davidbowerkingwood

Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 16, 2016

But What About Your Crucifixion?

Your Crucifixion was a Big Part of Your Transformation!

In “A Flood of Confusion” it was determined that you were born spiritually dead but it was not mentioned that you did have something else living inside you that you really didn’t want, a sin nature that was alive and well. I wrote:

“Christianity is not primarily about what you do, it’s all about what was done to you; God’s relationship to mankind focuses on two men, Adam and Christ; in Adam you died, in Christ you can live.”

Well, like it or not, there is something else that was done to you; at birth your spirit was dead but you had a sin nature that was alive and well thanks to Adam. I can understand if you find such thoughts unpleasant but you can believe me when I say that ignorance of the facts can cause you more trouble in the long run than being fully informed of the truth of the situation you are facing.

Let me summarize your situation; you died spiritually in the Garden of Eden when Adam disobeyed God. When you were physically born your spirit was dead but you had a living sin nature which was yours because of Adam’s sin.

What you did with your life, either good or bad did not even begin to address your basic problem of a dead spirit and a living sin nature! A solution to that problem was going to take infinitely more than you could ever provide; this is where God had to step in and provide a divine solution otherwise there was really never going to be any hope for you, you were hell bound and helpless!

So What did God Do?

If I told you God sent His Son into the world to die for the sins of the world that all who believe on Him might be saved; as a Christian you might say there’s nothing new about that, I’ve heard that for years; true perhaps, but there is more to that story than meets the eye.

Just as the living spirits of all humanity died in Adam, the sin natures of all who receive Christ as Savior were crucified with Christ on the cross at Calvary. When you received Christ as your personal Savior, your sin nature was counted as crucified with Christ on the cross; it is now considered dead and you are no longer enslaved to it. Now do you understand? I didn’t think so, I don’t understand either; this is another one of those Proverbs 3:5-6 moments and falls into that huge category of truths we must accept by faith and not by understanding!

Let’s let the Apostle Paul tell us the story of the death of our sin natures. In Romans 6:5-11 it is written:

“⁵Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. ⁶We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. ⁸And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. ⁹We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.¹⁰When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. ¹¹So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”

There is good news and bad news, the good news first; the good news is your sin nature has been crucified and you are under no obligation to serve it; the bad news is the sin nature is still in you and can do damage if not controlled by the confession of sin and the power of God, the Holy Spirit.

A Lifetime Struggle for Control

Let us review your situation, as a Christian, one more time before we move on. Your sin nature has been crucified and you are no longer enslaved to it. Your spirit has been born again to new life by the power of God and now you have a living spirit within you. The Holy Spirit has come into you as a down payment on the inheritance God will give you in the future but your body, however, has not been redeemed and must still pay the penalty of sin which is death. Your body and the crucified sin nature it holds can have no part with you in heaven; you and your body absolutely must part company either by physical death or the rapture, whichever comes first. Christ’s death on the cross redeemed your soul and spirit but not your mortal body.

The Apostle Paul describes this struggle in Galatians 5:16-26 where it is written:

“¹⁶So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. ¹⁸But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

¹⁹When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

²²But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

Just remember, as a Christian you will live out your entire mortal life as a soldier on the spiritual battlefield. Your success as a soldier of the Lord depends on how well you put on the whole armor of God and utilize the Holy Spirit; confession of sin to God restores the power of the Holy Spirit in your life! 1 John 1:9

Next time we will consider Paul’s struggle with sin as an example of the struggle we must all wage against sin.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: adam and eve, Bible, Christ Jesus, Christian Life, christianity, confession of sin, God, god the holy spirit, Holy Spirit, living by faith, lord jesus christ, personal sin, Rapture, salvation, Spirit Led Life, theology, Victorious Living

Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 13, 2016

A Happy Birthday Message to the Church!

The Church is Now 1,983 Years Old

On Sunday, May 15, 2016 the church will observe its 1,983rd birthday; an event generally overlooked by most. It was “born” on May 25, 33 AD on the date that year of the Jewish celebration of the Feast of Pentecost. This was truly an amazing event as the face of humanity was changed forever. At that point a completely new type of human being came into existence, human beings who had been permanently indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit. The former type of human being was still around in great abundance but now a completely new creation, human beings indwelt by God, began living on the earth.

Before the creation of the church, the Holy Spirit had been with individuals chosen by God for special ministries but the Holy Spirit had not permanently indwelt them as He would indwell all who were born again during the church age.

