Things to Come - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Things to Come

The Letters to the Seven Churches

Revelation 2-3Slide2

Observation: what does

the text

say?

Interpretation: what does

the text

mean?

Application: what does

the text

mean to me?

Correlation: what do other sources say about it?Slide3

Things to Come

Q: What about the Church?

Revelation 2-3:

The seven churches represent seven varieties of Christian, both true and falseThe seven churches are represented inside every church---in every age, giving the Word of God direct application to ourselves, to all true (born again) and ‘professing’ (meaning those who are pretending to be) Christians of every age, and with solemn warnings given to both groupsSlide4

Things to Come

A

study of the messages to the seven churches, and the general trend confirms other Scripture that, instead of progressive improvement and a trend toward righteousness and peace in the church age, it may be expected that the [Church] age will end in failure as symbolized in the church of Laodicea

[7

th

].

This

is taught expressly in passages describing the growing apostasy in the professing church culminating in

apostate

Christianity at

the time of the great tribulation. Slide5

Things to Come

Simultaneous

with this development in the church as a whole there will be fulfillment

of the divine plan of God in calling out a true church designed to be a holy bride for the Son of God and a promised translation [rapture] from the earth before the final tragic scenes of the tribulation are enacted.https://bible.org

/

seriespage

/2-letters-ephesus-smyrna-pergamos-and-thyatiraSlide6

Things to Come

The seven churches altogether, exhibit every phase of Christian society which would ever be found in the various parts of Christendom,

giving comfort, advice, exhortation,

warning, and threatening, from which something could be found to suit any possible circumstance of Christ’s people until the end of the Church ageFive of the seven churches

are warned to ‘repent’ with specific reasons given---or else they will come under the judgment of ChristSlide7

Things to Come

Two of the seven churches

are commended, with no warnings given to them, and no call to repent; only confirmation and praise

#2 Smyrna---Izmir, Turkey today #6 Philadelphia---a small nomadic tribe, still in the area of the original city of Philadelphia, in TurkeySlide8

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Q: Were there only 7 churches in Asia Minor? No

It is unlikely that John would have written to 7 churches at random.

The geological features of a country and community influence their spiritual developmentThese 7 churches apparently had grown to prominence at the time John was on the Isle of Patmos, and were centers of thought and influence.

4

cities were not the most prominent in Asia Minor at that time, although Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum were.Slide9

Things to Come

Revelation 2-3:

Ephesus

(2:1-7) – the Apostolic Period AD 30-100 – the Apostle John; Mary; the church councils..Repent or be moved out of your place!

The city has moved 7 miles away from the small bay it was built on, as silt filled up the harbor.

At the end of WWI, the entire Christian population of Ephesus moved to Greece in a population exchange with a Muslim communitySlide10

Things to Come

Smyrna

(2:8-11) – the Martyr Period

[Izmir, Turkey]AD 100-312 – 10 Roman persecutions until ConstantineNero – AD 54-68 (killed Paul and Peter/wife)

Domitian – AD 81-96 (exiled John to Patmos)

Trajan – AD 98-117 (burned Ignatius at the stake)

Marcus Aurelius – AD 138-161 (burned Polycarp...)

Severus – AD 222-235

Maximinius

– AD 235-288

Decius – AD 249-251

Valerian – AD 253-260

Aurelian – AD 270-275

Diocletian – AD 284-305

No call to repent, only to endure affliction & persecutionSlide11

Things to Come

Revelation 2-3:

Ephesus

(2:1-7) – the Apostolic Period AD 30-100 – the Apostle John; Mary; the church councils..Repent or be moved out of your place!

Smyrna

(2:8-11) – the Martyr Period

[Izmir, Turkey]

AD 100-312 – 10 Roman persecutions until Constantine

No call to repent, only to endure affliction & persecution

Pergamos

(2:12-17) – the Worldly Government Period, with the

‘throne of Satan’

there

AD 312-606 [Constantine rises to power, and names Christianity the State Religion]

Repent or Christ will make war against them!Slide12

Things to Come

Thyatira

(2:18-29) – the Papal Period

AD 606 – Tribulation (Pope Gregory, the Catholic Church)Repent of immorality and idolatrySardis

(3:1-6) – the Reformation Period

AD 1520 – Tribulation (the Reformed Church)

Wake up and Repent, or I am coming like a thief

Philadelphia

(3:7-13) – the Missionary Period

AD 1750 – Tribulation (the Evangelical, Non-denominational Church

)

“I know your deeds, and give you an open door...

I will keep you from the hour

which is about to come upon the whole world...hold fast...”Slide13

Things to Come

Laodicea (3:14-22) – the Lukewarm Period

R

ich, satisfied, and unwilling to be led by Christ, the written Word of God, or by pastoral ministry ‘because you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of My mouth...”

AD 1900 – Tribulation (the Liberal, Ecumenical, Unitarian ‘Christian’ Church)

Be zealous, and repent! “Behold, I stand at the door and knock...”

Note: The first three [Ephesus, Smyrna, and

Pergamos

] are consecutive

; the final four overlap and run concurrently to the end of the Church age

, with professing ‘believers’ entering the Tribulation

Tim

LaHaye

, Revelation: Illustrated and Made Plain, pgs. 101-102Slide14
Slide15

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Topics:

An introduction to Biblical Interpretation

Prophecies of the Present AgeThe Divine Program for the Ages (Daniel)The Divine Purpose in the Present Age (Eph. 2:7)The Character of the Present Age (Col. 2:24-27)

The Course of the Present Age (Matthew 13---Israel; and Rev. 2-3---the Church Age, and Seven Churches)

The Close of the Present Age for the Church & IsraelSlide16

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The Close of the Present Age for the Church

(

& Israel)There must be a distinction between the ‘last days’ of Israel (the days of her kingdom glory in the earth---Isaiah 2:1-5, etc.) and the ‘last days’ for the Church, which are days of evil and apostasy (2 Tim. 3:1-5, etc.).

