The Lukewarm Church: Revelation 3:14-22.
“For you say, I am rich. I have prospered, I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”
Laodicea is the church of this age, “the church of today!” Our last GraceNotes took this theme projecting Laodicea through the rapture into the Day of the Lord, into the tribulation period. As we continue following this thread thru the tribulation, we find it leading us also into the 1000 year millennium reign of King Jesus.
This is a practical contemplation because humanities’ tendency is to drift away from God’s absolute truth and worse, refusing to hear it! This mirrors our contemporary 21st century mindset and reflects the image of the apostate Laodicean church. This is where we now are living. It is relevant particularly because we have family, friends and neighbors who will not be ready when Jesus lifts His body-life church off from this planet earth. Our local evangelical churches are turning social and even some Bible churches today avoid the sin question, which leads us all into redemption. So where are those left behind going to get exposed to God’s truth about freedom in Christ Jesus? In the tribulation it is 144,000 Jewish missionaries, but what about now, before the rapture, before the tribulation period, before the millennium? Are we being faithful to our Father God’s family, our family?
You shall know the truth and the truth will set your free when we abide in Him. We are the children born into God’s grace and truth.
The raptured body of believers, spoken of in the Bible, is the biblical church, the Bride of Christ. These believers will be ushered into Jesus’ personal presence and removed out from earth’s temporal concerns; social believers in the “church” will be left behind at this (pre-trib.) rapture. These are left behind “Christians” and other non-believers who failed to make personal commitments of accepting our Lord Jesus’ gift of redemption. Symbolically, they are the “foolish virgins” in the Matthew 25 parable we are about to look at below.
Many people will be left behind who were in fellowship with born again believers in a local church. They were in agreement with God’s truth but did not take the personal steps of repentance into reconciliation with God. They agreed intellectually with born again believers; they were socially in fellowship but they did not participate in being “born again” thru a new creation in Christ Jesus; they did not enjoy being who they are intended to be; they did not participate in the living “eternal continuum,” as A.W. Tozer suggests. They did not digest the word of God deep enough to have spiritual ears to hear. Like Laodicea, they were rich but actually poor, blind and did not anoint their eyes with divine salve. They were wretched without even knowing it to be so!
Many of these blind people will be family members. What is our responsibility; is there hope for these who will be left behind? Our pastors do not deal with this issue and are as guilty before God as we ourselves. This issue is so eternally vital; we must focus on the rest of the Laodicean story. It is us, you and me, who are called to be God’s light of truth, to be His shoe leather in this dark world until we are raptured into His presence. We are the ones who have received the resurrection life of Jesus within our own soul. How are we sharing this glorious grace gift with those who don’t have it?
Unexpectedly, peoples will disappear off from the face of the earth. It will not be an unnoticeable event! Millions still on earth will suddenly realize the meaning of redemption. These millions heard the message but didn’t make a redemption choice. They will realize they are left behind and will be ready to believe and repent, so that, they may escape the eternal consequences of sin! They will be both Jews and gentiles but our Lord’s focus, as per unfulfilled Old Testament promises, returns to a salvation thru a restored Israel after the rapture into the Day of the Lord, the tribulation. People left behind will enter God’s judgment period not realizing 144,000 Jews will be missionaries to this new contemporary world. God’s constant love, even during judgment, is still viable and on the table for those living on earth during this coming judgment age.
Some social Christians left behind will become hardened in heart, unable to spiritually hear. Others, less spiritually hardened, will suddenly see and hear 144,000 Jews appearing all over the world. These 144,000 will be sharing a kingdom gospel of salvation from the Old Testament where Israel is restored with Jesus as their messiah King. This is the kingdom gospel Jesus shares with His disciples as He laments over Jerusalem.
We see this suggested in the last three spiritual “Kingdom of Heaven is like” parables in Matthew 13:44-50. These spiritual parables are representing (1) Israel, (2) the church, and (3) those saved after the rapture in the redemption net. The treasure is Israel, buried in the world, later uncovered as the kingdom of God on the earth during the millennium. The pearl is the church who is the bride of Christ and reigns as priests and kings with Jesus after the rapture. Those in the net are those saved during the tribulation period thru the message of the 144,000 Jews and those who come to know God before the final release of Satan in His eternal judgment at the end of the millennium.
