The Saints Overcome with Pastor Joshua
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The Saints Overcome with Pastor Joshua
Pastor Joshua reveals why most of Revelation was fulfilled in the first century, not our future
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Live from the Saints headquarters in Tallahassee, Arizona. Spreading the gospel, equipping the Saints, standing for the word of truth, proclaiming God's grace. Now, on a podcast near you, welcome your host, Pastor Joshua, on. The Saints Will Overcome Ministries.
Speaker 2:Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Pastor Joshua. I am back. It's an honor and a pleasure to be with you. Ladies and gentlemen, last time we talked about the introduction to Revelations. Ladies and gentlemen, last time we talked about the introduction to Revelations and I really want to talk about this introduction a little bit more and my particular stance on what I believe about Revelations. I believe that the majority of Revelations was fulfilled in the first century after the death of Christ. I don't believe that the majority of it takes place in the future, and I ask that you bear with me, you stay with me, you understand my position as we go along and journey through this book of revelations, and I want to read a chapter to you so you can get my position, and then we'll carry on where we left off. This is Matthew 24.
Speaker 2:In this particular chapter, a lot of people talk about and believe that this is what happens at the end of the times, at the end of the world. So we're going to start on Matthew 24, verse 1. So here we go, guys, here we go, ladies and gentlemen. Jesus left the temple and was walking away with his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. Do you see? All of these things, he asked Truly. I tell you not one stone here will be left upon another. Every one will be thrown down. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. Tell us. They said when will these things happen and what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age? Now, a lot of individuals interpret this different. Now, a lot of individuals interpret this different. And the New International Version says the end of the age. Some dynamic equivalents or continuums will say at the end of the world. So I like this interpretation because I believe it's the end of the age, and the end of the Jewish age, in a sense, of this particular time frame in history. Now, what does the word coming mean? Does it mean coming at the end of the world, as many futurists believe when they interpretate this verse? Some commentators, there's many individual theologians that believe coming means coming in judgment, and Matthew 24 has to do with the genre of a apocalyptic judgment language that this chapter is written in, which I'm basically sympathetic, to which that's my belief.
Speaker 2:Now let's look at Jesus's response to his disciples. Jesus answered watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, claiming I am the Messiah, and will deceive many. There were those individuals in the first century that were claiming to be Messiah. So this happened in the first century and this was happening. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All of these things are the beginning of birth pains and you know what. This is true, as it was back then, as it is now. There's wars and rumors of wars. Look what's going on today with Russia, with Ukraine, with Gaza, with Israel, with the United States getting involved. So there's a far, in the sense of far outreaching prophetic fulfillment of this, but there's a historical fulfillment of this which I believe Matthew 24 is talking about.
Speaker 2:We have to remember, ladies and gentlemen, that the Jews, they were anti-Christ back then and I'm not anti-Semitic by any means. So please, please, nobody misinterpret that we have Judeo-Christian values, but they actually believe that he is not the Messiah. They wanted a physical Messiah, they wanted a king like David, and Christ is predicting a judgment against the nation of Israel and he's going to come and judge them and that's what he's going to do for their apostasy, for their blasphemy. And this takes place. And this was fulfilled literally in AD 70 under Titus. Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the temple buildings Figuratively. No stone was left upon one another. There was an excavation done in 1968 and it covered a large amount of these stones.
Speaker 2:False messiahs, wars, famines, earthquakes, all occurred in the 40 years between Christ's crucifixion, around AD 30-33, and the destruction of the temple happened in AD 70. Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, mentions all of these things, all of these acts. So we have to understand and put all of these things into context. The labor pains they demonstrate a baby that the body wants to deliver. So all these things are going to happen persecution, martyrdom, apostasy, false prophets.
