Philadelphia or Laodicea?...the Wayfarer 1/20/18

Philadelphia or Laodicea?
1/20/18

Revelation 3:7-22King James Version (KJV)

⁷ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

⁸ I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

⁹ Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

¹⁰ Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

¹¹ Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

¹² Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

¹³ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

¹⁴ And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

¹⁷ Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

¹⁸ I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

²¹ To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

²² He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Two churches, the final two addressed by Christ Jesus in His admonition to John to relay both warning and promise each addressed personally by HIM with the same love and devotion that was given to each of them in reminder of that same warning and promise preached throughout  the ministry given to the children of Adam prior to the final sacrifice made for the souls of those same children, borne on the cross for THEM, and before the resurrection that alone provided hope to THEM.

Each of the seven churches addressed were presented with a precious TRUTH that demanded and still demands attention, as each of the things addressed to each still pertain to those  claiming to be a portion of HIS church today.

These two differed widely in what was presented to them, one remaining faithful to all that had been brought, taught and demanded of them by their Founder and Author, the other having forgotten what had ben brought and taught, exchanging it instead for what seemed expedient.

The second of the two was challenged to buy that treasure tried in the fire rather than that which will only be devoured by it.

It was neither hot nor cold, having no devotion to anything that did not coincide with the expedience its people sought.

It was blinded to the things that should have been of concern because of that chosen expedience.

Expedience still dictates the concerns evidenced by those willingly blinded to all that transpires around them, accepting the unacceptable to Christ simply to grow their numbers and influence.

That blindness extends to exchanging the treasure offered by Christ for the treasures so sought by men.

Increased of goods, seeing no lack in anything, they fail to recognize their nakedness and poverty as that increase demands they remain lukewarm toward abomination after abomination, choosing to accept it within their midst rather than to recognize and spurn it for what it is, murder of the unborn, incest, homosexuality, lives lived in the grip of addiction that is provided by their "wealth",  death after death  going  unnoticed and unremarked because of expedience.

Lukewarm, to be spued from out of His mouth is the description of that group that refuses chastening or rebuke, clinging always to a refusal of zealousness, clinging always to the refusal of the necessity to repent.

The other church addressed was given no such admonition, but instead given only the admonition to hold fast that which was held, and the admonition to overcome.

Overcoming demands endurance, demands the patience and devotion to remain within the bounds of expectation, demands a "zealousness" that is not expedient to those zealous only for the false promises given, that are promised without the necessity of the warning that was, and, is given in advance of it.

Deafness abounds alongside blindness, willingly, and knowingly, submitted to, despite the clarity of sight and hearing offered through Christ.

That blindness and deafness need not exist, need not hold any power, cannot exist and cannot hold any power not given it by those willing to hear and see.

John 3:16-21King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

²⁰ For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

²¹ But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Belief in Him remains belief in what was brought by Him, ALL that was taught by Him, that it was not, and is not given in vain, but remains available to whosoever chooses to accept it.

Christ's life, sacrifice and resurrection  were not expedient to Him, but necessary for US.

Our own lives are lived in the choice of expediency or necessity, those decisions are made by each, just as the decisions made by the two churches that were addressed.

Necessity must outweigh expediency, and foremost that necessity must include refusal to remain lukewarm.

2 Timothy 1:12

 ¹²For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen

the Wayfarer