Address—C.E. Lunden
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Turn to the first chapter of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. And he said and signified it by his Angel unto his servant John.
Who bear record of the word of God, love the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw, blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy.
Keep those things which are written therein for the time is at hand.
John to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you, and peace from him which is, and which was, and which is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne.
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us, and whilst us from our sins in his own blood, and have made us kings and priests, unto God and his Father Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
Even so, Amen.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord. Which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty.
I, John, who also am your brother, the companion in tribulation and in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.
Was in the aisle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet.
Saying I'm Alpha and Omega, the 1St and the last, what thou seest write in a book, and settled unto the seven churches which are in Asia and Ephesus.
Under Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and the Thyatira, and the Sardis, and on the Philadelphia, and on the Laodicea.
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned I saw 7 golden candlesticks.
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one, like under the Son of Man, clogged with a garment down to the foot.
Wrote about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were as a flame of fire, And his feet like on a fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace. And his voice is the sound of money waters.
And he had in his right hand seven stars.
And out of his mouth, when a sharp 2 edged sword and his countless resides in the sun shineth in his strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.
And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me.
Fear not I am the 1St and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead.
And behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen, and have the keys of hell and of death.
Write the things which thou seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be.
Hereafter the mystery of the seven stars, with thou sawest in my right hand.
And the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. I'm going to read the first few verses the next chapter.
Under the Angel of the Church of Ephesus, right these things, said he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand.
Who worked in the midst of the seven golden counter sticks? I know thy works and thy labor.
My patients and how thou canst not bear them, which are evil.
And thou has tried them, which say they are passes and are not, and has found them liars. And it's born and has patience. And for my namesake has labored and has not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou is left thy first love.
Repent therefore from one star of fallen, and remember therefore from one star fallen, and repent, and do the 1St works. Or else I will come unto thee quickly. Will remove my Candlestick out of his place, except thy repent. But this thou hast, that thou handest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He that happened here let him hear, but the Spirit stuck under the churches.
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Doing whatever cometh when I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. In this Book of Revelation, the apostle John is seen at a distance from the one who's speaking and beside that he stands in between the one who's speaking on the assembly. It's not it's not like we have an Ephesians where believers seen this in that nearest place.
To God, because this is the book of judgment.
And it's the judgment on the assembly.
We found here in this chapter, especially the next.
Prison them before us the whole profession of Christianity.
And we're quite well aware today what's going on in the profession of Christianity.
But there's the time coming when all this will come to a head and God will judge it.
Now God never judges his own work.
So if you are in Christ tonight.
We have the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
You will find there will be no judgment upon you.
But still this is so written that it should exercise the heart of each one.
Because the very things that characterize Christendom about us, there's always a danger that we take up with them ourselves and measure.
And so this book is to exercise our hearts.
As to our own actions as believers.
In a day like this, so he says, the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Which God gave unto him to show unto his service things which must be hard to come to pass.
And he sent and signified it by his Angel unto his servant John. That's quite a ways, isn't it, From God himself at the distance. Now they it says, who bear record of the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
I believe that Aaron should be left out of all things which she saw. That is what we have in this chapter of Jesus Christ, as good as the thought.
Now there's a blessing here.
It's rather interesting. In this book of judgment, there are 7 blessings.
The first ones in the first chapter.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they to hear the works.
We can explain it this way.
In most days they didn't have a Bible like we have.
That is, they weren't, in fact.
There probably 1 Copy and one person would read it. In fact there were simply letters.
That were read except the Old Testament.
And someone would get up and read to the assembly, and that's the way they have the word communicated to them. So it says, blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words.
Of this prophecy and keep those things.
Which I wouldn't know in for the time is at hand. Now what time is there that is that that is at hand. He's Speaking of a specific time.
When I will notice in the next verse.
Now John addresses the churches. John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be able to you, and peace from him which is.
That's.
We said this was a book of judgment. God will never give up his rights as being God overall and.
To dispose of the government over man, you allow us to have that place. That will never change.
He was.
He is and is the one who is to come.
This will never change forever, but now.
The time is at hand.