Before that momentous occasion, the Spirit of God, had dwelt successively in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple in Jerusalem before the Babylonian Captivity, but had not been present in the restored Temple in Jerusalem which later came to be known as Herod’s Temple. During those earlier periods, the indwelling of God produced visible results in that the radiance of God was manifested when the Spirit of God dwelled in the Tabernacle and the Temple.

Just as the visible glory of God was hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ, the visible glory of God would also be hidden as the Holy Spirit indwelt each and every human being who received Christ as Savior regardless of denominational affiliation or lack thereof. The situation was complicated by the fact that the outward appearance was not changed at all and by simply looking at people one could not tell whether they were indwelt by God or not.

A Hidden Change with Great Eternal Significance

Although the visible manifestations of the new creation are hidden, the spiritual realities are profound and eternal. Long after this physical realm in which we find ourselves has been destroyed, these spiritual realities will still be in full force and effect. The eternal destiny of those who are spiritually dead is the Lake of Fire, for those spiritually alive and indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit, a future in the new heaven and the new earth as a member of the family of God.

Those who are alive are cautioned to avoid being unequally yoked with those who are dead; there is a great gulf fixed between the living and the dead which can only be bridged by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. We who are alive are commanded to offer directions on passage over that bridge to those who are dead. Those who choose to cross the bridge can join the ranks of the living and become a part of the new creation while those who reject the offer to cross that bridge continue to live under the wrath of God.

Happy Birthday to All Who Have Crossed from Death to Life!

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: birthday, Church, God, Herod's Temple, humanity, lord jesus christ, new creation, Pentecost, Spirit of God, Tabernacle, temple, the Holy Spirit

Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 11, 2016

How is God Handling Your Sin Problem?

A Parenthetic Insertion

As a missionary for Global Media Outreach I receive too many letters each day that reflect a lack of understanding about the sin problems we all face and the solutions that God has provided to deal successfully with those problems. As a Christian I too have had to deal with those problems and have found relief in the Book of Romans, especially chapters five, six, seven, and eight.

I have started a series of four essays, based on those chapters, in which I am attempting to focus our attention on the nature of our sin problem and the solution to that problem that has been provided by God’s grace. I am personally convinced that a clear understanding of the provisions God has given to us in those four chapters and the faithful application of those provisions to life is the secret to a fulfilled, happy, Christian life.

I know of no one who would truly prefer to be unhappy rather than happy and I suspect that you share my experience in that regard. Finding God’s peace and joy is not something that comes naturally in this sin cursed world but is something that must be discovered and applied.

The first essay in this series, “A Flood of Confusion” focused on the nature of the sin barrier between God and man. The second will focus on God’s remedy to this problem while the third will address the practical problems of living out God’s solution. The last in the series will rejoice in God’s overriding grace that brings all things to a glorious conclusion.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit may guide me as I write so the written word may adequately convey the good news of God’s answer to the sin problem we all share.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Bible, Christian Life, christianity, Global Media Outreach, god the holy spirit, God's peace, Holy Spirit, joy, lord jesus christ, personal sin, Romans, sin barrier, sin problem

Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 6, 2016

A Flood of Confusion!

Human Reason Just Doesn’t Get It!

There is one fundamental truth presented in the Bible that seems to defy human reason and logic and that is the true nature of the sin barrier that separates mankind from God. It seems that everywhere I turn I’m repeatedly faced with complete confusion on this subject, not only in the world but in the church as well; in way too many cases confusion is taught as doctrine from the church pulpit and that is truly unfortunate!

A Contributing Factor

Our perspective on life is made up of the life lessons we acquire as we grow up in a particular social context. The totality of our life lessons, growing up in a specific culture, creates the mortar which binds that culture together; this then becomes the foundation for the common knowledge, the “everyone knows” which we hear in one form or another. While this is vital for a national culture to survive, it can also be a limiting factor when viewing something from outside that culture.

If we try to apply our cultural reference points to something outside our culture we are in danger of getting a distorted image of what is being presented. An important breakthrough in observing extra-cultural phenomena is to be aware of the existence of our cultural bias. An analogy might be looking at everything through rose colored glasses; which, in this case, would be culturally colored glasses.

The Bible as a Case in Point

There is probably no occasion when removing your culturally colored glasses is more important than when opening the Bible to study it. To try to apply “the everyone knows” of the culture of your society to the Bible is an invitation to misunderstanding God’s message to mankind; this is most particularly true when it comes to understanding the nature of the sin barrier separating man from God.