Speaker 2:The wickedness of the nation, ladies and gentlemen, is what is occurring. Then you will be handed over. Well, let's just back up a little bit about the deception, about the wars, the rumors of wars. And it says all these things will be the beginning of birth pains, famines and earthquakes. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and be put to death and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as the testimony to all nations. Then the end will come. There's a disagreement on what all nations mean, all the nations within the Roman Empire, and the end will come. The end of what will come, well, like I believe the end of the actual Jewish system will come, well, like I believe the end of the actual jewish system will come and the end of the actual world in the sense of the modern world in that geographical location. And that's what I believe.
Speaker 2:What is happening here is jesus is prophesying judgment on the Jewish population for abandoning him as the Messiah coming to look over them, wanting to love them, wanting to care for them. But that did not happen. So let's continue reading, ladies and gentlemen. So when you see, standing in the holy place, the abomination that causes desolation, spoken through by the prophet daniel, let the reader understand, then let those who are in jude flee to the mountains. And this is very important. What do we have going on here?
Speaker 2:The abomination that causes desolation, and this was predicted in Daniel 9, 27, 11, 31, and 12, 12. And a lot of individuals commentators believe that this has to do with Antiochus, epiphanes and the desecration of the temple, which is the holy place, and that was fulfilled in 167 BC. But there's a future event yet to come, that when Rome destroyed the temple in AD 70. So what I believe the coming means in this scripture is the coming of judgment, the end of the world, the Jewish system as the Jews know it, for abandoning and betraying Christ. Not all, because there was a very, very faithful remnant 144,000, that fled to Pala. That we will see in Revelations.
Speaker 2:But these are the jews, the majority that make up the nation that abandoned the messiah, and christ isn't having it. He's going to judge. It will be a dreadful judgment, and he talks about the abomination that causes desolation through the prophet daniel and he says let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down and take anything out of the house. We don't have housetops here in America. But every Jew's house had a little porch on the top where they could have a lookout and then go sit up there, and it was a common thing. On the housetop built in the compound Let no one go into the field, go back to get his cloak Because it was an agrarian society. How dreadful it would be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers. Pray that your flight will not take place in the winter or on the Sabbath, for then there will be great distress, unequaled for the beginning of the world until now, never to be equaled again.
Speaker 2:So we have to understand Christ is trying to warn his people. So as we move in to this beautiful book of Revelations and we start from Revelation chapter 1 and we go from verse 12 to 16 that's what we're picking up today, ladies and gentlemen, we have to understand that I'm addressing this book, pastor Joshua, from the standpoint, the vantage point of the judgment taking place on the Jewish system and nation for abandoning Christ. And God is going to use the Roman Empire to administer that judgment, which is not a good nation itself, which is a wicked system and a wicked nation itself. But this is what God chooses to do. So not everything was fulfilled in the first century. But a lot was fulfilled in the first century and you'll see as we go down how I lay that timeline out as I go down through Revelations and the history of Revelations and I will throw some idealist view in there, a little bit of historicist and futurist. But my main teaching when we go through this book is a methodology, a partial preterist methodology, but a methodology of going through it and understanding what it is and not specifically staying adherent 100 to the partial preterist view, because I believe all these views that are explained by commentators and theologians, scholars, are very, very good points in each and every one of them.
Speaker 2:So let's pick up at Revelations 1, 12-16. This is what John is seeing. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me and, having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. In the midst of the seven lampstands one was like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to his feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool. And I want to stop right there.
Speaker 2:You have a lot of African people. Black people. They'll say he was black because his hair was like wool. People they'll say you know, he was black because his hair was like wool. And this is not talking about what his hair was, and this scripture on verse 14 is talking about that. His head and hair were like wool, as white as snow. So it's talking about a color, it's not talking about the texture. So I want you to understand one thing, ladies and gentlemen I'm married to a black woman, which I love her very much.
Speaker 2:But I want to tell you guys something this book is written symbolically and so we can't take the majority of this book literally. The methodology approach in this genre of writing is mostly symbolic, but literalism is appropriate to its interpretation of the book of Revelations to some degree. As white as snow and his eyes like a flame of fire. Basically it's piercing vision. Christ sees all. His hair is white as snow. Eternal Christ is eternal.