Read There was a Kingdom of Israel.
And in reading the history of it, we find that they failed in the year 60 AD. I believe that.
The whole nation was done away with.
Scattered. Nothing left.
But as set aside Israel because of their failure, now God intends to have a Kingdom.
In this world, and he intends to have a man over that Kingdom now that Kingdom could have been given to the church, but the church failed. We find in the early part of Acts that.
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Before the truth that the Apostle Paul brought out regarding heavenly things.
The assembly would have been in the position to have governed the earth if they had been faithful, so the Kingdom could have been in the hands of the Church.
But now you see, the Church has failed, and we have the record of that failure in the following two chapters. Well then, what is that which is to come? It must be a Kingdom, and it's a Kingdom.
Over which there will be a man. That's the man Christ. Jesus will know in the second chapter of Hebrews that God has not put in the hands of the angels. The world's to come. The angels today have dominion.
That is, they are the servants of God, ordering the universe. They are not seen, but still behind the scenes they are ordering it up. But there's a day coming when this will not be so. Because He is not put in the hands of the angels. The world's to come. He put in the hands of man. Well, that includes more, of course, on Christ, because Christ has a body.
And that's the church.
Now if there's any failure.
That's worse than Israel's. It's the failure of the church. But God deals with his creatures in grace, and he's going to raise the church up to the highest place with Christ. That's in the first chapter of Ephesians. When Christ comes forth as King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Church will come forth with him. Glorious day is coming for this world.
So we learn a little later that Christ is the faithful.
Witness God has placed responsibility in the hands of many priests, kings and governors Rulers.
Prophets.
But they're only each one, a little picture of the one who's going to come and fulfill all of these offices in his own person. That's Jesus. Now Jesus is our Savior. If you're a believer tonight, you can claim Him as your Savior. As we said before, there will be any judgment.
On his own work, but the judgment is going to file on the 1St profession those who claim to be.
The disciples or servants of Jesus, but who never in their hearts have received them as their personal savior. I trust there's no one in this room like that this evening. It could very well be, you know, very well be.
There might be someone in this room this evening that has passed. As a Christian, I remember a young lady.
Probably near her 20s who got up at the close of a conference, went up to the front and she said I've always passed as a Christian, but it never was one until tonight. Think of it awkwardly going on as though she were a Christian.
But never really in her soul to receive Christ as Savior. Well, that's what the judgment is about.
Because God will not have anything but reality.
And sooner or later.
Everything will be tested now. We have 3 big bucks in here. We have first of all, God.
Fourth verse Which is and which was and which is to come? He's over all.
Then we have the seven spirits which are before his throne.
Well, the Spirit of God has spoken of connection with the church. It's one spirit by 1 spirit. Are we all baptized into one body, and one is the question of his government. With seven spirits, 7 is a perfect number and it speaks of the government of God going out to the whole earth or even universe.
Every direction so the spirits, 7 spirits which are before his throne. Now the third is and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness of the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.
We have God, then first of all his position of authority over all things. We have the Spirit who carries out.
I like which is has to do with the glory of God.
And his actions in connection with his creatures.
And then we have Jesus Christ mentioned as.
The faithful witness.
There never was a faithful witness before.
And there must be a faithful witness if God is going to have a man on the throne of this world. Jesus is that faithful witness beside that.
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He has a title of.
The first forgotten or first born?
From the dead.
And the Prince of the kings of the earth. So here's the man then that's going to reign the man Christ Jesus. We have gone out, we have the Holy Spirit and now we have Christ who who publicly is going to have to do with the administration of this earth in the millennial day fellow. And we've noticed that we've had Israel as God's testimony and it failed.
The church was raised up and the churches failed.
This one will never fail. He's been proved even unto death. A man who has been proved, he'll never fail. And that's where our souls rest tonight who are saved. We're resting on a man who cannot fail.
It's impossible for him to fail. Is that not some comfort for you tonight as a Christian, that your soul is resting on a person that cannot fail? Now John's ministry and John wrote this book is protectively connected with eternal life, but not eternal life in heaven particularly.
But that eternal life as it was seen down here in Jesus on the earth, that's his ministry.
