In the continuing eight part study of the prophecy of the Seven Churches in Revelation 2 & 3, we now come to part seven in a study of the sixth church mentioned in Christ’s prophecy to the Apostle John regarding these seven churches. In the previous post in this series, we discussed the fifth church called Sardis. This study will look at the Church of Philadelphia – the church of brotherly love. It’s prophetic significance reveals that the Philadelphian church represented the era of great revivals, beginning about 1727 and extending through the development of modern missions – as missionaries traveled around the world, taking the Gospel of eternal salvation through Christ alone to all nations. However, the door that was opened 300 plus years ago is about to close.
The letter to the Church of Philadelphia was a prophecy of modern evangelistic Gentile Christianity. The last two churches in Christ’s prophecy to the Apostle John (Philadelphia and Laodicea) and the ages of time they represent seem to overlap and grow together, with Philadelphia starting in the 1700s to the present day. During this time frame, especially in the last century of the 1900s, Laodicea has grown up with the church of Philadelphia. Interesting to note is the fact that the Philadelphian Church began it’s fiery evangelism, soul winning and newly formed activities of prayer meetings in 1727 that lasted for 24 hours a day for approximately 30 years. Because of this, approximately 300 Moravian missionaries spread out throughout Europe and made it’s way over to America, taking the revival fires with them as the church came out of it’s dead orthodoxy of the Protestant movement. Important to note is that the Lord even still commended the Orthodoxy movement that came in the previous church of Sardis, but still lacked the flaming evangelism and soul winning activity started in the Church of Philadelphia. Philadelphia is the era to which the door of evangelism was opened approximately three centuries ago with the “Great Awakening” of 1727. The resulting era of modern missions grew out of those great Protestant revivals and their return to a literal interpretation of the Bible. The name Philadelphia comes from a Greek term meaning “brotherly love,” and represents an inner joy and friendliness that has characterized this era.
The resulting era of modern missions, with William Carey (India – 1793), David Livingston (Africa – 1840) and Hudson Taylor (China -1853), missionaries were welcomed in far-flung counties. Emerging societies wanted England’s best in theology, education and medicine. William Carey is called, “the father of modern missions.” He began to work toward building a supporting missionary society in 1785 and became it’s first missionary to India in 1793. By the dawn of the 1900s, England’s missionary societies were sponsoring over 10,000 missionaries. Then, the United States of America took up the mantle and helped to sponsor missionaries on an unprecedented scale. This enormous effort has promoted the message of the Gospel in every language and village in the world.
For a century and a half, the Philadelphian fire ensconsed itself in England and Great Britain with it’s notorious missionary movement. England is well known for it. Suddenly, all of the backwards and Middle Eastern nations of the world wanted their people to learn the English language and learn of it’s culture. In nations like India and China and basically all over the world, it was the same story. They welcomed it’s missionaries with a zeal. They all wanted to learn to become doctors and various English professions that the western culture possessed. These nations became little bastions and outposts, if you will, of the light of God. Interestingly, at this time, as long as the British Empire was honoring God, they reached their zenith of world power. But as the fire of evangelism and the zeal for God slowly began to cool in Great Britain, the Empire started to wane in influence and power as it slowly but surely lost it’s territories that it controlled. Today, Great Britain and England are a spiritually cold and desolate shell of it’s former self as the Laodicean Church Age began to grow along side the still existing Philadelphian Church era. It was truly an “open door” for England and the Western nations that represented the Philadelphian Church prophecy. Notice what Jesus said to the Philadelphian Church through the Apostle John’s letter when speaking of an “open door” …
“… I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8).
It all started in a part of Germany that began in the Moravian community. But guess what also started in the Moravian community in Germany – you guessed it – Laodicea. The words of Jesus thunder to the forefront when he said of the wheat and tares …
“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:24-30).