Speaker 2:The wisdom of Christ. His feet were like fine brass, his judgment treading in the winepress as this book is unfolding, as is refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven stars out of his mouth when a sharp, two-edged sword. His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. Sword. His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. So he has in his right hand seven stars, which is the seven churches that John is writing to and out of his mouth. What a two-edged sword, and we have to remember this two-edged sword. Is the gospel going out, is the judgment going out? Happen to the nation of Israel? And so that is what's going on over here right now, in the book of Revelations. And you have this golden band worn across his chest, which is a symbol of high rank in the ancient world. You have a long linen garment which is priestly.
Speaker 2:Christ is the high priest. He has white hair, which is honor and wisdom, like I was saying, wisdom before flaming eyes conveying his vision, seeing all, piercing all the judgment. And so that's what we have to understand about this verse. We have to understand is Christ is all powerful, christ is all seeing, christ has all seeing, christ has all knowledge. This is the one that is going and that is worthy of breaking every single seal, and we will see that, as John is weeping and sad and waiting, who is this one that can open the seal? It's this drama unfolding, this beautiful drama that's unfolding, that we all need to see and that we all need to take in to our spirits and be in awe of what is actually happening in this situation right now. So if we go back to Daniel, chapter 10, and we read verses 1 through 4, we can start unlocking what Daniel's talking about when he witnesses the majesty. So let me read Daniel, chapter 10, verse one through four.
Speaker 2:In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel, who was called Belshazzar. Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. At that time I, daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food, no meat or wine touched my lips and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. So Daniel, in a sense, is in this time of cleansing, spiritual cleansing, in this time of mourning as his vision starts unfolding. For Daniel it's a time of soberness and a time of seriousness, and I don't doubt Daniel was full of anxiety and angst as his vision is being uncovered and unveiled for him.
Speaker 2:And as we pick up in verse 4, on the 24th day of the first month, I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris. I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Eupaz around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze and his voice sounded like a multitude. So if we compare this to what John is saying, we can understand. It's not saying what Christ looks like, in a sense, but what Christ is like, and this apocalyptic language is extraordinary because John is conveying the majesty and the glory of Christ. So we talk about the seven stars, which are the seven churches right the two-edged sword, and that verse is given as we continue, of these seven stars in verse 20. So let's go from Revelations 1 through 17 to 19 now.
Speaker 2:And when I saw him, john that is, I fell at his feet as dead, but he laid his right hand on me, saying to me do not be afraid, I am alive forevermore. Amen, and I have the keys to Hades and of death. Write these things which you have seen and the things which which are and the things that will take place after this. So if we notice, john falls to his feet like he was dead when he sees the majesty of christ, because it was so awe-inspiring and his presence was so powerful he could barely even handle it. That's how majestic God is, christ is, and he held the keys to Hades and death and he raised himself with his own power, with the power of God.
Speaker 2:John is seeing a miraculous, miraculous vision. Hades will not prevail against the church. That comes from Matthew 16, 18. And Jesus is the one who holds them keys to Hades and death. He can unlock and open the gates, he can shut the door and he resurrects the saints on the last day. So, as John is told to write these things down, which he has seen, he's in awe of what he is witnessing in front of him through this vision. So this is an amazing, amazing situation that is happening as John is writing all of this down, the apocalypse, and we have to understand that. I believe the majority that this is taking place in the first century.
Speaker 2:When we talk about the seven stars in Revelations 1.20, we have to understand what John is telling us, what he's describing, the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. So I had that transversed a little bit. The seven stars are the seven angels, but the lampstands are the churches. So we have to understand that. There are theologians and commentators that believe the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands are two different things. Some individuals believe that angels mean angelic beings guarding the seven churches, while others believe the seven messengers or the seven ministers are the ones delivering this message, as they're reading the letter to John. Either way, they're overseers of the church and that's what we have to understand. They're working hand in hand by the providence of God. So John is revealing these things to the seven churches through the messengers. God is giving this vision. Jesus Christ is giving this vision through John. So there's a lot happening right here the seven spirits, and so this goes on and on and on in the book of Revelations, and this is a beautiful book.
