Revelation - How Jesus Identifies His Church

By Lyall Johnston. The church that Jesus Christ began to build underwent changes and controversies after the death of the Apostle John. There was a period of 50 years where there was no record of what was happening in the church until the writings of the early church fathers. Historians recognize that the church became different from what it was in the days of Peter and Paul. There is a claim that the Roman Catholic Church canonized the Bible in 400 AD, but this is a lie. The Bible was canonized by Jesus Christ and the disciples. The importance of the law and testimony in the Old Testament is emphasized, and if anyone does not speak according to this word, they are spiritually blind. The understanding of the scriptures became an academic exercise rather than an exercise of the Spirit of God and obedience to His law. The title for the message tonight is Revelation. Now, Revelation, in the topic that we've chosen tonight, is how Jesus identifies his church. Now, that's very important because the world, when it looks for the church that Jesus Christ began to build, had a very difficult task because something happened after the death of the Apostle John. In fact, it began even before the Apostle John. I'd like to read you a little passage from a book called The Story of the Christian Church by U.C. Lyman Herbert. Now, this is not written from a biblical point of view. It's written from an historical point of view. And in chapter 5, he calls this the Age of Shadows. From the martyrdom of Paul, and he has the date of 60 A.D., to the death of John in 100 A.D. So here's what he has to say about the church that Jesus Christ began and how history looked on it. We have the last generation of the first century from 68 to 100 A.D. And again, these are his dates. The Age of Shadows. So that's what he's calling it. And now he gives a reason. Partly because the gloom of persecution was over the church, but more especially because of all periods in the history, it is the one about which we know the least. We have no longer the clear light of the book of Acts to guide us, and no author of that age has filled the blank in history. We would like to read of what later works by such helpers as Paul and Timothy, Apollos and Titus. But all of these, and Paul's other friends, I'm not going to say Paul, the same comment. Paul's other friends drop out of the record at his death. So there's no writing, there's no record of what was happening in the church from then really until the time of John. No record. That's what he's lamenting. So for 50 years after Paul's life, a curtain hangs over the church through which we strive vainly to look. And when at last it rises... Now this is a very important part in this book we need to grasp. And when at last it rises, about 120 AD, with the writings of the, notice, the earliest church fathers, we find a church in many aspects very different from that in the days of Peter and Paul. So again, historians recognize there was a change in the church that was established by Jesus Christ and continued by the preaching of his apostles and the teachings of the church at that time. So it was the church that was shattered. This curtain has come down on that period of time from the end of Paul's life until the writings of the early church fathers. And with that, we found that controversy began to come into the church. And we're questioning all the canonization of the Bible. In fact, Rome claims that they canonized the Bible throughout about the year 400 AD, which is a terrible, absolute lie. Because the Bible was only canonized, as we have been learning, as we've known for many years, as a fact, the final canonization was done by John. The Old Testament, the canonized canonization was primarily done by Israel and his team. Now, let's turn back to the scripture in the Old Testament to show that these people are liars. Let's go back to Isaiah, the 18th chapter. Those who claim the Bible was not canonized until, say, 400 or 500 AD. Total, absolute lie by paganism. So, here you go. Isaiah 8, and what we want to address 16 to begin with. Now, here is the word from God's truth about who was responsible for the canonization of the Bible. You know, and I know, that it was Jesus Christ. Absolutely, totally, no question about it. But here is how he did it. Verse 16. Bind up the testimony. Seal the law. Okay. What is the law? Well, the whole of the Old Testament can actually be called the law. It's the law of God, broken down into the law, the prophets, and the writings. And Jesus confirms that in the New Testament. He says, that is the Old Testament. He doesn't say it in his word. He's confirming. He's perfecting his seal of approval on that. So, bind up the testimony. What's the testimony? Well, there's one way you can look at that. The testimony, of course, is every word that's printed in the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. It's the testimony that has come from God. Because every word in Scripture, Old Testament and New Testament, is God breathed. As we know in the book of Revelation. How did we get the book of Revelation? God the