What the Bible tells us is completely contrary to the cultural bias that is the norm in most societies. If we are to fully understand the message of Scripture we must take off our culturally colored glasses and examine Scripture with a much more objective view.

How Does the Bible Describe the Sin Barrier Between God and Man?

The most concise description of this barrier is given in Romans 5:12-15 where it is written:

^“12When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. ¹³Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. ¹⁴Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. ¹⁵But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”

These verses describe what is referred to as “The Federal Headship of Adam.” They tell us when Adam sinned the entire human race present and future all died in Adam. That means that you and I along with everyone else were charged with Adam’s sin; we died in Adam when he disobeyed a direct command of God; we were born spiritually dead.

Due to our cultural conditioning we would immediately complain, “THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Fair or not that’s what happened; it’s very liberating to make peace with that thought.

Christianity is not primarily about what you do, it’s all about what was done to you; God’s relationship to mankind focuses on two men, Adam and Christ; in Adam you died, in Christ you can live.

But What About Everyone’s Sins?

Personal sin is a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself; before the Mosaic Law was even given men were found guilty and charged with the penalty of sin, physical death. Mankind’s history before the Mosaic Law is filled with death; the early chapters of Genesis mention the deaths of multitudes climaxed with the deaths of billions at the Flood. This was all the work of Adam and Satan, not the personal sins of the individuals as there was no law against which they could sin.

What then was the purpose of the Mosaic Law? Paul concludes Romans 5 with the answer to that question.

“²⁰God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. ²¹So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

What about Us, Today? We’re Just Like Adam!

Today we live in an age of God’s grace, the door to reconciliation with God is open to all who will receive Christ as Savior and experience the new birth by the power of God, the Holy Spirit. All our personal sins have already been paid for by Christ’s death on the cross. As I stated in Is There One Unforgivable Sin? the only sin anyone can commit against God is failure to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior; all other sins were paid for at the cross.

How then are we just like Adam; there was only one sin Adam could commit against God, eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Today there is only one sin we can commit against God, rejecting Christ as Savior. What about all the other sins? In the Garden the Mosaic Law had not been given, there were no other sins; today the penalty for failure to observe the Mosaic Law has been paid in full by the death of Christ on the cross, there are no other sins that have not already been forgiven!

It was Finished at the Cross, Embrace God’s Truth and Enjoy God’s Peace!

Next time we’ll examine the impact of your crucifixion on the balance of your life.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: adam and eve, age of grace, Bible, Biblical creation, Christ Jesus, Christian Life, christianity, Church, confession of sin, faith, god the holy spirit, Holy Spirit, lord jesus christ, Mosaic Law, personal sin, salvation, sin

Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 2, 2016

Change is Coming to a Life Near You, Maybe Yours!

Change is Inevitable, Your Adventure Awaits You!

Years of experience have shown me that things are always changing; nothing on this earth stays the same. In 1970, Alvin Toffler published a book called “Future Shock” in which he described the increasing speed of change and its impact on the average person. Since then the speed of change has only increased and change is coming faster and faster.

One of the driving forces behind this increasing speed is the rapid development of technology. One only need watch movies of 15-20 years ago to see how much life in general has been impacted by technological change. This is especially true in the field of communication and computers. It is almost laughable to see what cutting edge technology was just a few years ago and if you turn the clock back a little farther it becomes even more amazing.

My wife loves the movie, “The Desk Set” with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy; released in 1957, it portrays an office staff feeling threatened by the introduction of a massive, room filling, computer that was seen as a serious threat to the job security of the ladies working there. I hasten to add it all works out in the end and everyone leaves happy.

The secret to living with such rapid change is to simply accept its reality and do your best to make peace with it; some of it may apply to your life, some of it may not. I’ve learned to completely ignore those areas that have no useful appeal and enthusiastically embrace those areas that do but sometimes I have to learn which is which.

My Adventure Begins, I meet my First Computer

In 1998 my wife suggested we get a computer; my response was why would we need one of those? On the spur of the moment I could not think of a single good reason to buy a computer. She had been exposed to computers when she was taking a class in computer art and design at the Houston Art Institute. After a little bit of persuasion on her part we got our first computer, a Compac computer, which was a first step in what was to become a long and eventful journey which continues to this day.