To put the last two churches in a neat little order and say that the Philadelphian Church Age is now ended and the Laodicean Church Age has now begun would not be totally accurate for one specific reason. As Jesus reveals in the above Matthew 13 passage, the wheat and Tares will grow together. Philadelphia is certainly the embodiment of the wheat while Laodicea, as will be expounded upon in the next article, is the embodiment of the tares. Both are growing together as already shown, especially with the emergence of the modern Romanesque Church married to the state. After Great Britain’s spiritual decline, and along with it, the decline of their empire, God had another Philadelphian fire kindling in the background ready to take it’s place. That seat of spiritual fire, and the world prominence that comes with it, shifted to the United States of America to carry on the torch of the Church of Philadelphia as America began to take the British Empire’s place as the lighthouse of the world with it’s spread of the Gospel message. In fact, the case is very strong that America is the fulfillment of the great “Vineyard Prophecy” of Matthew chapter 21 (see the article titled “AMERICA AND A FOUR DIMENSIONAL TRIP THROUGH THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES” in the “Recommended Reading” section at the end of this article.
Suddenly, here in the last several decades, these nations are now beginning to shut the door as they no longer want the English speaking world that represent Christianity in their nations. The message of the missionary is now being rejected. Even in America now, Christian bashing is the latest American sport. Therefore, we can truly say that the door is truly beginning to close with a swiftness now as the Age of the Philadelphia Church, spoken of by Christ in his prophecy to the Apostle John, comes to an end. Like a creeping cancer, socialism is on the rise. Unlike the Gospel, socialism is diametrically opposed to the development of the human spirit, but most self-serving politicians do not understand it’s long-term destructive results. In most countries, the missionary is no longer welcome. We are truly in the waning days of Philadelphia and it is fast coming to a close. The doors were wide open for so short a period of time. Remember, however, that it was the Savior who opened the door, and thus, it is the Savior who is closing the door. The difficulties that increasingly hinder the spread of the Gospel are signs that the end of the age is near. Christ will soon appear.
As we all know, the Philadelphian age will end with the rapture event shown in the foreshadowing occurrence of the rapture event seen in the Apostle John being “caught up,” or “raptured,” into Heaven by Christ himself in Revelation 4:1 after the Church Age of Revelation 2 & 3 has ended. In the meantime, while the rapture has not happened yet, Philadelphia’s candle still burns with the light of the Gospel message of Christ that eminates from it’s current seat of fire, the United States of America. Perhaps not as strong as it used to, but nonetheless, it is still there and going forth over the earth while it’s last vestiges of freedom of religion and speech still live. You might say that God saved the best beacon of the Gospel for last. It has turned out to be a true statement given America’s role as the “vineyard” of Matthew 21 at the very time that the Church Age of Philadelphia came into swing. It should also be more than a little interesting to the prophetically curious that the modern “vineyard” of America actually has a well-known and historically great city called “Philadelphia.” As you may know by now from reading the aforementioned previous article on this site, America’s Philadelphia has a rich spiritual heritage. How sovereign is it that the end times vineyard, the nation that is the last bastion of the preaching of the Gospel in the times just before the rapture of the Philadelphian church, actually has a city named “Philadelphia.” Think about it. For more on this subject, see the aforementioned article in the “Recommended Reading” section at the end of this article. Moving on.
The Text of the Message
Before reviewing the history of Philadelphia, let us become familiar with the prophetic letter given by the Savior for John to deliver to the Church. Certain passages are highlighted for the discussion …
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:7-13).
The History of Philadelphia
The city was founded around 189 B.C. near the Cogamus River, 105 miles from Smyrna, and 28 miles southeast of Sardis. It stood upon a terrace 650 feet above sea level on the main highway leading to the interior of the country from Lydia to Phrygia.
Philadelphia was founded by Eumenes 2, king of Pergamum and named in honor of his beloved brother Attalus 2, who was given the title of Philadelphus.
Behind the city stands volcanic cliffs; before it lays a fertile plain. In the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (volume 8), Dr. E.J. Banks writes that the city was also known by the name of “… Decapolis, because it was considered as one of the ten cities of the plain. A third name which it bore during the first century A.D., was Neokaisaria; it appears upon the coins struck during that period. During the reign of Vespasian, it was called Flavia. It’s modern name, Ala-Shehir, is considered by some to be a corruption of the Turkish words Allah-shehir, “the city of God,” but more likely it is a name given it from the reddish color of the soil. In addition to all of these names, it sometimes bore the title of “Little Athens” because of the magnificence of the temples and other public buildings which adorned it.”