Father gave the words to Jesus Christ, his son. Jesus gave them to his angel, who delimited them to John. But the word came directly from God the Father. Jesus Christ was and is and continues to be and always will be the executor of the law and the commandments and the teachings that come from the Father. So, let's go back to that scripture there in Isaiah. Bind up the testimony. Another way of looking at this is that God gave his law. Then what do we find? God gives us a record of ancient Israel and then the divided kingdoms. He gives us a testimony of what happens when the people that he chose to be his children, in that physical sense, the twelve tribes, the testimony of what happens when they obeyed him. They were blessed. And when they disobeyed him, what happened? Well, a curse came on them. Let's continue that. I'll read it again because I will need to read the last phrase. Bind up the testimony. See the law among my disciples. This is God the Father. This is Christ talking. He was the Word of God making this declaration, this proclamation. He's substantiating how the Bible would be canonized. Bind up the testimony and see the law among the Roman Catholic cardinals and popes and priests. Is that what it says? No. See the law among my disciples. Now, who are the disciples of Christ? We even know that, don't we? It was the twelve apostles. Jesus flipped out, but the other apostles appealed to God and Matthias replaced him. Now, what we have to look at is another verse. Anyone claiming anything other than this, and we know what happened after that at 120 AD. One of the beginners of those theologians who with their word theology and their definition of theology, it is faith, seeking understanding. Rather, why didn't they say it is seeking understanding from the Word of God? If they would have just read the Bible, if they hadn't thrown the Old Testament out, what would they have learned? What did they say? A good understanding have they that keep all of God's commandments. Paraphrasing it, but that's it. A good understanding. Not faith seeking understanding, but reading the Word of God and by faith getting an understanding from what God says. Not what men think, devoid of the knowledge and relationship with God. And that's another point that Herbert makes. Now let's go to the 20th verse. And we can ask this question of any denomination, whether it be Roman Catholic, Protestant, any other religion of this world. And here is the Word of God. Here is what God has to say to the law and to the testimony. Again, as we read back in verse 16, the testimony and the law. So here he's talking about the same thing. Let me just add a point here. Could we then consider that Ezra and the team that he used to canonize the Old Testament, could we not also call them the disciples of Christ? Christ as he was at that time, the Lord God of the Old Testament. I believe so. That's what I believe and I see that in the Scriptures. Anyway, verse 20. To the law and to the testimony. I know we read this often, but it's absolutely essential when you want to understand how Jesus Christ reveals his true church. And it's interesting, another thought, he reveals it to those he's calling. To the rest of the world, like Paul said, the gospel, to the great church, foolishness. And what you believe and what I believe, because God has revealed it to us through his Word, we have had the revelation of who and what the true church of God is. So here, Roman Catholic Church. And I watched a program on YouTube recently where here was one of their, I think it probably was one of their scholars, saying that the Roman Catholic Church was responsible for canonizing the Bible around 400, beginning 400 AD. That is a total lie and it is not the truth of God. So, verse 20, Acts 8. To the law and to the testimony. That was to the entirety of the Old Testament. And because this is talking about the disciples in the New Testament, this includes from the Old Testament, Christ here is confirming even the New Testament before it was written, before he came. To the law and to the testimony. To the law and to the testimony. If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because they understand everything. Well, that's stochasticity, isn't it? That's foolishness. If they do not speak according to this Word, that's the law and the testimony. Now, did the law and the testimony continue into the New Testament? Absolutely so, it did. Because Jesus came and magnified the law and the testimony as it is in the Old Testament, as Isaiah also says, he came and he magnified the law. He set it up on that much higher level. The ultimate level, which is the level of God's Spirit. And to understand even the Old Testament, we need the Spirit of God. So, again, let's read this verse 20, because it is so important. To the law and to the testimony. If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them. Now, what does that mean? It means they're spiritually blind. Now, people can say, well, look, I believe in Jesus, I believe in the Bible, but whoever points this out, he said, you know, after from 120, what we see is a change from the... I'm actually going