An early decision was whether to go with Windows or Mac; Mac was described as a 300 hp sports car with 100 miles of road while the Windows platform was a 100 hp family sedan with 10,000 miles of road. I decided to go with Windows; a decision which is still working well with two exceptions, our Apple iPhone’s.

A Sharp Learning Curve

Being one of those guys who actually likes to read instruction manuals I started reading all I could about how this computer and computers in general were supposed to work (I actually bought a book on digital electronics) and began experimenting on our new Compac computer. At first I was almost afraid of it, fearing that if I pushed the wrong button the whole thing would go up in flames. I quickly got past that initial phase and began to see it first as a fun toy and later as a valuable tool.

In order to speed up the learning process (I’m completely self-taught) I ordered an exact duplicate for my desk at the office; thinking that what I learned at the office could be applied to the computer at home and vice versa. This worked out well enough and soon the computer became an indispensable tool for both home and office.

At first we had one computer with an AOL dial-up connection; I can say with complete and total sincerity I’m very happy that phase is far behind us.

Moving On

T 5810

Jumping ahead around 18 years, we now find ourselves using our computers daily as an important part of what we do. We have both an Ethernet wired network and a WiFi network to connect us to the internet and enable the computers and the other electronic paraphernalia to communicate with each other and the web as needed; today it seems everything wants to talk to the web, even our new washing machine and gas dryer have a WiFi capability and offers a smartphone app to do the job.

As many of you know I spend several hours each day working as an online missionary for Global Media Outreach. This is all done with my computer so I spend many hours each day working with my computer as a completely necessary tool. In addition, I write the blog you are reading on that same computer and also do most of our family business on it as well.

After eight years of faithful service my old T3400 has been moved to a secondary position and replaced by the Precision T5810 pictured above. The Dell Precision Workstation series has proven so reliable for me that I decided to stick with the series when I got my new computer; I’ll say one thing, the new one is incredibly faster than the old one. Although the T3400 is still working, its hardware and software has simply become obsolete, technology has moved on.

T3400

Precision T3400

The Computer as an Artist’s Tool

As an artist, my wife uses her computer, a Dell Optiplex 9010, in her art and it has become equally important as a tool for her. She has several websites that she manages from her computer which include the following:

Art by Adele Bower

Adele’s Art Prints

I encourage you to visit her sites and see how she is using her computer.

Windows 10 has made a significant improvement in the speed with which we can do our work on both of our computers; I would have to say I’m a fan of Windows 10 and Dell although I’m still adjusting to Windows Edge.

In conclusion, we now each have our own computers and with our high speed cable connection (200 Mbps) can both work independently and even make phone calls when someone else is online which was impossible with AOL which had a download speed of 56 Kbps (200 Mbps = 200,000 Kbps) and tied up our phone line. The computer has moved to a central position in our normal daily activities and quite frankly we simply couldn’t do what we’re doing now without them. For us they have joined the ranks of essential home appliances along with the refrigerator, washing machine and gas dryer.

As the family IT guy it falls my lot to try and keep everything working and playing together harmoniously; my wife expressed concern when I devoted so much time to setting up the T5810 but I told her, with complete honesty, this was all fun and games to me; our five computers and two networks speak eloquently to my technophilia.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: 200 Mbps, Compac, computers, Dell, Dell Optiplex, Dell Precision Workstation, digital electronics, download speed, Ethernet, Global Media Outreach, home applicances, Houston Art Institute, Mac, Precision T 3400, Precision T 5810, technology, WiFi, Windows 10, Windows Edge

Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 25, 2016

The Church of the Expectoration and the End of the Church Age

A Line in the Sand

During the age of Laodicea, the seventh and last church age, the Lord Jesus Christ is standing outside the church, waiting to see if He is invited in. Have you noticed how the name of Jesus polarizes, how it can elicit a strong response either pro or con? The Bible promises us that someday every knee will bow at the name of Jesus but this is not yet that day. In Philippians 2:9-11 a wonderful and exciting time is described:

“9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father”

My heart thrills at the very thought of such a future. I love to speculate on that time and imagine what it might be like; the verse does say every knee and every tongue. It pleases me to imagine all of God’s creatures joining in that outpouring of praise; after all God gave Balaam’s donkey the ability to speak in Numbers 22:28 it is written:

“28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.”

I’m sure each of us can vividly recall the sound a donkey normally makes, and since the Lord can make a donkey speak why not all of the other animals too, is anything too hard for the Lord? Nevertheless it will be a glorious time and I suspect we’re all looking forward to it (and I hope that all creatures great and small will be able to join in our outpouring of praise, what fun!). That glorious celebration is yet future and this present world will have no part in it.

