NEWS is God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ will hear from Heaven and when anyone so cries out to Him. He SAVES THEM now and forever! Amen.

 

I realize some may not agree with me in my interpretation of this last of the seven churches of Asia Minor, but the fact that Jesus Himself says He was cast out of the Church and left outside (Rev. 3:20), indicates that apostasy is the issue of that local church called Laodicea. Oh yes true believers were still fellowshipping there, but the teachings, the leadership, the direction of it had steered away from God and no longer represented Him. May God deliver you from any such organized religion, and may you hunger for the true faith, and learn more of God's Word. This is our prayers and purpose for sharing the Good News of Christ with a needy world.

Well friends, you've been listening to another broadcast edition of the World, the Word & You! And speaking today has been your host and commentator Dennis Finnan. If you've enjoyed today's program and would like to hear it again or study it further, please write to us for your free copy on cassette or in printed form. Our address is: The World, the Word & You! Broadcast, Post Office Box 575, St. Charles, MN 55972 USA. We'll get it out to you anywhere in the world as soon as possible.

Now as the broadcast is usually heard on the weekend, please consider attending a Bible believing church of your choice and then tune us in again next week at the same time and station. Invite a friend to listen with you too. Until then may the Lord bless you and keep you, and may His face shine brightly upon you till then. Thanks for listening, have a great and wonderful and godly day,  see you soon, so good-bye for now…


[1]William MacDonald; edited with introductions by Arthur Farstad, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1995 by William MacDonald.

The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 18 years, and serves as General Director.

These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.

For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan(dennis@wwy.org),or visit our webpage at http://www.wwy.org/