Those raptured are those who opened their hearts and souls to divine redemption under Christ’s new covenant salvation during our present grace age of the church. We now live in this grace period. Jesus is making His life available, His divine life created within every redeemed soul through His death and His resurrection during this period of the Church. But we must personally accept Him in our heart and soul, before the rapture, if we are to reign with Him as His bride. We also have an additional reality to employ. His resurrection power is available within our own personal experience before He comes for us at the rapture. This means living HIS LIFE within our present bodies rather than doing it on our own! He has assigned us on earth now, so that, we may be able to glorify Him before we actually see Him! This is our opportunity to glorify His work in our own fleshly soul using His resurrection power before the rapture.
Death was the price God paid, so that, you and I might be reconciled back to God, receiving not only forgiveness, but so, so much more, His Life living in us! The power of Jesus’ resurrection becomes part of God’s spiritual package created and available within us when we are redeemed by the blood of the lamb and sealed by God’s Holy spirit! It is God’s gift to us when we accept His redemption and give ourselves back to Him! But there is more than even this: we are called to be His light of redemption to those who do not have spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear. This is our calling and opportunity to grow in His truth by grace.
After the rapture, there is another hope opportunity for those not in the body of Christ, but to become the Bride of Christ Jesus is a hope gone forever! However, many current Bible expositors do not agree. They contend persons who have not accepted Jesus before the rapture will become hardened in heart and not able to respond to a different salvation during the tribulation. They believe a person not living “in Jesus” before the rapture will not only not be able to be in the bride of Christ, but also, will not be able to participate in a salvation during the tribulation. Let’s consider this a little more deeply!
Most commentator’s merely reason without quoting scripture when referring to those left behind after the rapture. According to these commentators, people left behind will be unable to find forgiveness thru redemption during the 70th week of judgment. Lehman Strauss, however, uses 2Thessalonians 2:10-12. This passage context is specifically referring to people during the tribulation period who are already choosing the deception of Satan. It is hard to make this application apply to the culture of “peace and security” when the rapture is said to take place. In other words, the argument is that those unredeemed “Christians,” before the rapture, will not be able to find redemption during the tribulation. It may be so, but arguments for this view are not compelling!
On the other hand, the fact remains “God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that, all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Can we apply this to all the tares living with the wheat before the rapture? Do they all qualify as having refused to love the truth? God knows!
Those not participating in our Lord Jesus’ redemption before the rapture, receiving His newly created righteous Life as “born again” believers, may find a kingdom redemption available during the tribulation. Chapter seven of Revelation makes this explicitly clear.
Jesus gives us a parable in Matthew 25 about the 10-virgins. This parable is similar to the “Kingdom of Heaven is like” parables in Matthew 13. But this one differs because Jesus is talking to his disciples about “the abomination of desolation” time period which occurs 3 ½ years into the 7 year tribulation period. “Then,” Jesus is saying after this period in Matthew in 25, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like the ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.” We will discuss this a little more but here we want to draw our attention to the fact that this “will be like” is in the Greek future tense, where as the Matthew 13 “Kingdom of Heaven is like” parables are in the Greek aorist tense, which stipulates an event already completed. The status of these Matthew 13 parables do not equate, they are not the same as the 10-virgins in Matthew 25!!!
Millions will be redeemed during the tribulation period of judgment even while it seems like hell on earth! Many expositors stand firm that those who did not accept Jesus as Savior during the church period, prior to the rapture, will have no chance to make this salvation decision after the rapture. They rely upon a hardness of heart keeping people from believing, not having made this personal decision prior to the rapture. They assume everybody has had this opportunity before the rapture?
We don’t see this kind of rigid barrier between the gospel of the Kingdom to the Jews, under the law, and the gospel of grace to the gentiles through the Body of Christ! The scripture says “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” The fact that our Lord Jesus provides salvation at all, during this 7-year tribulation period of judgment, is in itself evidence of our Lord Jesus’ great agape love toward all mankind.
One could argue the integrity of God would be at risk as well as making a mockery of Jesus’ message of salvation to offer salvation a second time. But, on the other hand, God is God and we, … mere mortals! God is righteous, true and holy through and through. He is not limited to our way of thinking; His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Plus, the salvation offered during the 70th week (the tribulation period) is not the same salvation as becoming the Bride of Christ during the grace period of the church.