to paraphrase this a little, because I'm going to say what he really is saying as we would understand it. What happened is that understanding of the Scriptures became an academic exercise and not an exercise of the Spirit of God and obedience to the law of God. And that's where all Protestantism and Catholicism is today. It's an intellectual exercise based on human nature, based on the Spirit in man, not connected to God's Spirit, and man deciding for himself what he thinks the Bible should read, and by the theological process and by the systematizing of errors, as Paul says, I believe, to the Corinthians, we have a totally different church. As Herbert points out, after 120, it was not the same body of people. So, what happened to the true church? And in the past, and many of the churches of God have got their histories about giving physical points about identifying the church, but we have one that is in the faithful version. I'm going to leave portions of that to you because I would like you to take that exercise. I'm going to appendix B in the back of the Bible towards the end, and this chapter is titled, Identifying Signs of the True Church of God. Now, let's just rephrase that on the basis of the subject that we're talking about today. Revelation. How does Jesus reveal the true church of God? So, that's very important because it's very interesting. This is not saying, well, it's the name of the church, and there's this factor and this factor. This gives more of a spiritual understanding from God's Spirit and what it means if people are looking for the true church. They're not looking for physical signs. They need to be looking to see what church is bringing forth the fruits of God's Spirit. That's how Christ identifies it. But the rest of the world doesn't recognize the true church. As the gospel is preached, you know, the very first message that we read that Jesus preached was that, let's turn to that. I believe we want... Let's turn to Luke, the fourth chapter. Luke, the fourth chapter, and let's have a look at verse four, because here Jesus, this is the encounter where Jesus was being tested by Satan for his loyalty to God the Father. We know on those three occasions with the three questions in verse four, verse eight, verse twelve, where Christ rebukes Satan, even when he offers him the rulership and the glory of all nations. What does that tell us? That even then, even while Jesus is on earth as the Son of God, and also a term he liked to use about himself, the Son of Man, because he came in the flesh, to bring to us the truth of God, to suffer for us, to be crucified, to be resurrected, to go to the Father where he was able then to send forth, and the Father to send forth the Holy Spirit, so we then could be called by the preaching of the gospel. And this is the message that the church has, and we're going to continue preaching this gospel to all nations. Most will not recognize it, but we're not preaching it to convert the world. We're preaching it so that those who God is calling will respond. That God, like he did on the first day of Pentecost, struck the conscience of the Jews when Peter said to them, you have killed, you have crucified the Messiah, the Lord, the Son of God, the Son of Man who came to save you. And then repented. Three thousand baptized in one day. We don't see that today. But much of what is happening in that era and that function, we don't really see it. We see what's happening in the fellowship that God has placed each one of us, which we call the Christian biblical church of God, just like he's placing brethren in other churches of God. You know, we can reflect back on these seven churches in Revelation 2 and verse 3. Jesus Christ was the head of those seven churches. And there was a message for each of those churches, specifically to each church, and specifically to each individual in that church. And even though the churches existed, the people were converted, what was Jesus' message to most of them? Repent. What does that tell us? Well, it tells us that daily, those who are the true Christians, those who are part of the true church of God, the true church of Jesus Christ, we are going to be repentant on a daily basis. Sit searching out, we're going to be asking God, Father, is there something that is within me that I have not repented of? Or is there something that I'm unaware of? Well, I've been praying that. And this morning I had a phone call. And God revealed something to me that had happened that I was involved in, that I was responsible, because I had the wrong information. Now, as a result, and I'll be open about this, I actually unknowingly offended one of Christ's little ones. Today it was brought to my attention, and I'm so grateful to God. And of course, you see, what happens then? You're going to think, now how can I answer this? How can I get around this? But you see, God's going to be testing me to see whether I'm going to do it the way he says I should do it in his Word. I need to go to that person and openly and wholeheartedly tell them that I have offended them because this particular person has suffered so much in this life. That