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mercies of David, namely, God’s fa vor, and th e One who opens the doors of opportunity and no man can sh u t them . This' church has th e prom ise of .being k ep t out of the hour of tria l, the g reat tribulation, which will come up on all th e world to try those th a t dwell upon the earth. Laodicea means prob- _ ably “ the ru le of th e people.” I t is called a lukewarm church. Lukewarm water- is cold w ater, into which a little ho t w ater has been poured. This makes a nauseating liquid. Jesus reveals Him self tow ard th is church as th e final benediction, th e Amen, the F aith fu l and T rue W itness and th e Beginning of th e Creation of God. You will have noticed th a t Jesus re veals H imself to these different church es in ju s t th e way in which they need Him. Here th e warm ones need to be encouraged to w itness in th e m idst of th is cold mass. I t is a wealthy God less church, Christ is outside, and it takes courage to live openly for Him in th is kind of an atmosphere. Neverthe less, Christ makes an individual prom ise to each individual member of this church th a t He will come in and make His abode w ith all who will open th e h e a rt’s door and let Him in. Jesú s’ a ttitu d e tow ard each phase of church-life also corresponds to His a t titu d e tow ard each individual Christian. If we are lukewarm Christians, or brotherly-love Christians, or dead Christians, or worldly Christians, Jesu s’ a ttitu d e tow ard us is th e same as to ward these churches. But each church epistle seems to set fo rth a g reat period of church history. The first one hundred years of the church, during th e days of th e apostles was a first-love period and corresponds to Ephesus. The next 200 years was a tim e of g reat persecution and is represented by Smyrna. Beaumont says “The first persecution was under the Emperor
side "first-love” churches and th e re fore lose th e promised reward. Smyrna means “ bruised m y rrh .” How ap prop riate th is meaning is when we re member th a t Smyrna was a persecuted church. Thus, ju st as th e more one crushes myrrh, th e g reater th e perfume, so th e more a Christian is persecuted, th e g reater the fragrance his life hears up to God. The Smyrna and Philadel phia churches.are th e only two th a t are not rebuked for something. Pergamos means “m arriage” and sets fo rth a church th a t is m arried to th e world. Christ reveals H imself to th a t church as the One w ith a two-edged sword to cut asunder th a t illegitim ate alliance. T hyatira means ^’daugh ter,” as if the offspring of th e union of church and sta te would be a daughter of idolatry. F o r here th e woman Jezebel is a proph etess and teaches fornication and to sacrifice to idols. Jesus reveals Him self to th a t church as th e all-powerful Son of God, who has eyes as a flame of fire and feet like fine brass. Eyes are a symbol of searching, and brass is a symbol of judgment. He will search out th e ir iniquity and judge th e ir sin. Sardis means “ a chosen few” or a remnant. It is said of this church th a t they had a life to live and were dead. While th e g reater p a rt were dead, th e re were a few, a rem nant, who had not defiled th eir garm ents; they would walk w ith Christ in white. There are many Sardis churches today— churches w ith orthodox preaching, b u t dead— ju st a few in th is dead mass th a t have a little activity. Philadelphia means “ brotherly love.” It is a company of w arm -hearted be lievers filled w ith love for souls. An open door of opportunity was placed before th is church, and they were spreading th e gospel on every hand. I t was a m issionary church. No re buke is given th is church, bu t Christ reveals H imself to it as One th a t is T rue and F aith fu l; One th a t hag the
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