Redemption based upon the shed blood of Jesus does not change! Salvation does differ in several respects between our “bride salvation” before the rapture and this redeemed group living during and after the tribulation period. Both are covered by the blood of the lamb but J.B. Smith makes the follow differences transparent: “That they are distinct from the church appears for the following considerations: Those (in the church) were kept out of the great tribulation (Rev. 3:10); these came out. Those wear white raiment; these white robes. Those sit on thrones round about the throne; these stand before the throne. Those wear crowns; these are uncrowned. Those have harps and vials; these have palms in their hands. Those sing a new song; these cry with a loud voice. Those are kings and priests and reign with Him; these serve Him day and night.”
Scripture suggests three different groups are redeemed and each salvation group is different from the other! Remember, these are the three spiritual groups we saw in Matthew 13. There is the “treasure” in the field purchased by Jesus and then covered up. This is Israel and it is uncovered during the tribulation for the millennium reign of Jesus on earth as the King of Israel. Second, there is the “pearl,” the raptured church in heaven during the tribulation, and then there is the “Net,” the third group of redeemed during the tribulation and the 1000 year Millennium reign of Jesus on earth.
Those gathered in the Redemption Net, during the 7 year tribulation period, become saved through the 144,000 sealed Jews who separate the good fish into containers for the angels to take. It is interesting also to notice the above passage in Isaiah says: “Behold, you shall call nations that you know not, and nations that knew you not shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.” Does this not fit the redemption our Lord Jesus provides through the uncovered treasure using the 144,000 during the last 70th week of Daniel? The saved ones are gathered together in the Redemption Net by the 144,000 Jews from the twelve tribes of Israel!
We have made previous references to Mathew 13 where Jesus Himself deals with some of these issues through the parables of what the “Kingdom of Heaven is like.” When we meld these teachings into the context of Revelation and related passages, we receive a clearer understanding of Jesus’ teachings as well as what may transpire within the church of Laodicea after the rapture occurs and even beyond.
Many do not discern the crucial action required on our part to be brought into personal fellowship with God Himself through Jesus. It is not a thing in the future, it is not something we can take care of down the road! It is needed now and is vital in today’s life, in our fleshly container as well as our eminent eternal life in a glorified body. Our neglect and foolish choices result in there being some “tares” or “weeds” in the church. All the tares and weeds will be left behind at the time of a believer’s rapture. One of Jesus’ parables is used to speak to this issue from the Olivet Discourse.
Let’s look at this parable about the ten-virgins located in Matthew 25:1-13.
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five of them were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took not oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil. For our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
First, we need to put the above parable from the Olivet Discourse into its context. We are talking about subject matter tied to the tribulation period following the rapture. Most commentaries use this ten-virgin parable as a governing principle covering the pre-rapture period of the church. In other words, the due diligence principle by the wise virgins is clearly seen contrasting the behavior of the foolish virgins as though it is speaking of pre-tribulation salvation. The oil is seen as the Holy Spirit and our due diligence is applying faith, trusting in the Holy Spirit to “lead us and guide us and stay close beside us” in redemption before the tribulation.
This, the wise virgins do, while the foolish virgins indulge, rather, in the flesh at the cost of their “in Christ” new birth. The foolish virgins neglected the oil of the Holy Spirit to light the lamp of their life, shining it among men, glorifying our Father God in heaven. But while this interpretation is honest and valid, it is at the same time not the subject of this passage of scripture which is Jewish. The focus here is Israel during the end times!
This is a good lesson for us to consume, but the passage text clearly is Israel and Israel’s relationship with God; it is not the “in Christ” grace relationship a believer has as a “partaker of God’s divine nature.” This explains why there is no mention of the bride or the church. Some, like J. Vernon McGee, suggest the marriage of the Lamb takes place in heaven while this marriage feast takes place on earth.
The focus is on faithfulness of believers during the tribulation and not the church’s bride “in Christ” relationship before the rapture. The focus is on believers who have a relationship with God under the King of Israel who will rule with a rod of iron during the millennium rule of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament makes reference to Israel as the wife of God.
The reason the “bride” is not mentioned in the parable of the ten-virgins is because Israel is not the bride and the church is not God’s “holy nation;” Israel is! God’s Old Testament promises through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still on the table. God does not lie! The church does not replace Israel during the tribulation! God is still honoring His promises to Israel in the Old Testament! God’s kingdom gospel for Israel on earth during the millennium is His righteousness under the law.