The Name of Jesus

Today the name of Jesus is an offense to many, a name that can cause fear and resentment; a name that is much too exclusive, a line in the sand. How dare you say there is only one name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

We are even seeing the Bible accused of being a hate book because of what is written in its pages; it is much too intolerant and is becoming ever more “politically incorrect.” Some are suggesting the Bible is out of date and needs to be updated to reflect the preferences of today’s social standards. The Bible itself assures us it’s going to get worse before it gets better. The Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible are increasingly unwelcome in many churches today and even more so in society at large.

The Close of the Laodicean Age will End the Church Age

The Rapture will conclude the Laodicean Church age and bring the seven church ages to an end; the remarkable window of opportunity offered by this age of grace will once and for all be closed. I believe it likely that many Laodicean churches will be minimally impacted by the rapture of the true church and will easily transition into the one-world religion under the false prophet; after all, membership in the true church is through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit bringing the new birth to those who receive Christ as personal Savior, those who have been born again.

This will also end the era of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit uniting with the souls and spirits of those born again in an everlasting union that began at Pentecost. When the church age ends the ministry of God, the Holy Spirit will also change and return to the type of ministry found in the age of Israel, being with, but not in those chosen by God. The restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit will also be removed opening the world up to much greater levels of sin and rebellion against God.

The Coming Tribulation

The Tribulation is most emphatically not a part of the Church Age; the Bible makes it very clear the Tribulation is the last seven years promised to Israel by God! The church will be out of the picture long before the Tribulation even starts.

I have written extensively on this subject so I will not repeat it here. I will only say I believe there could be as many as 8 to 12 years between the Rapture of the Church and the signing of the covenant agreement which will start Israel’s last seven year clock.

This last seven years will, in turn, be brought to a close by the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ followed by His Millennial Reign; two events in which the true church will participate.

A parting thought, you, as a born again believer in Jesus Christ, will have your full share in all of this; there are exciting times ahead for sure (I wonder if we’ll be able to talk to our horse; I would really like that)! ¹⁴The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. Revelation 19:14

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: armies of heaven, Balaam's donkey, Bible, celebration, Church in Laodicea, Holy Spirit, indwelling Spirit of God, Jesus, Laodicea, lord jesus christ, Millennial reign, Pentecost, politically incorrect, Rapture, second advent, seven church ages, spitting, Tribulation, white horses

Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 19, 2016

The Church of the Expectoration

Are We in the Laodicean Era of Church History?

The last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, is a book with deep prophetic significance including the first three chapters. The first three chapters are devoted to a summary of the seven church ages and culminate with the age of Laodicea. This church age is described by the Lord in Revelation 3:14-22 where it is written:

“¹⁴“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:

¹⁵“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! ¹⁶But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. ¹⁸So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. ¹⁹I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

²⁰“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.²¹Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.

²²“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”

I think we can all agree this is a rather scathing condemnation for that particular church age, wouldn’t you say? The Lord would spit it out of His mouth because it is lukewarm, neither hot or cold. I heard a preacher once refer to it as the church of the expectoration and thought that an apt description.

Also worth noting is the Lord’s description of the church as rich and self satisfied; even to the point of excluding the Lord Himself who is described as standing at the door of the church and knocking to see if anyone will invite Him in. This is a sad situation indeed, the Lord standing outside the church knocking on the door, waiting to see if anyone would invite Him in.

The Seven Church Ages

When Revelation was written John could refer to seven different churches that had distinctly different characteristics but were all active in the first century. The selection of these particular churches was in no way accidental but was part of the prophetic revelation our Lord was revealing to the church. Each church listed would also characterize a distinct era in church history.

While each of the church types would continue to exist throughout history the overall tenor of the age would vary and generally correspond to one of the seven church types and appear in the order presented in chapters two and three of Revelation.

The Lord does not specify the beginning and ending dates of the seven church ages but history provides us some insight into when these seven ages may have started and stopped. As with any study of history, eras of history may be more transitional in nature and not sudden, or abrupt. This is the nature of these changes with the exception of the beginning of the first age which started on a specific date, May 25, AD 33, Pentecost and the ending of the seventh age which shall terminate at the Rapture.

While I do not present the following dates as definitive and final, I have written them in the margins of my study Bible and believe them to be a close estimate to the years the seven ages started and ended with the exception of the final age which will be brought to a close by the Rapture of the Church.