Speaker 2:This is a book that is very difficult and hard for a lot of people to understand. This book by no means is easy, and that's why we're going through this book right now, as we speak, and that's why at the beginning I was talking about Matthew 24 and the signs of the time, because there's quite a few different interpretations and I believe it's very important that we go through this book verse by verse together so we can get more of a general understanding of what John is revealing through Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning of the end, which Christ is the vision of the Son of man. Writing to the churches, the seven churches. The historicists believe that these are seven different ages, which I disagree with. I don't believe there are seven different ages, disagree with, I don't believe there's seven different ages seeing the seven golden lampstands, the Son of man clothed in a robe, the stars having the keys to death in Hades, and so these are very important things that are going to lead up in a dramatic play, in the sense, to sort of speak, that we need to pay really, really close attention to.
Speaker 2:And he talks about Revelations 2, 1 through 7, about a letter to Ephesus. So let's continue reading about the letter to Ephesus. So let's continue reading about the letter to Ephesus. To the angel of the church of Ephesus, write these things. I say, he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil, and you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars. I want to stop right there, ladies and gentlemen. Christ is encouraging, complimenting is encouraging, complimenting, exhorting the church in Ephesus and says you guys do not tolerate false teachers, you do not tolerate wolves.
Speaker 2:And I go through this in my book, the American Jesus America's Quest to Redefine the Savior. And I want you to answer yourself a question as we're reading this how many churches in America have you seen and heard entertain false preachers, wolves, liars selling the gospel, using it as a sales manual, hurting the congregation, using it as a sales manual, hurting the congregation? Luke 6, give me a tithe, give me the 10%. I've never seen a situation where God hasn't given you back more for giving. Well, that's an anathematized interpretation of the book of Luke. Those people were extremely poor. We know about the widow's might and we know God honors giving.
Speaker 2:But for a false wolf to preach at the pulpit, which most do in America, and promise a return on investment, like it's on the New York Stock Exchange and the SMP, is totally anti-biblical. And that's why one of my chapters is called Materialism or Messiah, because a lot of these churches are selling Jesus's name. They're just doing it in a heretical way which is fooling the masses. 10% is the training wheels to giving, and giving to God is a very, very good thing, it's a biblical thing, it's a mandate thing is how much you love him. But then a lot of wolves at the pulpit are extorting their community of believers through guilt and that is the model in America for a lot of preachers, and I will say it and I will not back down from it.
Speaker 2:But look at this letter to Ephesus as Christ is relaying this information. He says you can't bear those evil people. You've tested them saying they're apostles. A lot of people now in the churches are saying they're apostles, you have found them liars. They're Bereans, they're testing the scripture, just like Paul said, and you have persevered and you have patience and have labored for my namesake and you have not grown weary. So they're getting complimented in Ephesus on. They are staying strong to doctrine, they love the doctrine and we get a view of the church in its totality, in its whole, and what Christ wants from the church. But he does have a situation here, jesus, and he has a charge to bring against Ephesus. So their teaching is spot on, their non-tolerance is spot on.
Speaker 2:But we have a problem here, in verse 4. Christ says nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have lost your first love. What is the first love that Jesus is talking about? What is Christ trying to tell the church in Ephesus? That they have lost their first love. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen. Repent and do your first works, else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand, which is your church, remember from its place unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate, the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, and that's capital Spirit right. To him who overcomes, I will give you from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. So we have a lot going on here.
Speaker 2:Their teaching is spot on, their non-tolerance for people that are lying is spot on, and this city, ephesus, has a population around 250,000. So it's a big city, it's one of the most largest, important cities in the Roman province of Asia. But they had a cult within this city and it was devoted to Artemis Diana, and so you had a lot of pagan worship going on in this city. The temple to the goddesses, to the goddess, and this was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. So the church of Ephesus was established by Paul in a city that was heretical, that practiced a lot of cultic worship, and that was probably very difficult for the Ephesians.