He rarely speaks of heaven in the sense that we're going to go there. He speaks of it on the 14th of John, the 17th.
But it's usually connected with the man Christ Jesus down here in this world. Who is that eternal life?
Now that really is a wonderful thought, is it not?
But you and I are associated with the man, the man Christ Jesus, and he is that eternal life in his own person.
And suddenly in the epistles of John he writes about the believer.
And he shows the believers partaking of that very same life you and I now have, that same eternal life that was found in Jesus when he came down here.
Are simply believing on him as our savior. Now these are wonderful truths but the book of the Book of Revelation takes us to the time when God is going to judge our laws have refused that eternal life. But first of all he's going to take up the church which has had the highest privileges. No one has been privileged like the Church of God, but we have to distinguish here between.
That which is merely profession and that which is real.
And so at the very beginning, we have the Spirit of God introducing.
That rest of that fifth verse under him that loved us.
Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests under God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion, forever and ever. Amen. I'm sure that the Spirit of God put this in so that at the very start you and I can rest assured.
That in the face of all these judgments that are going to file upon Christendom.
The believer has peace and rest will never be touched by one of these judgments.
However, we said before, let's sub to the churches for all of us to be exercised with. But the destiny of each church is spoken of and we have to distinguish between those who are real and those who are unreal. Not that we can determine it in another.
That we can in ourselves.
Now the next verse, seventh verse, introduces him again to the earth.
He's coming back. The Lord Jesus was here the first time and he was cast out, but he's coming back.
Now, the first time he came, He came in lowly grace to be the Savior.
But the next time he comes.
Growth is going to mourn, you know.
Man can go on and on and on, day after day.
As though all things will continue as they were, as it says in Peter. But it's not son.
God has something to say to this world, but especially to those who have made the profession of Christianity.
The Jew never had what you have as a believer.
They never, they never saw themselves seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. That's where God sees you tonight if you're a Christian. But if you made the profession of being in such a place and you're not real, there's nothing left for you but judgment. And there's no judgment as severe as judgment that will roll over Christendom.
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Because those who have the most light will be held accountable for the light that they have had. Behold, he cometh with clouds.
That's his kind of glory, and every eye shall see him.
That's the character of the Millennial day.
This world was actually going to see the Lord Jesus Christ.
Will see him in flaming fire and judgment.
Some will see him as their deliverer because his feet will yet stand on the Mount of Olives.
It is saying that He will bring the little remnant of faith, and He will set up the Kingdom with a little remnant of Judah.
And then the 10 tribes will come back. Then shall a remnant of his brethren return to the children of Israel.
After the Kingdom is set up in the tomb, when the remnant of the 10 tribes will come back.
And John the two, and the Kingdom will be established in the 12 tribes. All these things are coming, and all this could take place and be over in seven years, if the Lord came for us this evening very near to it. And though also which pierced him, that's Israel, they also which pierced Him. And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him, Even so.
Amen. Now the earth is not the world. You may.
Wonder why I said that the earth is a moral expression connected with that part of the world that's going to be under judgment. When I judgments are on the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteous. The judgments will not cover the world, they will cover only the earth. Now the earth is that part of the world that has had a testimony from God.
The Jew, the Church, and in a in the coming day.
Before the Lord Jesus returns the gospel, the Kingdom will go out to the nations who are the neighbors of Israel, and they'll all hear the gospel of the Kingdom.
And those who have rejected that gospel in the Kingdom will wail when he comes. I'm Arthur Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord. Which is and which was and which is to come. Now this is taking us back to God's original revelation of Himself, like He made known himself known to Abraham the Almighty. He's the beginning and the end.
The ******* and Omega.
Find this at the end of the book as well.
Here is spoken of as the beginning and the end, because it's the beginning of the book, the end of the book. He says the same thing because it's the end of the book altogether. Says which is and which was, which is to come the Almighty.
I, John, who else? And your brother and companion in tribulation.
And in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was in the Isle that is called Patnos for the word of God.
For the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Now John is speaking here of proper Christian position.
Not as the Apostle Paul speaks of it, of course.