As we mentioned above, we need to take note this above Matthew 25 “ kingdom of heaven” parable is different than those in Matthew 13 because it links to the previous discussion in Matthew 24 with “Then the kingdom of heaven.” This “then” is giving it future status with “will be like!” This supports our contention that this Matthew 25 “kingdom of heaven” applies to the future salvation thru the “net kingdom” and not the “treasure” or the “pearl” kingdom.
The lesson Jesus conveys in this future kingdom setting is nevertheless symbolically applied to all of us who wear our fleshly container of contamination and sin. How else can we witness the resurrection power of His life except through our own personal need for it! How else can we experience His glory without personally knowing the darkness of our own contamination and sin. How do we understand daytime without night. How do we know light without darkness; how do we understand white unless it is contrasted to black. We are now able to discern good from evil because we have been given spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear. “He that hath ears, let him hear.”
But once we have this knowledge, we are held to an even higher accountability for our choices. We are equipped with the will to make our own choices, but now, we have the discernment to do it in Him. Our Heavenly Father respects our own choices; He made us this way! But even after we have chosen rightly, God has made us His personal possession thru redemption. Jesus has set us free from the shackles of sin becoming our personal shepherd and friend. His love in us and for us sets higher standard then we mere mortals can even comprehend! “Man is the dwelling place of God” when we are redeemed, justified and being glorified by the workmanship of Jesus. We reconcile (our choice) ourselves to God as He has already reconciled Himself to us. We will reign in heaven knowing the righteous truth that comes through grace choices on earth because we have become set free from the wages of sin and death in Christ Jesus into His abundant Life.
The ten-virgin parable is a terse reminder of judgments made upon us by our own choices after becoming a believer. Now we have the mind of Christ. Knowing our Lord Jesus as a person while growing in His grace enables our choices after belonging to him. Yes, we are now saved, but now we are also within His agape love relationship, within the very person who creates and gives us our resurrection life within Himself. Do we realize with whom we now are married? Do we realize who we now are? Christ Jesus is now in us!
Jesus replies to the foolish virgins, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” The fellowship has been broken but they still belong to Him. They need to use the oil and always be ready to participate in His glorious activity. The five foolish virgins did not lose their salvation; their works were tested by fire and burned up! The Matthew 25 virgins are living in the kingdom gospel of the net and on into the millennium.
This would seem, then, to project another link from the tribulation into the millennium. The thread of the Laodicean church of unsaved peoples prior to the rapture would seem to carry “The Rest of the Story” forward into the millennium where we know there will be yet one more salvation linked to the blood of Jesus on the cross with His resurrection life; it will be available to those born during the millennium before Satan is loosed from his prison.
The believers entering into the millennium from the tribulation period will have children. These young people will not have today’s grace available but they will have opportunity to choose King Jesus and His kingdom. These too will rebel in their heart, some choosing and some not choosing King Jesus as their Lord. There will be one more final end judgment, bringing us into a new heaven and a new earth replacing this existing earth and heavens.
Laodicea is the present Revelation church on the earth, 1Thessalonians 4:17-18. There will be many left behind in today’s physical church. They believe in their mind only, not embracing God’s truth within their heart. Our Lord Jesus is not their Lord Jesus, even though they comfortably fellowship among us; many are not receiving our Lord’s gift of resurrection power on the Spiritual level of Jesus. The gift of resurrected life is indeed a personal miracle, receiving from the Holy Spirit, creating and sealing us into the body of Jesus Christ. This qualifies us for participation in the pre-tribulation rapture.
As you can see, our post rapture story of Laodicea is not explicitly supported by chapter and verse but it does fit! In fact, it fits better than those saying pre-tribulation non-believers will loose salvation options in post-rapture grace. This is not scripturally supported even though many respected expositors confirm it to be true! The issue is not to be debated but we should all be aware and sensitive to the issues. God knows and He is righteous!
The fact that these multitudes are wearing “white robes” from all nations and languages of the earth are “coming out” of the great tribulation means they are part of a larger group whom have not yet totally arrived. They are probably also part of the same group crying out after the 4th seal, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” The context suggests these seen under the alter, and before the throne, are martyrs. These are persons responding to the Kingdom Gospel which is covered by the blood of the lamb.