Speaker 2:Can you imagine being surrounded by a city of pagan cult worship? And there had to be persecution going on? There just had to be a lot trying to survive an environment of such, and so their love, their love, has grown cold. They've forgotten their first love, and there's probably elements of some people practicing idolatry and not staying true to the word. And so that is a situation that is going on. This church is being tested.
Speaker 2:Man, I could imagine if that was going on in our day, how we would hold up we can't even hold up in a lot of these churches, in a system of nothing but materialism and luxuries that are beyond anything we could imagine. To me, we haven't even been tested in America yet we have not even dealt with a situation close to this, and so that is the situation that's going on, and Christ, the one that holds the stars in his right hand in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, what that has to do with is Jesus' sovereignty and his majesty is he's controlling all of this. He is God, he is Jesus, he is the son of God, he is the high priest and he affirms the knowledge of the positive things that they're doing. I mean, their labor is right on, their patience is right on, it's what he loves about the church and they don't tolerate evil. And they were exercising a lot of discernment on keeping a lot of these false actors out of the church and this was a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2:Can you imagine how much trouble our churches are in? We are in a lot of trouble here in America. I mean, we focus on coffee shops and programs and all of these things, and people leave the church and a lot of them are angry. During the day, right when they leave, they're almost ramming people off the freeway and it's almost like a lot of the love ends where the door meets, the door jam and they walk out. I'm not being judgmental, but I see it and this is a problem in our modern day churches.
Speaker 2:You walk out, you go right back into the world of self-centeredness and idolatry of I am my own God, and I'm encouraging all believers to stay strong, to reject the false teaching, to reject the lies, to don't fall victim to the devil's deeds, but stay true to teaching. Don't forget your first love. And Christ tells the church repent and do the things that you need to do, that you did at first Meaning. We all need to repent, I need to repent, we all need to repent and always come back to our first love every single morning.
Speaker 2:And Jesus condemns the Nicolaitans and their heretical sect and their name literally means victory people. And they promoted false teaching, idolatry, immorality, and they basically taught the disgusting edicts of Balaam and Jezebel, as you look at in verse 14 and 20. And the Ephesian church said we detest Balaam, we detest Jezebel, and Jezebel was a very, very, very evil, wicked woman, ladies and gentlemen, and her name lives on in infamy to this very day. So Christ commends this church. He says you've resisted evil, you have vanquished the false apostles, the Nicolaitans. You want nothing to do with their teacher or their traditions and their teachers, because they were pure, pure evil that were bringing down the church, like a lot of false teachers are doing this today. They're Nicolaitans and they're doing the same thing and they're just calling it something else. And Nicholas was the main guy that was starting this cult. That's why it started and that's why it was called the Nicolaitans. And we can go back and we can go look at Acts 6, 5. They became a heretical sect.
Speaker 2:So John is writing as kind of like an amanuensis, in a sense, the vision that Christ is revealing to him. They have not become weary. They forgot about their first love, and so that is the thing that Christ has to bring against them. But they're loyal when it comes to the word. Christ says he gives a warning I can remove your lampstand. This does not have to do with the second coming. I don't believe it has to do with an admonishment of judgment. So Christ is saying hey, gird yourself up and get back to the basics. I need you to do these things. I need you to come back to me. I love you and I do not want to lose this church and I do not want to remove the lampstand. I want to keep the lampstand strong and I want you to conquer so you can eat from the tree of life. And these are what he's saying to the seven churches, because you've got to remember, the seven churches are the light of the world. The lampstands light up the darkness the world. The lampstands light up the darkness and I really want to go through.