But.
As to everyday testimony.
Companion in Tribulation and in the Kingdom.
And patience of Jesus Christ.
It's not only given to you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to suffer for His sake.
You and I do not know very much about this.
Suffering for Christ's sake.
As we notice in the next chapter, we'll see a reference to those who had passed through deep, deep trials.
For the name of Christ burnt to the state.
For his namesake.
We don't know anything about that today.
But there is suffering for Christ, and maybe a little different way, because he that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
And so we can use verses like this to test whether or not.
We are suffering whether we are living godly Christ.
Otherwise, we live like the world around us, and that isn't giving a testimony, is it?
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You know your testimony isn't simply getting up and speaking about Christ.
Your testimony is living it.
It's a practical everyday life. That's the testimony. And no matter what we say, if there isn't that accompanying it, there's no testimony. It's a solemn consideration, isn't it? You know, every believer in a sense, is a testimony. You can't help but be the very fact that you're a believer.
But that's not quite the same, you know, as following with John in the path of persecution and tribulation. But then we have something else. Notice what it says in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.
The Kingdom supposes the lordship of Christ in our lives Kingdom is always a question of.
Obedience.
Responsibility.
And patience is a mark in the Christian of spiritual power.
When everything around is opposed to Christianity.
Post your testimony.
It requires a lot of patience and that is a result of communion.
You have spiritual power manifested down here.
The Kingdom.
Owning the Lordship of Christ in our lives.
And the patience of Jesus Christ. Now, I suppose this includes the patient waiting for Christ, because Christ is waiting for the church right now. He's waiting to hear that shout just as much as you are. More so.
It's the Father who gives the signal, and then Christ comes.
But he is waiting patiently, because the dearest thing to his heart is the Church.
He became a man, and as a man it is not good for man to be alone.
And so that just as God prepared a bride for Adam, God is preparing a bride for Christ.
And if you're a Christian tonight, you're a part of that bride. And he's waiting, patiently waiting for that moment. And I trust each one here is waiting like he's waiting. If we're waiting, we're not becoming engaged in the things of this world.
We're not allowing our whole life to be occupied with the present. There's a class spoken of in Revelation who are like that. They're called earth dwellers, and when the true church is gone, they'll be left behind because they loved earth more than heaven.
And that's solemn, too. I know that one person is very young. There's a tendency to be attracted to everything down here, and God is patient with us.
And little by little these things dropped off. If we want to work with God, nobody can force you, force them away from you, except the Spirit of God. You can draw your heart to Christ, and these things will drop off little by little. Patience of Christ with the patient, waiting for Christ. Now the apostle was on the Isle of Patmos. Oh, you say this is terrible, to have a man banished like that because he believes in Christ.
Well, what happened when Paul was put in prison?
We got those epistles which give us the highest truths that we've ever been given, and now that John is banished to this Isle, we get these marvelous truths as to the coming glories of Christ. Because that's what Revelation is all about, the book of judgment, true.
That the scene has to be cleared because the Lord Jesus is not going to reign until it's all cleared.
All evil has to be put away, put down. Then he's coming to reign. He's going to send these angels and cleanse his Kingdom of all things that offend them members to iniquity. Then he's coming to rape. This will come take place as soon as the church is gone. The true church is gone because the false church was stay for judgment. Now he's to write what he sees in a book.
He was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and heard a great voice behind him as a trumpet.
He turns around to see it and 1St he's told what thou see us write in a book. We have it tonight.
But haven't written before us.
Who sent it unto the seven churches which are in Asia at Ephesus?
And bergamot and Thyatira Sardis in Philadelphia, Laodicea.
Now these seven churches, it doesn't mean that there are only 7 churches.
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That day there were many churches, but these churches have the certain characteristics.
Of the failure.
That the Lord.
Is going to bring before the whole church down through the 2000 years. Now that doesn't mean that this all happened at once.
During these 2000 years, these are 7 distinct stages that the Church has gone through.
During these 2000 years and what does he see? He sees 7 golden candlesticks. Now those candlesticks represent the churches. You get that in the last verse of the chapter and the Lord is seen in the midst of them.