Philadelphia was not founded as a military outpost because it lay on the western side of Phrygia. Cities on the eastern side of the country were more likely to be established as military outposts for the protection of the region from Syrian Seleucid invasions. Rather, it was founded as an educational center for the Greek culture. From the very beginning, the city served as a “missionary” venture to change the Lydian culture to a Helenistic order. It was a center for spreading the Greek language and manners in the eastern parts of Lydia and Phrygia. No wonder, then, that it was chosen to represent the Christian Age of Missions.
In The Letters to the Seven Churches, author Sir William Ramsey suggests that it was a missionary city from the beginning, “founded to promote a certain unity of spirit, customs and loyalty within the realm, the apostle of Hellenism in an Oriental land. It was a successful teacher. Before A.D. 19 the Lydian tongue had ceased to be spoken in Lydia, and Greek was the only language of the country.”
He also reported that Philadelphia was known around the world for a terrible earthquake that rocked the entire region: “It was situated on the edge of the Katakekaumene, a district of Lydia where volcanoes, now extinct, have been active in recent geological time, where the traces of their eruptions in rivers of black lava and vast cinder-heaps are very impressive, and where earthquakes have been frequent in historical times. In A.D. 17, an unusually severe earthquake destroyed twelve cities of the great Lydian valley, including Sardis and Philadelphia. The Roman historian Strabo, who wrote about two or three years after this disaster, says that Sardis suffered most at the moment, but gives a remarkable picture of the long-continued terror at Philadelphia.
Sir William Ramsey writes …
“Apparently, frequent shocks were experienced there for a long time afterward. A state of panic set in at Philadelphia and continued when Strabo wrote that many of the inhabitant remained outside the city living in huts and booths over the vale, and those who were foolhardy enough to remain in the city, practiced various devices to support and strengthen the walls and houses against the recurring shocks.
Over the centuries, Philadelphia grew to be a popular center along the main trade route to the East. E.J. Banks writes …
“Philadelphia quickly became an important and wealthy trade center, for as the coast cities declined, it grew in power and retained it’s importance even until late Byzantine times.”
During the reign of Constantine, the main highway for trade with the East shifted to Constantinople that lay far to the north at the entrance to the Black Sea, thus bypassing Philadelphia and it’s adjacent cities and leaving them in economic decline.
Over the centuries, the southwestern region of Asia Minor became a part of the Turkish Empire. It is said that Frederick Barbarossa passed through the city during the crusade of 1190. In 1306, and again in 1324, Philadelphia was besieged by the Seljuk Turks. However, it retained it’s independence until after 1390 when the city was finally captured by the Turks and the Byzantines. In 1403, the conqueror Tamerlane captured Philadelphia and built a wall around it, consisting of the corpses of his victims.
It’s modern name is Ala-shehir. On the terrace upon which the ancient city stood, the ruins of the castle and the walls may still be seen, and among them is pointed out the foundation of the early church.
The Great Awakening
Following the years of the Reformation, cold lifeless formalism settled over the Protestant movement. It was an era when people seemed to be content to simply confess a creed. However, God began to move in a mighty way.
Cold Protestant churches in Europe and England began to experience the warmth of revival. God raised up fiery evangelists to stir the hearts of men to experience a Philadelphia love not seen since the first century. Great revivals grew out of a love for the truth of the Word of God. In those days, Bibles were being printed and distributed all over Europe and America. The common man could obtain a copy of God’s word and read it for himself.
Beginning in 1727 a new phenomenon shook the theological world. It started in Germany in the Moravian community. Nikolas Count Ludwig von Zinzendorm started a 24-hour-a-day prayer meeting that resulted in the historical “Great Awakening.”
Over the next 65 years the Moravians sent out 300 missionaries and greatly influenced the Christians in England and America.
About the same time, the spirit of revivalism was felt among the Presbyterians in America through the ministry of Gilbert Tennant, whose father founded the well-known “Log College” that later became “Princeton University.”