there's a great deal of fragility. But I'm going to go to that person, and I'm going to apologize, and I'm going to ask her if she will forgive me. Because I need to repent on that. And remember, God is watching me, how I handle that. And I've already made the decision. I'm not going to try and wiggle out of this. Even though it was done unknowingly because I had the wrong information, I'm still going to go ahead and do what I know I have to do in order to obey God and to make sure that I'm going to do it in a way that's pleasing in God's eyes. That's something that will suit me, not something that will make me look good. Right? No. That's not the way we go about it. We do it in a manner that is pleasing to God. And that is the way that we go towards the perfection that Paul talks about in Hebrews. And that word perfection, it's really worth doing a word study on that, particularly in the writings of the New Testament. So let's carry on. Okay, let's come down. I interrupted myself, so I... Verse 14. Now, what did Jesus say about a prophet in his own country? He couldn't do any miracles there. Why? Because the people knew him. And they didn't accept him. They didn't believe him. Anyway, he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up. And according to his custom, that's right, he says, a prophet is not without honor except in his own country or his own town or his own city. Words to that effect. Where he'd be brought up. And according to his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, daily. Now, if you see explanation, if you see the note there, go in and look, and you'll find that this is not referring to a weekly Sabbath. This is referring to an annual Sabbath, which just happened to be the Feast of Weeks. The Feast of Pentecost. And here we are, we're just three weeks away from keeping... Today, two weeks from the Sabbath, we'll be keeping the 49th day. And the very next day, that is on tomorrow, we'll be observing the Feast of Weeks. The Feast of Pentecost. What else is it called? Well, as this term points out, let's just go in there. The words on the Sabbath day are translated from the Greek words ante hereneto sabbaton. That's in the plural. The endings are in plural. A literal translation would be, now on the day of the Sabbath, or now on the day of the weeks. So here, the Greek terminology reflects that this is the day of Pentecost. And this is the day Christ was beginning his gospel in Galilee in his own town. What happened? Let's see what happened when he preached the gospel. And it was given to him, the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had unrolled the scroll... Now here, this is Christ, the son of the little God. The people didn't know it. They knew him as Jesus the carpenter. Up to his father. And when he unrolled the scroll, he found the place where it was written. And here's his preaching to his own people. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for this reason. He has anointed me to preach the gospel. And the gospel, it doesn't say it here, but we know it was the kingdom of God. And what? He preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, or in Matthew, the kingdom of heaven, and repentance. Now, that means preaching repentance. Anyone who repented, then the way was open to them towards conversion. Nobody. Not one single Jew at this point in time was converted. Now, were there Jews who were devout? Yes. Who were they? Well, how about Mary, the mother of Jesus? How about Joseph? How about John the Baptist? Could you say John the Baptist was devout? How about John the Baptist's parents? His father was one of the priests. How about the two that were in the temple? Simon, his name was, and Emma, devout. Here was Emma in there, fasting and praying. Old lady doing the work of God, praying. And Simon, who had had a revelation from God about the Messiah, and he knew that this baby was the Christ. He knew that this was the Messiah that God had promised. And look at the prophecies those two made. Were they devout Jews, in my other time? Absolutely. But when you get down to the hierarchy, when you get down to the high priests, and that's interesting in itself. High priests? It's not that there's only supposed to be one high priest. Anyway, they had a whole lot of high priests, and all these other priests, the priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scribes, they were the bitter enemies of Jesus. Did they accept him as the one who was going to build the church of God? No. What about the Jews today? Same story. Same story. Now, are there any devout Jews? Yes, of course there are. But what when you get down to the hierarchy? And that's the whole story. Actually, if you want to listen to some of the things on the latest Caravan, where John Walls is interviewing Fred, if you listen to some of the chatter before and after from John himself, he has some very interesting comments about Jews and Judaism and Zionism today. And Fred did not seem to disagree with that. Anyway, let's continue. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for this reason. He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. See, these are the people that God is concerned about. These are the people that God the Father sent to this earth, this planet, to reach out to these people. He knew it was pointless trying to get to the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the religious leaders and those that were the devout followers of them, that they were the devout. And here he talks about them. And this is primarily who he went to. This is taught that in his day he was going to the Jews, only to the house of Judah, because that's to whom he was sent. Later, the disciples would take it elsewhere, to the rest of the world. He has sent me to heal those who are brokenhearted. Have we got any brokenhearted people in our midst? Yes, we have. And I've got one that I have to go and apologize and ask for forgiveness. And I will do that. Because if I don't, what do you think God is going to do to me? Well, we know the lesson. What goes around comes around. So if I don't go and apologize, then I will be paying a penalty. It will come upon me automatically from God the Father and Jesus Christ himself. And I don't want that. And I want to settle things so they're straight between me and my brother or sister. I don't want any barrier between myself and any brother or any sister. If I do have, then I'm not walking in the way of Jesus Christ. And that requires deep, heartfelt repentance. Without that, I may as well say, I feel like you better prepare for the second death. Because that's where this ends up. If we just let these things go, you come to a place, well, you know, I can deal with that some other time. Well, I don't really have to do this, do I? Yes, I do. He has sent me to hear those who are brokenhearted to proclaim pardon to the captives. Are we, or were we once, captives in bondage to Satan? And this is who Jesus was preaching to. He knew those who would reject him. He knew those who were planning and plotting to kill him. In recovery of the sight to the blind. Those who are blind, they can't see. They read the Word of God like the Jews of his day. They read the Word of God, but they couldn't see it. Why? Because the Spirit of God had not been sent. It was only given to those that God wanted to give it to, needed to give it to, in order that his work would continue to be done and the unfolding of his plan could be accomplished. To send forth and deliverance those who have been crushed. Does that tell us something about the work that the church has to be doing today? And we're talking here primarily about the work of the truth of God and the gospel of God to reaching out by preaching the gospel to the nations of all those people that are blind and fit into these categories that God was calling. He wants them to receive that message. Are we responsible for that? Or can we say, oh, we'll just leave that to when Christ comes, or we'll leave that to the two witnesses, or we'll leave that to the angel that's going to be preaching the gospel in the end time. Well, the scripture that says that, no, that's not the way it's to be done. And we'll turn to that in a moment. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. But as you see, let's go back to that verse 7, which is to preach the gospel. And that's the gospel of the coming kingdom of God. To give all these people who are downcast, who are depressed, who are oppressed, give them the hope of the gospel that he had come to pay the penalty for their sins so they could enter into that hope. Like all those we have record of in Hebrews 11. They died in hope, not having received the promises. And here Jesus Christ wanted to do the same thing for these people. Okay, let's go over now to Matthew 21 to just answer that question. And right at the end there, you should know this well. Now, the 11 disciples went into Galilee to the mountains which Jesus had appointed for them to meet them. So we know this historically. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some people doubted. Well, some of the disciples, I doubt, some of the 11. And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, now mark well what Jesus is saying here. And the responsibility he's giving to his apostles, the 11 at this stage. And this commission, this work, this statement, this responsibility he's giving to the church, or what I meant to say, giving to his disciples who were the apostles when Matthias was added. That made 12. And this then was to continue even after the death of the last of the apostles, John. And this is the message what the true church has. The authority that the true church has so that the church itself knows who they are. Even though the world does not. We only come to understand the true church when God reveals it to us. So let's read it. Jesus came and spoke to them, that's the 11 saying, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Now when we're praying and when we're talking with God the Father and Jesus Christ, we can recognize there is the ultimate supreme authority that we are talking to. Here the 11 were able to talk face to face to Jesus. And you and I can talk to both God the Father through the veil which is Christ's body. Like the very throne