Now he is not seen in this picture like he was seen when he was here the first time among men, feeling the sick and cleansing the lepers and raising the dead.
No, he is seen here as a judge. He has a garment down to his foot.
No mercy. He's girded with a golden girdle. Divine righteousness.
He's judging. It's not a time of mercy, it's a time of judgment. Same person.
The same person who was here offering mercy whosoever will, but now he's come as a judge.
For the first to be judged as the professing church. Christendom. 7 golden candlesticks.
God speaks of divine righteousness.
That was the profession of each assembly professing to maintain.
The testimony of divine righteousness down here. Has the church done this? You know very well it's not so.
You know very well how we failed in testimony, even the little things replaced in our hands, and yet this is the standard divine righteousness. Where else would there be a testimony if it weren't in the place where God had set up a testimony here on the earth following Israel's?
There is no other testimony to go out on the earth.
And if there's any testimony at all today, it's in those who really have received the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts as Savior and are seeking by grace to walk in the path that He's laid out.
Without pretending anything. So that's what's left of the testimony, Son of man.
Says one like him of the Son of Man. Still distance, but it was the Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the foot, and gird about the paths with a golden girdle. All the affections enclosed his head, and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow. Now he's the Ancient of Days, same one has spoken of in Daniel.
God himself and his eyes were as a flame of fire. Fire speaks of judgment, and he misses nothing.
He searches everything no one can escape.
To search against. Now. This is true for us as Christians. He knows everything that goes on in our lives and in our hearts.
There's going to be a reward for faithfulness. You know, every Christian, of course, has the salvation that's in Christ Jesus, but there's also reward for faithfulness.
Beside that and so his these piercing eyes, they see everything in our lives.
Things that we might think, well, we can allow this, but no one else knows about it.
No, no it's not. So we have to do with one who's who has piercing eyes.
From a fire his feet like a divine brass if they burn in a furnace.
Now brass speaks of judgment. Really.
The thought of He has the right to judge.
And so everything on the earth that his feet touches will be tested by fire. Fire God's character that tests everything. And his voice is the sound of many waters. That's the majesty of his person.
It's that very same voice by which he judges it was the majesty of his person, and he had in his right hand 7.
Stars out of his mouth when a sharp 2 edged sword.
And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. The judgment isn't in this chapter yet.
But we see the one who's going to judge, and this is what the apostle is given to see.
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That is, to write about the character of the person who is the judge. His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Our sun is the symbol of supreme authority. The Lord Jesus as a man has supreme authority over all things. Besides that, he is God. He's the Son of man because he's taken a place as man, but he has gone marvelous glory of his first God over all blessed breath. So we read in the 17th of Acts that he's going to be the judge.
By that man that is ordained.
Why is God going to use a man for a judge?
So man will never be able to say when he's judged. You don't know anything about man. You've never had my experience.
Because the very one who's the judge has been through all the experiences of this life, Sienna Park. So when he judges, he judges with the full knowledge of the experience that every man has passed through in principle.
And his judgments are right.
But think of the judgments here which have to do with the testimony of God on the earth that's been committed.
Demand.
Now Israel failed and the Church will fail.
But still, each individual person is accountable for his actions.
All this will come out in the judgment in that coming day, because God is going to judge the secrets of man by Christ Jesus.
According to Paul's gospel.
It is Sodom time for man.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead, and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I'm the 1St and the last. I'm he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I'm alive forevermore. Amen Have the keys of hell and death. But here's the one who has the keys of hell and death.
John.
Fell before him prostate.
Because of the glorious person.
But he gives John to see that he was the one who has the keys of hell and death, and John was the one who could enjoy now that that place, even though it is in the midst of judgment.
It's rather interesting why John was chosen to write the Book of Revelation. John was the one who lay on Jesus bosom when you think about all those visions that John has.
He had to be.
In the in the enjoyment of the love of Christ to ever to be able to stand to see all those visions. So it was repeated over and over again. That disciple which lay on his bosom, right. The things which thou seen, that's the first chapter. The things which are it's the second and third chapters. That's the present day.