From their, revival spread to the Baptists of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and like a raging fire across early America under the ministry of Jonathan Edwards.
In 1739, the English evangelist George Whitefield preached a series of revivals in Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
During the period of the Great Awakening, nine Bible colleges were established in America. Church membership exploded. Wild frontier towns were tamed with the Gospel. The missionary movement of that period brought men like David Brainerd to preach among the Indians.
In England, George Whitefield and John Wesley were having phenomenal results. Whitefield preached in virtually every village in England, Scotland and Wales, crossing the Atlantic seven times to hold revivals in America, and preaching some 18,000 sermons.
In 1739, John Wesley preached an open-air revival at Bristol and witnessed the beginning of a phenomenal spiritual reaction among the people that has continued to this day – the era of mass evangelism.
Over a period of 65 years, Wesley traveled a quarter of a million miles on horseback, preached 40,000 sermons, wrote 233 books, and with his brother, Charles, published 9,000 hymns. His ministry produced 750 preachers in England, 350 in America, 76,986 Methodists in England and 57,621 in America.
The “Great Awakening” of 1727 was the beginning of the period of great revivals that affected every nation in the world to this very day – truly the Age of Philadelphia.
An Open Door
“I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8).
A second spiritual awakening emerged in 1792 and opened the door to missionary activity throughout the world. During this period of revival many missionary organizations were founded. Among them were “The Particular Baptist Missionary Society, “The British and Foreign Bible Society,” “The London Missionary Society” and “The Church Missionary Society.”
William Carey
William Carey was responsible for organizing the first of these missionary societies and earned the title of “the father of modern missions.” As a young man, Carey learned how to cope with poverty. He became a shoemaker at eighteen and suffered financial reversal before he was twenty. Having filled a large order for shoes, his customer could not accept delivery. This brought the young Carey to the brink of financial ruin. Then, a devastating illness lay upon him more sorrow. His first child died of a fever. Carey, himself, almost died as well. The illness left him so bald that he wore a wig for the next several years.
Carey preached at a small church in Barton, walking sixteen miles to the church for each service, and did not receive enough to pay for the clothes he wore out in their service. After three years at Barton, he accepted an invitation to preach at a Baptist church at Moulton. They could offer him very, very little per year, supplemented by a very small amount from a London fund. During this time, he opened a Christian school to supplement his income, which never exceeded a certain small amount a year. He also continued to make shoes to provide for his family.
As he taught the children geography and the Bible, the concept of the Great Commission awakened his spirit. He began to see the need of carrying the Gospel to other countries.
God was calling him to be a missionary. He was so enthralled with reading about voyages and travels that his school children often referred to him as “Columbus.” Each time he would attend a meeting of his fellow ministers, he would impress upon them the need for missions. It was such a new concept that his messages were looked upon as impractical. However, by 1792, Carey had convinced his colleagues to support his proposal for a missionary society. William Carey became the first missionary, and though the following years would be filled with hardship, his vision caught on and soon, other missionary societies were sending out the Gospel around the world.
Upon arriving in India, William Carey formed a team of men to translate the Gospel into 34 Asian languages. They compiled dictionaries of Sanskrit, Marathi, Punjabi and Telegu. They formed a Bible college, started churches and established nineteen mission stations.
They opened 100 rural schools and encouraged the education of girls. Carey started the Horticultural Society of India; served as a professor at Fort William College, Calcutta; printed the first Indian weekly newspaper, The Friend of India; and introduced the concept of a savings bank to assist poor families. His vision for foreign lands inspired tens of thousands to give themselves for the spread of the Gospel. He is known and loved as the father of modern missions.
Hudson Taylor
Among the many missionaries that sprang out of the “Great Awakening” was Hudson Taylor. He was born in Yorkshire, England in 1832, and came to know the Lord after reading a Christian tract. Soon after, he felt God’s call to be a missionary in China and began to study medicine in order to prepare himself for what was to be his life’s work.
He sailed for China in 1853 at the age of 21, arriving in Shanghai in the Spring. He immediately set about to learn the Chinese language. Though funds from home rarely arrived, he never appealed for money from his friends in England.