room of God where we're able to in spirit talk to our Father, the great God of the universe, face to face in that sense. And in faith we know that we're in God's presence. Quite a thought. Therefore, because I, Jesus saying, because I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth, therefore you, now the you is not there but that's the intention, you go and make disciples in all nations. Baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It says nothing here about the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. That's it. Repentance. It says that elsewhere. And that's the implication here. This is totally included in this statement. Because how are you going to be baptized if you're not preaching the gospel and if you're not preaching it, you need to repent. Therefore, go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son, and that's by the power of the Holy Spirit as we know. So the Father gives us the spirit, the spirit both of the Father and Christ, and Jesus Christ is the executor that does all the work with us on behalf of the Father. And he's been given the power by the Father to do that in your life, my life, and all those that God has called, is called, and will call. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the completion of the age. Well, let's go now to Mark, the first chapter, I believe it is. Oh no, my correction, back to Mark 1. Now, after the imprisonment of John, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. And he called the disciples, and they followed him. Let's go back to Matthew, the 28th chapter. I'm not sure if I finished that off. Yes, I believe. Okay, so we preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, and repentance. And that repentance leads, or should lead, to total repentance, baptism, laying on of hands, receiving God's Spirit, and then becoming a true member of the true church of God. So God more has revealed to each one of us, and to those who have yet to be baptized, in that same manner, it will be revealed to them that they are a part of the true church of God, which collectively are called the churches of Christ. But not only that, but that that is a special calling. And God has called us to continue the gospel, as Jesus told those disciples here, the 11. And we are a part of that responsibility. We each have our own task and our own job to do. What was the task of Anna in the temple when the baby Jesus was brought there? Fasting and praying. Was she doing the work of the gospel at that stage? She was doing the work that she was called to do. Those examples are just so inspiring. They're so uplifting. Here are two old, older people, devout. God had given their knowledge and understanding at that time. Very clear that they were godly-fearing people. Very clear that God was working with them and within them, even though they were not told whether they had the Spirit of God or not. God had revealed something to them about who this was. Substantiating for you and for me, just show the person that this indeed is the Son of God that has come into this world and did come to pay for your sins and for mine. Well, there is so much, and enough here for many, many sermons, as all those speakers who are very loyal. So let's have a look at something else. The church is to, in the intent of the local congregations, and sharing with the church collectively. All those who are speaking need to be able to speak in a manner where we have got different levels of conversion. We've got babes in the church, we've got those who are going up into young children and then into teenagers, then into young adults, then to the elderly. We've also got those in the various levels of understanding of the structures. Some who need the book of the Word, and those who need the strong teachings of the Word. There are some that just need to get that basics settled first. And once they've got those settled, then we go on to the stronger food, I think it's the word that is used. Solid food is the way that it's put by Paul in Hebrews. And the solid food, of course, is what? It's the going on to perfection. It's getting rid of all those attitudes, all the works of the flesh that are still in there, niggling away at us, and from time to time we give in to them. So we go before God the Father, we repent, and we ask him to reveal us what is in there that is not pleasing on his side, bring it to our attention, so we can repent of it, and by the help of his Spirit and his Word, we can overcome it. Until the next time when something else is revealed, and we can overcome that. And the more mature we become, the more we are able to get up to speed, and grow in grace and knowledge at a greater speed, but we still have to be careful what Paul said. Let he, or she, who thinks they stand, take he least he fall. So we should never get to that place, you know, as John says, talks about the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pretentious pride of the physical life. We are all prone to that 24-7. Satan is there, placing the power there, pushing all over us, wanting us to give in, wanting us to give up. So what do we say? How come the answer is