Christen them.
The present testimony of the Church down here, then from the 4th chapter on.
It's the things that are after these, not hereafter, but after these. The things that are after these first chapter, the things thou seen, That's the person who's the judge.
Then the second and third chapters, those that he will judge.
The things which are.
Are today in these 2000 years?
Then the things that will be after these.
And that's the judgments that will come upon this earth after the true Church is taken out.
The things after.
These.
And so he explains in the 21St The seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand are the seven golden candlesticks, and the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars, are the angels of the seven churches. Now the angels, the word Angel, is representative. And so.
The picture before us is those who have the responsibility.
In each assembly, in one sense, everyone in the assembly has that responsibility because he's speaking to the whole church. But there's a special responsibility for those who are in that position place there of God as overseers in the assembly.
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Now those are the ones that are spoken of as the Angel of the church, which is at Ephesus, and so on.
Now that doesn't relieve the responsibility of each one, but there is a special responsibility attached to those who take the lead.
And they'll have to give an account in that day. So we have the first one mentioned here, Angela Church at Ephesus. And just speak briefly of it tonight. These things said he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walked in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience.
And how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou St. them which say they are apostles, and are not as found in liars. Not in these verses we've read. It looks outwardly as though everything is all right.
And to the average person, it looks as though the assembly at Ephesus was in a rather a good state. But if you would read it carefully, you'll see that there's quite a difference between the state of Ephesus here.
And the state of one Thessalonians, if you compare the two, because you see here, if you'll just turn to that passage for one moment, First Thessalonians first chapter. I'm going to read this while you look at the one in Ephesians in Revelation verse 3, remembering without ceasing your work of faith.
Faith is missing.
The labor of love.
And patience of hope.
You see, Michelle was there, but the inner life was gone. So that's how the church felt and never recovered as an assembly. The works were there, but they weren't works of faith. There was labor, but it wasn't labor of love. There wasn't patience of hope. All that which would appear well outwardly was there.
But what was missing was the inner life. Now those who do not have Christ as their Savior have no inner life.
They can carry out the outward line of things, but if there's no heart in it.
No faith, no love, no hope. Now God has given us these things to test our hearts, to see where we are tonight in the things of God.
You know there's a day coming when God is going to.
Judge those who receive not the love of the truth.
Had the truth.
They had the outward shell of it. They didn't have the love of the truth.
Solomon probably deceived in their minds all the time.
Until that murmur of judgment, receive not the love of the truth. What else do we have here that that needs to be tested? How thou canst not bear them which are evil. How did the evil get into the assembly? Do you know, beloved, if if each believer was walking in communion, there wouldn't be any evil come into the assembly. So it's lack of watchfulness on the part of each of the ones in the assembly. It wouldn't be an evil there. Now they have to bear with the evil.
Instead of being in the enjoyment of the things of Christ together, they're occupied with evil.
And that's been the history of the people of God down through the ages because of what happened in the first church and was never judged. Evil, evil, evil all the way. Satan wants to spoil everything that God has set up.
And he will try his best to do so.
Thus try them which say their apostles and are not, and has found them liars.
Well, it's rather easy to sit in judgment, you know, except here. And that's what we need because he said repent, repent. It's easy to judge those who are false apostles. But what about the next?
Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou left thy first love.
All that Christ did for us.
The work on Calvary's cross.
They made sin for us.
It should dry out our affections, should keep us fresh in our souls.
But he said, Thou hast left.
By first love, be sure of this. This is the secret of declension, whether it be at the beginning of the Church's history or whether it be.
Today, that's the secret of declension, leaving first love. The church never came back to it.
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But you and I can come back to it individually.
There will never be a corporate testimony on the earth again like the first.
Never be recovered, but that shouldn't hinder each individual soul being in the enjoyment of first love, affections for Christ, occupation with Christ. And how does this come about? By reading the gospels. We want our hearts warmly read the Gospels. We want to be established in doctrines we read the epistles. Thus left thy first love.
Well, may the Lord then impress this verse upon ourselves tonight. The declension of the First Church.
Based on this very thing that's left by first love.