Speaker 2:And I want to talk about the letter to Smyrna and we're going to stop after this letter because this is going to take a long time to go through this book. I mean, we're basically just hitting the introduction Letter to Smyrna, revelations 2, 8 through 11. So remember the church in Ephesus. They don't tolerate no false teaching but they're losing their love and I believe part of that love was the love amongst each other. They were headstrong in their theology but they were headstrong in their theology but they were weak in their hearts showing love to one another and to jesus christ himself. So the love kind of grew cold. It grew cold but the theology was spot on. And I've noticed when I went to a lot of protestant churches around the valley not a lot, so I don't want to say that, but went to a couple and that was a situation of one church I had to leave. The theology was just amazing, but the heart of the church, the love was cold and so I left.
Speaker 2:Revelations 2, 8 through 11. And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write these things say the first and the last, he who was dead and came to life. I know your works, tribulation and poverty. So this is a poor church. They don't have a lot of money. Christ is looking at their works, but you are rich works but you are rich and I know the blasphemy of those who say they were jews and are not but are the synagogue of satan. So there's an element of jews that are blaspheming the christians and this and the church in smyrna and jesus is saying that they are the synagogue of Satan, that they are anti-Christ, that they are working against the church. And he is witnessing this and he's not going to tolerate it much longer. Tolerate it much longer that he is going to deal with this and he's encouraging them and praising them and he sees their suffering.
Speaker 2:And this was a big city. It was a harbor city and it was right around 35 miles north of Ephesus, 35 miles north of Ephesus, and this church in Smyrna, in this city. It was a beautiful city, it had a civic pride and it was supposedly the place to Homer's birthplace, where he was born. It was an important center of emperor worship and a home to the goddess Roma. So you have a big pagan element. One of the greatest philosophers was born there. So there was a high degree of idolatry going on there and these Jews were being persecuted. This Jewish church, this Gentile church I should say the mixture of both it was being persecuted by Jews. Jews were afflicting them, gentiles were afflicting this church, calling those Jews the synagogue of Satan. We have to remember, smyrna had a population of Jews and they were persecuting Christians instead of recognizing who these Christians were and who these Christians were worshiping.
Speaker 2:But Jesus says this Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you in prison, that you may be tested. You will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. I want you to think about that. They're going to throw you in prison. You're going to face an intense, brief persecution and testing and you can possibly die. That's a big deal. That's not something to take lightly.
Speaker 2:I have not even suffered anything close to that and I pray to God, if you're listening to this radio show and you're in a time of tribulation and suffering there are people that listen to this show in Africa and Sudan and all over the world that I encourage you to pray to Christ to give you that faith, because that faith is a gift and I do not take it lightly and do not say this lightheartedly, because I've never had to face a persecution as such and I believe the only way I could is if God strengthened me. I don't have it within myself to do it, there's just no way. I couldn't do it if and if I wanted to, and and that's a situation to where Christ has to do this that Christ has to come through, and I'm praying for all of you that are going through this persecution, and I pray, in your time of testing, which will probably come to United States one day, that we can all get through this and that I can be a faithful martyr of that time ever called. And that is not an easy task. It's, I believe, those people in heaven have such rewards and held to the highest degree by Christ, because it's not an easy thing and an easy burden to bear. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death, so that second death will not destroy you. The lake of fire, hades shall not take your life from you. Christ is saying even if they kill you, the second death, which is the judgment, so to speak, for the righteous and the damned, that will have no power over you, because Christ is the arbitrator of everything, he holds the keys in his hand, he's the one who grants eternal life. During this time of persecution and tribulation, as it's escalating I mean a generation later, polycarp suffered martyrdom, polycarp was persecuted, polycarp was destroyed and he hung in there to the very last moment. Ladies and gentlemen, christ is the first and the last he's saying even in your poverty, you're rich.
Speaker 2:I remember a story where I traveled all the way to a small, small, small city of buckeye town and the elders gather around me and they said the church was almost 100 years old and the elders and the pastor go why won't our church grow? All these other churches got people, they got wealth, they got riches and they were a very faithful church. I just walked in. It was like a wild west scene. I walked in and sat in the back and just a new person me coming in. They were just amazed because they never had that in a long time. And I told them you guys are a faithful church, don't covet so many expensive things in your church and programs.