He met and married Marie Dyer in 1858. Though of English descent, her parents had died, leaving her to grow up in China as an orphan. Taylor met her when she was working in a school for Chinese girls. Not long after their marriage was blessed with a daughter, ill health forced them to return to England.
The seeming setback turned out to be a blessing. While recovering, Hudson Taylor was able to complete his medical studies; revise a Chinese New Testament; and organize the China Inland Mission. Twenty-two new recruits accompanied him back to China in 1866.
Then the suffering increased. Marie died in childbirth. His daughter died from water on the brain. His second wife died of cancer. Through all of this, Hudson Taylor clung to the biblical promise, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” His mission to reach the heart of China continued. By 1895 the China Inland Mission had 641 missionaries and 462 Chinese helpers at 260 mission stations. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, 56 of these missionaries were martyred and hundreds of Chinese Christians were killed.
But that did not stop the work of the mission. In the years following, the number of missionaries quadrupled. Because of men like Hudson Taylor, the Gospel continued to flourish after the communist takeover of the country.
David Livingston
Another great missionary of the Philadelphian Era was David Livingston, born in Blantyre, Scotland, March 19, 1813. He became a doctor of medicine in 1838 and an ordained minister in 1840. He answered the call to be a missionary in South Africa in 1841.
In the years following, he began his dramatic explorations and, in 1849, guided the first successful European crossing of the Kalahari Desert.
Having a desire to open up the African interior to the Gospel, Livingston traveled from the Chobe River (in modern Botswana) to the Zambezi River, passing through Barotseland (modern Zambia) and across the Cuango River into Portuguese Angola, arriving at Luanda on the Atlantic coast in the year 1854.
Traveling back into the African interior, he followed the Zambezi River downstream where he discovered and named the Victoria Falls in 1855.
He continued east across what is now Zambia and Mozambique until he came to Quelimane on the Indian Ocean in 1856. He became the first European explorer to cross the African continent from west to east.
From 1866 to 1873, Livingston explored the source of the Nile River. He then turned to the Congo River and reached the Lualaba tributary.
Stanley found the ailing missionary in Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika in 1871. Though he planned on continuing his explorations, Livingston’s health worsened. He died of Malaria on May 1, 1873, near Bangweulu. Though his body is buried in Westminster Abbey, he requested that his heart be left in Africa.
The Synagogue of Satan
“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee” (Revelation 3:9).
The menorah design surfaces here in the sixth letter as a reference is made to the “synagogue of Satan,” the same term used in the second letter. Bear in mind that the second lamp of the Menorah is connected to the same semi-circular shaft upon which the sixth lamp sits.
The first lamp is connected to the seventh lamp, and the third to the fifth. In the letter to Smyrna, we are told that the “synagogue of Satan” is guilty of blaspheming or showing extreme hatred toward Gentile Christianity, but in the letter to Philadelphia, we are told that the “synagogue of Satan” will “come and worship before thy feet and to know” that Christ loves Gentile Christianity.
Looking back at the Age of Smyrna in the second and third centuries, one may observe the historic contempt of Judaism against Gentile Christianity, as the Jews felt threatened by the Gospel of a rejected Messiah. Today, however, in our Age of Philadelphia, there are some Jews (but not all yet) that are beginning to realize that evangelical Gentile Philadelphian Christianity is a friend. Over the past three centuries many Jews have accepted Jesus as their Messiah. In this generation, there are religious Jews who are taking a second look at Jesus – considering anew his claim to being their Messiah. Some could even be secret believers at this point. Dr. E.J. Banks writes …
“Their worshipping ‘before thy feet‘ expresses the Jewish convert’s willingness to take the very lowest place in the church, doing honor to those whom once they persecuted, rather than dwell with the unbeliever.”
When this current Age of Philadelphia is concluded with the rapture, Israel will come to realize that the Bride has been taken to Heaven by the great Bridegroom. They will know that Christ has saved us from the “hour of temptation” that is to come.
Upon his return at the end of the Tribulation period, Israel will be delivered and come into belief and saving faith in Jesus. Yes, unbelieving Israel will finally believe and recognize the legitimacy of Gentile Christianity.
