IN THESE TWO CHAPTERS OF
Revelation, John saw what the church was presently like and
would be like before the events of the last seven years of
earth’s history are unleashed. He saw a deceived and compromised
church. The Devil began his great deception the day the church
was born. It gained momentum when popery and Constantine joined
forces and took Christianity captive; deception continued its
increase with the breakdown into denominations. Today the
majority of those claiming the name of Christ only resemble the
church of the first three centuries. This deceived church looks
like the true church, but without the power of the Holy Spirit
to be the church (2 Tim. 3:5). This apostasy may be seen as the
great retreat. Instead of becoming stronger through the years,
the church retreated through compromise. This compromise is
outlined in more detail in Appendix A and shows the movement of
compromise from the early church,
through Constantine and then Martin Luther.
A
book I like that contrasts today’s church with the church of the
first three centuries is Pagan
Christianity
by Frank Viola.
As we continue our study through the Book of Revelation, keep in
mind that, throughout the horrors described, we are not to retreat,
but to engage in the battle, and when the going gets tough, we are
to be even tougher and filled with the strength and power of the
Holy Spirit greater than ever before (Heb. 10:25).
In
2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Apostle Paul also warned of this great
apostasy (falling away) taking place before the Antichrist appears.
“Let no man
deceive you by any
means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away
first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” The
phrase that day refers to the return of Christ to the earth. The
falling away is the apostasy of the church. The man of sin is the
Antichrist. This apostasy removes the restraining power of the Holy
Spirit that has kept the Antichrist from rising upon the earth
(2:7-8). An active, Spirit-led church is the light that holds the
darkness back. However,
light merged with compromise (sin) is a great darkness—a darkness
that deceives a person into thinking that he is a Christian when he
is far removed from the Spirit of God (Matt. 6:23).
The
apostasy of Revelation 2 and 3 is the welcome mat that invites the
Antichrist to make his appearance upon the earth in
Revelation 6. Because we are living in the day when the Antichrist
could appear at any time, we must also
recognize that the majority of those who claim the name of Christ
are living in a fallen condition, thinking they are the church and
are Christians. However, Revelation 2 and 3 indicate the majority of
the church today is far removed from God’s Holy Spirit, which is the
distinguishing mark of the true church. Without the Holy Spirit, the
Apostle Paul teaches that we are not Christian. “Now if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom. 8:9b).
What
are we to do then?
Because
the messages to the seven churches were not written only for those
named by John, it would be wise to give careful consideration to
these messages and to ask ourselves, “Do I need to change how I
think about God and how I live my life?” After each message, Jesus
makes the statement, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, and
22).
Now
ask yourself, “Do I hear what Jesus is saying to me? Am I willing
to do what is necessary to repent and become a true Christian?”
As
much as we may not want to admit that we may be deceived, it is
important to understand the deceived do not know that they are.
Webster’s Dictionary defines “deceive” as misleading the mind, to
cause to err, and to cause to believe what is false or to disbelieve
what is true.
In the time before the arrival of the Antichrist, it appears the
majority of those who claim the name of Christ will be misled to
believe they are Christians when many of their beliefs and practices
are not Christian.
Their good Christian works and beliefs have been made void through
compromise.
This
can be a difficult position to be in, especially when one is a
pastor and believes everything is okay with their Christianity. I
had to come to this point in my own life in 2005 when I realized I
might be deceived and not know it. My first reaction was, “I’m okay
in God’s eyes.” After all, I had been a Christian for over
twenty-nine years. When I realized people are not deceived
willingly, I questioned my own Christianity and role as a pastor
through an intensive search of the New Testament concerning what a
real Christian is. I came to the conclusion that I did not measure
up when I compared my Christianity with God’s Word. This caused me
to make changes to my life. These changes included stepping down
from my position as a professional, career pastor after over
seventeen years
behind the pulpit.
My “ministry” remains strong. Nearly every day I pray with people,
share the gospel (online and in person), pass out tracts, share my
books, and teach in churches and homes. Often I tell people that in
1976 I gave up sin and then in 2008 I gave up everything I thought
about Christianity and became a “true” Christian.
As
the movement of the Holy Spirit continues to awaken His church, many
will come to similar revivals. Many will feel unrest about who they
are as a Christian and whether they are truly Christian. They will
seek for something more than what they presently have. In their
hunger and thirst they will find a greater intimacy with God. I know
I did. I experienced a great revival equal to my initial
repentance from sin.
Continuing our look at Revelation 2 and 3, notice
how God recognizes many noteworthy characteristics of the churches
in Revelation 2 and 3. He acknowledged they were hard workers for
Christ, patient, untiring, defenders of correct doctrine,
charitable, faithful, and appearing to be devout Christians—all
traits any Christian would want to emulate. However, Christ
condemned five of the seven because they
also
were living without the power of God, or were Christians for
monetary gain, or tolerated sin, or were involved with immorality,
or submersed themselves in the occult, or allowed teachers to teach
false doctrine, or lived on their reputations, or would not take an
all-out stand either for or against Christ, preferring to
compromise.
In
these last of the last days, it is important that we pay close
attention to Christ's words and change what is not appropriate to
God so we might be counted worthy to enter eternal life. These
messages in Revelation were written to encourage all who claim the
name of Christ to reexamine their Christianity and to turn toward
God through repentance. At the same time, it gives hope to the few
who have not compromised their trust in God.
Just a word about repentance. It is not just asking God to forgive
you, it is making changes in your behavior and life, stepping away
from displeasing God and turning toward pleasing Him. Often those
changes can be hard to make and come with a price. To be in the
position where we can see our true condition and are able to repent,
we must be able to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. At the end of each
message to the seven churches, Jesus emphasized this point when He
said, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.” That’s us. We are the church. Which begs the question: Do
we hear the Holy Spirit when He speaks to us?
Even though the majority of those claiming the name of
Christ in the churches of Revelation 2 and 3 are not faithful, two
of the churches are identified without any encouragement to repent.
The first faithful church was the church in Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11).
When reading about this church, notice it is different from all the
others. It experienced much tribulation, lived in poverty, and was
lied about and criticized by those who said they belonged to God.
They were also thrown into prison and killed because they placed
their trust in Jesus.
The church in Philadelphia was the second church Jesus spoke
to without condemnation. It also was persecuted (3:7-13). The
contrast between these two churches and the other five should create
fear in everyone claiming the name of Christ, causing each
individual to cry out to God for understanding and repentance. As
unsettling as it may be to many, persecution and Christianity go
together like the positive and negative charge of a battery. Both
are necessary to move our vehicle forward.
Dear
brothers and sisters, Do not think that when we are a Christian that
we are exempt from troubles. Jesus warned that “In the world ye
shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). Paul reminds us that, “Yes,
and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). Too often, prosperity and freedom from
trouble are looked upon as God’s blessing. In
light of what we just read, there is the great possibility the devil
is bringing the “blessing” in order to keep you from trusting God.
Though
we must go through much trouble as a Christian, we do not have to
look at trouble as negative. We are given a future hope that makes
our present troubles worth it all. With the Apostle Paul, we are to
“reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom.
8:18). The Apostle James also records that as we make patience a
part of our day-to-day activities, our faith is strengthened. “My
brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into various temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let
patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4).
Patience is the key to holding firm to your faith in the
most difficult of times and for growing in faith. Learning patience
in the day-to-day humdrums of life will give the strength to endure
the greater challenges that are coming.
After the great apostasy permeates the church, the
appearance of the Antichrist and the events outlined in the Book of
Revelation are then able to take place. The apostasy gives an open
door for the Antichrist to walk through.
________________________
Copyright 2016
Steve Magill
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