Speaker 2:I understand why you're the position you're in and money's a good thing, but also it can corrupt. The money can corrupt I've seen it a lot in churches and money becomes worship. So just hold on to your first love, which is Jesus Christ, and do not let that go to the very, very, very end. And if you look at this church, this church was extremely poor compared to even that small church in Buckeye. They really didn't have anything. They were poor and material things. And Christ says you are still rich. You're still rich in love. And that's what Jesus is saying in love. And that's what Jesus is saying and that's what we have to understand. And that's not an easy thing to do in America. It's a very difficult thing to do. And so he's encouraging them.
Speaker 2:He said the devil is going to persecute them and try to destroy them. He said the devil is going to persecute them and try to destroy them. So I want you to understand something, ladies and gentlemen I want you to understand that there's two churches. As John starts writing to these seven, as this drama starts unfolding, we've got Smyrna, a very poor church, and they're going to be persecuted. We got one that won't tolerate false doctrine, but their love has grown cold.
Speaker 2:This is a warning to all churches across the globe. This is a warning to all churches across the globe. This is a warning to all churches, especially in America, to repent for the materialism, to show love, to not lose that love. Do not focus on the money, do not focus on the material possessions, and don't tell certain people that are serving in ministry that I've heard of say you just don't fit in here. We're not a business. We carry on the business of the Messiah. Our trademark is loving one another and forgiveness, and there is a place for every single Christian in the church. It should not be a good old boys club and people should be serving. There should even be teachers that have the ability to teach without a PhD or a master's degree or a doctorate, and we need to spend more time spreading them, tentacles of love out and using people, spreading them, tentacles of love out and using people, and stop adopting the mindset of the qualifications have to be built on a formal education. I have a formal education and I can tell you this every day there are people sitting in your congregation that are powerful, filled, filled with the Spirit, that want to be used, that are not being recognized. Do not let love grow cold. Hold on to the Word, especially if you start getting money in your churches. So this book of Revelations, before the end of the world comes and before the persecution comes for the Jews, and the seals start being broken and the trumpets start being blown to enact what is being described in the seals being broken is a description in an unfolding drama, but there is a warning to all churches going out before this play goes forward. Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to end here. I love you, but I want to pray for you before I exit this show.
Speaker 2:Most glorious God, thank you for giving us a warning and admonition as we start and journey through the book of Revelations. We love you, we recognize you as the glorious King you are as the loving Christ. Fill our hearts with joy and never let us forget our first love. Let us not grow cold. And when we do receive riches and blessing, please keep us humble. We beg that you keep us humble. These material possessions cannot help us get closer to you. They can be a stumbling block. And help us bless others with those possessions. And, lord, let us not get puffed up with knowledge. And when we do, bring us down to a state of humbleness through a person or circumstance, and we ask that you bless, more than anyone anything, those that are suffering martyrdom and persecution for your name's sake. Lord God, we love you, we honor you and we bless you, and we pray that this message goes out to the very end of the earth. Amen, ladies and gentlemen, until next time.
Speaker 2:This is Pastor Joshua. God bless you all. I love you and I will hear from you soon. God bless you all. I love you and I will hear from you soon. God bless you.
Speaker 3:And he is jealous. For me, loves like a hurricane. I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When, all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions, eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me. Oh, how he loves us, oh, oh, how he loves us all, how he loves us, how he loves us all. And he is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane. I am a tree, bending the knee, the weight of his wind and mercy. When, all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions, eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me.
Speaker 3:Oh, how he loves, yeah, he loves us. Oh, how he loves us, oh, how he loves us, oh, how he loves, and we are His portion and he is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking and heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way, oh, how he loves us, oh, oh, how he loves us, how he loves us, oh, how he loves. Yeah, he loves us. Yeah, he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves. Oh, what love. Yeah, he loves us. Yeah, he loves us, how he loves us. Oh how he loves us. All Close that song.