The Hour of Temptation
“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 3:10).
The promise of the rapture is given to the Philadelphian era in the Church Age. It is a promise to keep us from having to endure the hardships of the Tribulation period, here called the “hour of temptation” … “upon all the world” … to “try” or punish an unbelieving world.
Behold, I Come Quickly
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Revelation 3:11).
There can be no doubt that this promise of Christ’s return is given to the era of great revivals and missionary effort – the age in which we now live. Christ assures us that his coming is very soon – “quickly.” Most Philadelphian era Christians are convinced that Jesus is coming soon. It seems to be a part of our spiritual insight. There is something inside of us that longs to hear the shout and the trumpet sound that will initiate the rapture. We just know that it won’t be long. We are told to hold onto our faith and fervor. Let us not become complacent lest we lose our “crown” (Corona) virus of rewards. This admonition is contrasted against the background of another church group – the Laodiceans. They are the epitome of complacency. Let us tirelessly work to avoid becoming like Laodicea. Hold fast!
The New Jerusalem
“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:12-13).
Note that God is looking for “overcomers” – those who have received the free gift that Christ offers through receiving him by faith …
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5).
In fact, all seven letters conclude with promises to “overcomers.” The Philadelphian will become a “pillar” in God’s heavenly temple. This must be a metaphor since the New Jerusalem has no temple in it. The overcomer will be given a place to live in the heavenly city and “will no more go out.”
Furthermore, the overcomer will be given a new name, presently known only to God. The name is threefold: the name of God, the name of the Holy City New Jerusalem, and the new name given to Jesus upon his return. Today, the Age of Philadelphia is almost over. It will conclude with the rapture and resurrection.
The Hour Of Temptation: The Only Escape
When the Age of Philadelphia comes to an end and the rapture occurs, the Bible promises that only those who are “overcomers” will go, while the rest stay behind to endure the horrific judgment set to overtake the world. The rapture is promised only to a certain category of people. The promise of escape is only to those who are “born again” in Christ. This is why it is crucial to understand what Christ meant when he declared in no uncertain terms that only those who are “born again” in him will enter the Kingdom of God. For the explanation of this, keep reading below.
In order to accept the offer of God’s grace and his salvation, you must take the crucial three steps of …
1. Agreeing – A belief and agreeing with God in all that he says in his word, the Bible, about the fact that you are separated from God, as every man and woman on the face of the earth are before accepting his salvation. The Bible reveals that all are separated from him in a spiritual state of death, or said another way that the Bible reveals it, in a state of sin, that will result in damnation in the afterlife. Agreeing with God in your heart that you are in need of his salvation. The Bible reveals that God looks upon the heart of a man or woman, and thus, responds accordingly to the person who comes to him for salvation in recognition of his inability to save himself. The Bible makes these facts very clear – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The Bible describes these three kinds of death:
- physical death (the state experienced when life leaves our bodies).
- spiritual death (spiritual separation from God caused by our state of spiritual death inherited from the first man Adam – the state of sin that results in our daily outward acts of sin, whether deliberate or not, whether omissive or not; and finally …
- the second death (the fixed state entered into by the individual who dies physically while he or she is dead spiritually). This state is entered into after the death of the body which results in punishment in the afterlife until the event of the Great White Throne Judgment occurs wherein the damned are resurrected from Hades, or Hell, and are judged according to their works and finally destroyed and cease to exist after being cast into the Lake of Fire. Revelation 14 refers to this tragic end of the unsaved as the “Second Death” (verse 14). It is this state of suffering entered into after physical death and then final destruction at the Great White Throne Judgment in particular which is the horrible result of receiving the wages of sin (unforgiven due to unbelief and rejection of Christ). The Lord Jesus Christ frequently described such a death as being irrevocable in a destiny which he called Hell. He described Hell as a literal place of judgment (Matthew 13:42); a place of everlasting fire (Matthew 18:8); a place of torment (Luke 16:24,28); a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:50); a place of remorse (Mark 9:44-48); of bitter memory (Luke 16:25), and a place originally prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). In fact, Jesus more often warned about Hell than he spoke about Heaven.