Distinction must be made between these two, or we may relegate to the Church that which constitutes closing events for Israel, or vice-versa.

Those Scriptures which set forth the last days for the Church give no consideration to political or world conditions

---but confine themselves to the Church itself. Slide17

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1 Timothy 4:1-2

– Christians will depart from the faith

2 Timothy 3:1-5 - there will be a manifestation of characteristics which belong to unregenerate mankind, though it is under the profession of ‘a form of godliness’ in the church = pretending, ‘play acting’ or ‘hypocrisy’

I Corinthians 2:14

- having denied the power of the shed blood of Christ,

the pretenders (the unregenerate, those not born again, within the church itself)

have no spiritual life and will not inherit heavenSlide18

Things to Come

2 Timothy 4:3-4 –

‘For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled [

‘itching ears’], they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires [ἐπ

ιθυμί

α

ς

-

the emotions, passions, lusts]”

James 5:1-8 –

the End Time signs are those of luxury, greed, robbery, pleasure, gluttony...

2 Peter 2:1-22; 3:3-6 –

adds sensuality, greed, and immorality...

Jude 1:1-25Slide19

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The unbelieving, but professing, “church” will

deny the following 9 things

at the end times :Slide20

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The Denial

of God

(Luke 17:26; 2 Tim. 3:4-5)The Denial of Christ (I John 2:18; 4:3; 2 Peter 2:6)

The Denial

of Christ’s Return

(2 Peter 3:3-4)

The Denial

of the Christian Faith

(1 Tim. 4:1-2; Jude 3)

The Denial

of Sound Doctrine

(2 Tim. 4:3-4)

The Denial

of a Holy, Separated Life

(2 Tim. 3:1-7)

The Denial

of True Christian Liberty

(I Tim. 4:3-4)

The Denial

of Christian Morals

(2 Tim. 3:1-8, 13; Jude 18)

The Denial

of Christian Authority

(2 Tim. 3:4)

Pentecost, Things to Come, p. 155Slide21

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This coincides with the close of the age, and the state within the

Laodicean

Church: called ‘an evil age’2 Timothy 3:1 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 

People

will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,

abusive [‘bullies’],

disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 

without

love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 

treacherous

, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 

having

a form of godliness but denying its power

.

Have nothing to do with such people

.”Slide22

Things to Come

“They

are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 

always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 

But

they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men,

their folly will be clear to everyone

.”Slide23

Things to Come

“He

that

covers his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy

.”

(

Proverbs 28:13)

Here is the way of mercy for a guilty and repenting sinner. He must cease from the habit of covering sin.

This

is attempted by

falsehood

, which denies sin

;

by

hypocrisy

, which conceals it;

by

boasting

, which justifies it;

and

by

loud profession

, which tries to make amends for it

.

Spurgeon, Faith’s Checkbook, August 16

th

Slide24

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The Rapture of the ChurchSlide25

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The Rapture

The Partial Rapture Theory

The Post-tribulation Rapture TheoryThe

Mid-tribulation

Rapture Theory

The

Pre-tribulation

Rapture TheorySlide26

Things to Come

Q: First, what is meant by the term ‘Second Coming’?

A: There are

3 Greek NT words used for the Second Coming of Christ (also called the ‘Second Advent’)Parousia – this is the usual word used to describe the second coming of Christ;

used 24 times in the New Testament.

The word

means ‘near’ or ‘along side of.’

It also means what our English word ‘presence’ means.

It has come to mean not only presence, but the act by which the presence is brought about, i.e.,

by the

coming

of the individual.Slide27

Things to Come

Q: What are the key passages this word is used in?

I Cor. 16:17

– refers to the ‘coming’ of Stephanas2 Cor. 7:6-7 – “But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus”

Phil. 1:26

– Paul’s coming to Philippi

2 Thess. 2:9

–

speaking of the lawless one the antichrist, his coming is in accordance with the activity of Satan

2 Peter 3:12

– “Looking for and

hastening the coming

of the day of God,

on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat.

But according to His promise we are looking for a new heavens and a new earth...”Slide28

Things to Come

Q: Is this word used as a reference to the ‘rapture’ of the church?

Yes.

1 Cor. 15:23 – “Christ has [been] raised from the dead...after that, those who are Christ’s at His coming...”I Thess. 2:19

– “For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His

coming

?”

I Thess. 4:15

– “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the

coming

of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep”Slide29

Things to Come

I Thess. 5:23

– “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”2 Thess. 2:1 – “Now we request you brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him...”

James 5:7-8

– “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the

coming

of the Lord.”

I John 2:28

– “And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His

coming

”Slide30

Things to Come

Q: Is this word used to describe the return of Christ to the earth

WITH

the church? YesMatt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39 – “ (3) Tell us when these things will be, and what will be the sign of Your coming,

and of the

end of the age

?...(27) For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the

coming

of the Son of Man be.... (37) For the

coming

of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah...(39) and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so shall the

coming

of the Son of Man be”Slide31

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I Thess. 3:13

– “...so that He may establish your hearts

unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints”2 Thess. 2:8 – “And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end

by the appearance of His

coming

”

2 Peter 1:16

– “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and

coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (Matt. 17:5)Slide32

Things to Come

1.

Parousia

– used 24 times“The conclusion is inevitable that the same word is used in all these passages in a general and not specific sense. Its contribution to the doctrine [of the coming of Jesus Christ] is to emphasize the bodily presence of Christ

” coming back to the earth from heaven.”

(Pentecost, p. 157)