Rev 3:14-22
The End of the Church Age
This is the fourth in the series of messages on the book of
Revelation. Two weeks ago, we studied through the church age, seeing
that Jesus gave prophecies not only for the end time but for our time
as well. These prophecies started with the fact that the Judge was
standing among the candlesticks, the church. Why? To judge. Jesus
watches over the church and deals with it according to the actions
He sees.
Then we began looking very briefly at the letters to each of the
seven churches to whom John wrote. Each church, although literally a
church in John’s day, represent a portion of the church age. Seven
churches represent seven different stages though which the church
would go. We noted that each letter contained at least one prophecy
of the future church and one counsel from the Lord.
By in large, things were not faring well for the church.
1. Through the church of Ephesus was prophesied the loss of the
church’s first love, Jesus.
2. Through the church of Smyrna was prophesied ten days of great
persecution.
3. Through the church of Pergamos, the entrance of false teachers
and false doctrine.
4. Through the church of Thyatria. the entrance of false leaders
to direct the church. That was a phase that lasted for over
1,000 years.
5. Through the church of Sardis, the church would be spiritually
dead church.
6. But through the church of Philadelphia, the church would be a
spiritually alive and powerful church. I believe this was the
state that some of us were born into. A time when God had
opened a door and no man could close it; however, I also fear
that age has ceased to be, and that we have now moved into the
seventh and last stage of the church age.
This morning, let’s speak for a few minutes on the End of the Church
Age. How will it end? When will it end? What will happen at the
end of the church age?
I. \\#Rev 3:14-19\\ The Present Hour
A. The present hour is the church of Laodicea and like the other
churches, the letter to them contains a prophecy and counsel.
1. \\#16\\ Jesus prophesied the condition of the church.
2. \\#15,17\\ He told us what that means.
3. \\#16\\ Jesus described what He would do to them.
4. \\#18\\ Jesus gave His counsel.
B. \\#Rev 3:15-16\\ The prophecy is that the church would become
lukewarm, a state of being neither hot not cold, neither
truly alive nor dead.
1. \\#Rev 3:17\\ It would be a case of being rich yet having
nothing.
2. A case of being clothed in the best material yet of being
naked.
3. A case of seeing so many things yet of being blind.
4. A case of living a luxurious life yet of being miserable.
5. THIS IS HOW THE CHURCH WILL END! This will be
its final phase and its final condition.
6. Friend, that prophecy is being fulfilled today! The
church of Laodicea is today!
a. The church is too worldly to be accepted by God and
too spiritual to be accepted by the world.
b. We have lost out purpose, our power, and our
testimony.
(1) Lost Purpose - Most churches believe the exist to
be large today. We do not. We exists for three
reasons:
(a) To glorify God.
(b) To win souls.
(c) To preach and teach the truth.
(2) Lost Power - We have planning, ingenuity, music,
games, a worldly beat—but where is the Holy
Ghost? Where is life-changing conviction? Where
is brokenness? Where is repentance?
(3) Lost Testimony - The church today is laughed at,
mocked, and ignored.
c. We are no longer salt or light and in many cases,
those who claim to be Christians are leading the
attack against the Bible, righteousness, and God!
7. I do not want to go out of this world that way! I would
rather go out being persecuted than being irrelevant and
ignored.
C. \\#Rev 3:18\\ The Counsel - What did Jesus tell the church of
this age to do?
1. Get some pure gold. Pure gold is not natural to this
earth. It must be purified. What we need is the kind
that has been purified by God. By the way, gold is the
metal that represents God. We need some pure God in this
age!
2. Get some white raiment or clothing. White speaks of
purity. We need to wash off the worldliness that marks
the church in this age and return to the purity that God
clothed us in.
a. Quit playing and start praying.
b. Quit being the world’s pal and be the world’s prophet.
c. Quit being like the world and start leading the world.
3. Get some eyesalve.
a. The fact that God tells us to get some eyesalve means
we are not totally blind.
b. There are two kinds of blindness. The one from which
one cannot recover because the eyes are damaged too
badly to recover or the kind where the eyes are
injured and with care, sight can be restored.
c. We have the latter.
d. Our problem is that we have been blinded by the
glitter of this world!
e. We need to quit staring at the bright lights of the
world, to anoint our eyes with some of His healing
medicine, and then just keep them closed long
enough for them to heal.
4. \\#Rev 3:20\\ Jesus foretold us that He would be waiting
at the door, knocking, trying to get our attention.
a. If we will open that door, He will come into the
church and reignite us with power!
b. Another of the questions we are attempting to answer is
when will the end of the age come.