It is not God’s will or desire that any person should be consigned to perish in Hell (2 Peter 3:9), but rather that all should come to repentance of unbelief toward him and believe on him for the salvation of the individual’s soul. But God’s justice requires that the “soul who sins” (remains in it’s state of death or state of sin) is the one who will die a second time after a long period of torment (Ezekiel 18:4). So, agree with God, admitting that you are unable to save yourself and in a state of sin under God’s just condemnation for that sin and that you are in need of his salvation.
2. Believing – Then, believe that God does not want you to perish eternally in the torment of Hell because of your sin. Believe that God loves you so much that he provided a way whereby he could still be a just, holy and righteous God, and yet pardon you. Believe that God did not just overlook sin, but that he sent his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to provide salvation by personally paying the penalty for sin. Believe that Jesus Christ, whose life, death, burial and resurrection is the best-attested fact of antiquity, did come to earth to live, die, rise again and ascend to Heaven in order to provide justification and salvation for all who trust him. Believe that he, and he alone, can save you because he has fully satisfied the just demands of God. Believe that you can’t become righteous in God’s sight by your own effort. Believe that he wants to save you and that he will save you. The Bible provides a solid basis for such belief …
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).
“But God demonstrates his love toward us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
God presented him (Jesus Christ) as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies the man or woman who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26).
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures … ” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
“Jesus answered, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out [drive away]” (John 6:37).
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).
3. Calling – It is not enough to agree with God, admit your need, and believe that Christ can and will save you. You must act upon those facts. God’s requirement is that you repent of your unbelief toward him and actively call upon him for the salvation of your soul based on the fact that you cannot save yourself. It is unbelief in particular that damns the soul to its horrible fate …
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
You must be willing to completely turn from your own efforts to save yourself or from any other hope. You must come to Christ, calling upon him for salvation and counting on the fact that he will do what he has promised. This means simply taking the gift of pardon and eternal life which he offers. Merely believing about Jesus Christ without coming to him makes as much sense and is as effective as believing that a medication can successfully treat a fatal disease, but failing to take it. Yet again, the Bible emphatically and authoritatively provides the basis for such statements.
The word translated “believe” here means to “rest one’s entire weight and trust on the object or person in which the belief is placed.” It requires action in keeping with the intellectual assent of that belief.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
” … but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
The logical question you may be asking at this point is: “how do I come to Christ and call upon him?” The answer is that “calling upon the Lord” is just another term for praying, or talking to God. To talk to God is not a complicated process, dependent upon some special rituals. God has invited people to approach him through his Son in simple, straightforward terms. In fact, Jesus approved of the dishonest, despised tax collector who simply prayed, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” While the exact words of your prayer to God are not of vital importance (since God sees and knows the attitude of your heart), the following is the kind of prayer that you could pray in calling upon God for salvation …
“Dear Lord Jesus: I realize that I need you. I admit that I have sinned and that I deserve your just, eternal punishment for that sin. But I am sorry for my sin and I am turning to you and asking for forgiveness. I believe that you died and rose again to pay sin’s penalty on my behalf. I come to you and open my heart to you. I ask you to come into my life, forgive me for all of my sin and make me your child. I invite you to take control of my life and to cause me to be the kind of person you would have me to be. I thank you for doing this because you have promised that whosoever calls upon you, as I am doing now, shall be saved. I pray this in the name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, I urge you to sincerely and genuinely express it to God as your prayer. The Bible makes clear that when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in our heart, God forgives our sins and counts us righteous, and that when we openly confess with our mouth what we have done in our heart, God gives us assurance of that salvation (Romans 10:9-10).
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:3-7).
The next article in this series can be seen in the link below:
THE SEVEN CHURCHES IN TIME AGES OF PROPHECY FULFILLMENT: CHURCH CANDLE 7 – THE AGE OF LAODICEA
Recommended Reading:
AMERICA AND A PROPHETIC FOUR DIMENSIONAL TRIP THROUGH THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES
Questions and comments can be left in the comment section below (sometimes comments end up in my spam box – will approve them as soon as I check it every day).
END TIMES: DARKNESS DESCENDING 
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