Returning to Mathew 13, we see the first group of parables are all given outside to the general public. Jesus is speaking from a boat to a crowd gathered and listening on the beach. Jesus’ first parable was concerning the sower of the seed. Here He excludes the phrase “the kingdom of heaven is like.” He Himself is the sower of the seed; He Himself is the Kingdom of Heaven!
The next set of three parables, after Jesus the seed sower, is also given outside from the boat and refers to public Christianity. The first church group in this set of three has weeds in their congregation, the second, un-natural mustard seed in churches growing into huge man-made organizations and the third, churches are salted with leaven becoming cults and churches with an apostate gospel at their core.
But Jesus says “the kingdom of heaven is like” all these three groups. How can this be, unless they believe before the rapture … or have an opportunity in the tribulation period to see clearly after the raptured church of believers, that they have been deceived. Through the mercy and love of Jesus they have another chance to repent and believe … and be saved! Matthew 13, therefore, suggests these apostate “Christians” will have opportunity to make another choice now or during the Lord’s judgment on the earth through the Kingdom gospel of Israeli Jews during the tribulation and their posterity later in the millennium.
The people from the first “the kingdom heaven is like” group, those religious non-believers who are not redeemed before the rapture, are those coming into the kingdom of God after the Bride of Christ is removed from earth. These non-believing “Christians” who do move into the tribulation period, may find a Redemption Net (3) awaiting them through the 144,000 Jewish missionaries.
The second group of three “the kingdom heaven is like” parables are given to the disciples privately inside the house. These were Jesus’ disciples, followers of Jesus who transitioned from (1) the treasure re-buried in the ground, to (2) the pearl, from which comes the Bride of Christ.
It is here we may insert the 10-virgins parable. This parable may depict the fruit of believers during the difficult tribulation period including the millennium where the “rod of iron” will be actively enforced. After all, they are also participants of what the “Kingdom of Heaven is like.” They are believers who have a difficult time exposing themselves because of the threat to their lives during the tribulation and are under the “rod of iron” during the millennium. Their salvation, after the rapture, will be under the gospel of the kingdom. We see these same things happening today in many areas of the globe where being a believer means loss of family and in some cases loss of life itself. But today, they are under grace.
The foolish virgins have oil available, they have the Holy Spirit, but they don’t use it for fear of running out. The “lamp” in the day of this parable was probably a stick wrapped on one end with rags. Oil was anointed upon the rags from a flask containing their oil. Oil was available but they were not prepared. In other words, they are operating a Christian life based on fear more than on faith. Today, in the US of A, we trump our faith with self; self will burn up our spiritual reward just like fear. What ever is not of faith is sin.
If we make this application to our Laodicean theme, we have our Lord’s admonition, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” The door was shut to the foolish virgins but still there is loving advise from our Lord about the future. They lost the privilege of attending a wonderful occasion, their reward was lost in the fire of judgment, but they are still able to look forward to a hope in the kingdom of heaven where they are already living.
Our due diligence lesson as the Bride of Christ is to listen to what our Lord is saying. We have the resurrection power of Jesus because we are “born again” in the age of His grace. We are created new, the old is past and the new has come. This means we are equipped as spiritual people to live a spiritual life within our wicked dark world. If we don’t, we shut out the glory of God within ourselves with our worldliness; it will burn up with fire. We sacrifice knowing Him and the power of His resurrection during our faith growth process. Our means of knowing Him as a person while we are still on earth is living in Christ Jesus. His divine power has granted us all things pertaining to life and godliness through knowledge of Him. He has called us to His own glory and excellence; He has already equipped us! We have the mind of Christ! If we seek Him, we will find Him!
The Lord is our shepherd in the New Testament and the millennium. People on earth will still be wearing a body of flesh. After the rapture, we will not be wearing flesh, as we know it today; we will be wearing the glorified body of Christ, as He was seen after His resurrection. But those still on earth after the tribulation who will be believers, will be dealing with the same flesh issues we today are experiencing. We will have been changed at the rapture!
Our flesh choices are fundamentally the same in every environment. We either trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own man-made understanding or we can acknowledge Him, experiencing His faith provisions. We either trust in the things man has made or we trust in the life God has made. Grow in grace and knowledge of Him while we still can!