(1) It does not have to be now!
(2) We can open the door and let Jesus back in!
c. To open the door that Jesus is standing at, we must
close the door that the world is barging through!
d. God is a one-door God! This is one case where we
cannot have both doors opened at once.
e. We must pick a door or I believe the end of the church
age is upon us.
II. The Future Hour - What will happen at the end of the church age?
A. \\#Rev 4:1-2\\ - The church will be raptured off this earth.
1. The future hour is the rapture of the church.
2. John was caught up off the earth and deposited in heaven.
3. What happened to John in his vision is what will happen to
the church in reality at the rapture.
4. The rapture is the next main event on God’s calendar of
events.
5. The rapture will conclude the church and either immediately
after the rapture or soon after the rapture, the
tribulation will commence.
6. With Rev 4:1, we moved into the 3rd section of the John’s
writing, "the things that shall be" \\#Rev 1:19\\.
B. I believe Revelation 4:1 and 1Thess 4:13-18 are the same
event.
1. What happened to John in Rev 4 is symbolic of what will
happen to all believers at the rapture. (The only
difference is John had to return to earth to finish his
life, and we will have finished our lives before we are
carried off the earth.)
2. Similarities:
a. John heard a voice like a trumpet.
1Thess 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God:
b. John is called to heaven.
1Thess 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord.
c. John was immediately carried into heaven.
1Cor 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
C. Let’s notice heaven from John’s prospective.
1. \\#2-3\\ John’s attention went straight to God.
a. He saw a throne. That means Whoever is sitting on that
throne is at the least "a" king. Let me tell you that
He is THE KING.
(1) Thought - Various stones are mentioned when
describing God and His surroundings, not just in
Revelation but in other passages. These gems
were stone but translucent, tinted with bright
colors. Those who wrote our Bible had never seen
any light other than natural lights (sun, moon,
stars, fire). They had never seen a beam of
light that was yellow, red, or green. Is it
possible that the reason they compared God to
these clear, colored stones was because they
were seeing a Being who is light, bright,
colored, yet translucent? Indeed, I do not know
that God looks like light, but we should
remember that the Father is not flesh but
spirit, and as such, both He and His abode may
look more like light than anything our solid
world offers.
(2) The Scripture encourages the parallel between God
and light numerous times.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift
is from above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning.
1John 1:5 This then is the message which we have
heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is
light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the
sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the
glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof.
(3) Jasper is commonly a green but bright, clear
stone. The colors of the stone vary or are mixed,
among them red, purple, and yellow. The Hebrew
word for "jasper" means "glittering." Others
think the stone mentioned is actually a diamond.
A.W. Fausset said the jasper’s brightness and
clarity represents God’s holiness.
(4) Sardine is a blood-red stone. One source says red
was the color wore by the prince. Again,
Fausset’s Bible Dictionary said it represents
the judgment of God.
b. Regardless of what God looks like, one day every human
being will see Him at one of three times.
(1) If you are saved and alive when Jesus returns,
you will see the Son in the air and the Father
when you arrive in heaven, just like John.
(2) If you are saved but die before the coming of
Jesus, you will close your eyes, perhaps weary
and tired in this life, but will open them to be
in this very heaven where John was standing and
describing.
(3) If you are lost, you will see when you are
summoned to the Great White Throne judgment.
Jesus, the Judge, will be sitting upon a throne—
I do not think it will be this one, but it may
be—and you will look into the His flaming eyes;
you will feel the heat of His justice; and smell
the smoke of His wrath.
2. \\#Rev 4:5\\ The throne with lightning, thundering, and
voices coming out of it. If the chair on which God sits
has power just oozing out of it, what does that say of
the One who sits upon it?
3. \\#Rev 4:4\\ John saw 24 elders sitting before the throne.
a. Most believe that this represents the Old and New
Testament saints (i.e. 12 tribes and 12 apostles).
b. If they are literal, the identity of the elders is
not given but it seems likely that it would be
the 12 sons of Jacob and 12 apostles.
4. \\#Rev 4:6-7\\ John saw four beasts. These are four unique
beings who serve God.
5. \\#Rev 4:8-11\\ But what is really interesting is what
this group of beings does in heaven. They praise God.
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honour and power: for thou hast created
all things, and for thy pleasure they are and
were created.
III. The Trying Hour - The next hour that comes will be the trying
hour. It is not far away now. Stay tuned for the details.
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