Ephesus, 33-100
Smyrna, 100-312
Pergamum, 312-590
Thyatira, 590-1517
Sardis, 1517-1750
Philadelphia, 1750-1925
Laodicea, 1925 to the Rapture

While year 33 is reasonably certain, based on the latest chronological scholarship, the other years are nothing more than rough estimates; the greater clarity of vision provided by hindsight would, however, suggest these dates are close approximations.

As with the first century, all seven types of churches have existed throughout church history but the overall age is characterized by the general characteristic of that particular age. Another factor to keep in mind is the regional variations to be found around the world. The church in the Middle East is a church under serious persecution such as described about the church at Smyrna.

Next time, a coming celebration and a coming judgment.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 8, 2016

Judgment Day is Coming!

Is There a Judgment Day in your Future?

Last week I wrote on the unforgivable sin and concluded that the rejection of Christ as Savior was the only unforgivable sin. If Christians are forgiven, and the Bible assures us there is now no condemnation for Christians, then what is all this about Christians having to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ? In 2 Corinthians 5:10 it is written:

^“10For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”

If all our sins have been forgiven then what is being judged at this point? There just happens to be a Biblical answer to that question, it is our works that are being judged, not us as individuals. As individuals we have been once and for all justified before God and have the blessed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ imputed to us forever.

This Judgment Seat of Christ should, at least in part, be thought of more as a judge’s stand at a sporting event; the winners go to the judges stand to receive their rewards. Rewards are given for all works done in the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Any works done in the power of the flesh for self glory are destined for burning. This is described in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15:

“¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. ¹²Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”

The gold, silver, and jewels represents works done in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ; the wood, hay or straw represents works done in the power of the flesh for self glory. Keep in mind this is a judgment on a lifetime of works and may be a mixture of works done in the Spirit and works done in the flesh. The purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ is to sort those out and reward those works done in the power of the Holy Spirit.

How do you Think you will feel at this Judgment?

I’m sure all of us can think of many heroic figures of the Christian faith that will probably be richly rewarded at this time. Each of us may wonder if we’ll receive any rewards at all; it can be very difficult to be completely objective about our motives for doing what we do.

While the Bible is not specific on the timing of the Judgment Seat of Christ it is generally believed it will take place shortly after the church is called to heaven by the Rapture. One vitally important change will have taken place in the lives of all Christians by that time; we will all have our resurrection bodies and be freed of our sin natures!

Most of us have had the good fortune to attend a key game and have our team win some sort of award or trophy. The award is made down on the field and a trophy is given to a member of the team. Meanwhile, in the stands, the supporting crowd is going wild with enthusiasm and clapping and shouting their excitement to whoever may be within hearing range.

No one in the stand is receiving anything, certainly not a trophy for winning the game but that in no way inhibits the volume of the shouting or the enthusiasm being expressed.

That is the way I like to think of this judgment; the church will be there, totally free of any sin nature and able to express their love and delight as each member of the body receives their rewards. I believe this will be a wonderful, happy time for all!

Have you ever felt a surge of joy and happiness as a family member received some sort of recognition, of course you have and you were able to do that even though you now have a sin nature within you. At the Judgment Seat of Christ you won’t have a sin nature to inhibit your joy and happiness in any form or fashion; you can rejoice for a brother or sister in Christ as they receive their reward without any reservation on your part; you’re excited and happy for the family!

A Refiner’s Fire?

In addition to rewards for work done in the power of the Holy Spirit, what then will our Lord be accomplishing by the use of fire regarding works done in the power of the flesh? We need to think in terms of renewal, a process of purification from dead works. The Lord will burn off the dross, the impure, to clear the way for the pure, the holy. Gold is refined by burning off the impurities; a field is renewed by burning off the old growth to clear the way for the new growth.

This is the picture that should be in our minds as we read these passages; although our souls and spirits have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, our works during our lives will be purified, refined by fire at this judgment. As this refining process proceeds all of our wood, hay, and straw will be refined out of our work history and all that will be left will be the gold, silver, and precious stones! By God’s grace even our works will then be exclusively to the glory of God!

A poem, “Only One Life” by Charles Thomas Studd, 1860-1931, a missionary to the Belgian Congo expresses his thoughts on this event.

Only One Life

By C.T. Studd

Two little lines I heard one day,

Traveling along life’s busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart,

And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,