taken? I'd like to make a suggestion. Matthew 4, verse 4, and other places, Luke 4, verse 4, It is written, Satan, you shall not... Whatever the temptation is. That's a spiritual weapon. That's a spiritual sword. In the word of God, Hebrews 4, verse 12. That's how we fight the enemy. Just those illegal thoughts. Yeah, that's where they come from. One of the greatest difficulties I have is with modern day music. I may propose it short, but to me it's just a cacophony of noise. It's like it fries the brain. Just can't handle it. And I don't think that's just because of age. I hope and I think and I pray that that's God's Spirit rejecting all the satanic mumbo-jumbo cacophony of noise. Yeah, well, that's what it is for me. All right, now, I've got a lot more here. But what I want to do is come down to this paper from Appendix B of the Faithful Version. Identifying Signs of the True Church of God. And like I said, there's actually a statement. I wanted to read that. And it was made by Winston Churchill. It's been put down to him. And this is what some people do. When maybe they've come to find the true church, they see the truth, but this is what happens. Now, Winston Churchill was saying this about a previous prime minister. And it's apparently he made this comment in 1936 or about then. He's talking about Stanley Baldwin, previous prime minister in the United Kingdom. He said, occasionally he, and in brackets Stanley Baldwin, stumble over a truce. Occasionally he stumbled over a truce, but he always picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened. And I just suggest that that's possibly what happens to all too many people. They've got too many other things on their mind. It reminds us of the parable of the sower of the seed, the seed falling on the various types of ground. Of course, the first one, it falls on the hard ground, and here it comes along, the second comes along and picks it off. All right, let's get into this. There are thousands of churches claiming to be Christian, but how does the Bible define and describe the true church of God? And I found this after I was comparing, because I don't recall having read this in the past. To my shame. Listed below are major characteristics of the true believers who make up the body of Christ, which is what? The true church of God. Talking about each member, this is talking about you, it's talking about me and the rest of the saints, our brothers and sisters worldwide, many of whom we don't know, in other churches of God where they have truly repented, they've been baptized, had hands laid up, and they have God's Spirit. That doesn't say that everyone in the body of Christ has the Spirit of God, because we know there are those who are tears. We know that those have never been converted. We know that those who do not accept the doctrines. And they're still in the church. And what does that do? It helps us to determine by checking or testing the fruits, whether they are of God or not. And it defines for us who are those who are the followers of Jesus Christ, and who are those that maybe are a tear or just a religious hobbyist. Now, hopefully we don't have too many of those, but we had them in the past. We saw what happened as a result of that when it affected the whole church. Okay. He has an unwavering belief, or he or she has an unwavering belief in Jesus Christ as personal Savior, as one who was born of the Virgin Mary, was manifested in the flesh, and was crucified for the sins of the world as a perfect sacrifice from God the Father on the Passover day in 30 A.D. Now, I'm reading this, but I really would like you to go back. What I've done is I just made a photocopy out of the book, you know, God's Plan for Mankind, as it's revealed through his Sabbath and Holy Days. Continuing. Believes that after three days and nights in the grave, Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and ascended bodily into heaven to be received by God the Father as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world on the first day of the 50-day count to Pentecost. And that he returned. So, the day after the Sabbath, he went to the Father, right? As we will be hearing in three weeks' time, as Fred addresses this for us again, to remind us and to preach the festivals of God, the Holy Days in season. And that he returns to the rest of the same day to assure himself to the Apostles and give them additional instructions for 40 days. And was finally received up into heaven again to sit at the right hand of God the Father as Savior, as High Priest. After the Oath of Melchizedek, the whole book of Hebrews delves into that so that we can understand who Jesus Christ is as the whole High Priest and his role in what, as you personally and as I personally deal with him and the Father through him as our High Priest. One who understands every need to intercede and meditate for us, his people. So, what's the saying? This here is showing that to understand who's a member of the true church and what the true church is, that we are walking after the words that we have been given both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. That's showing us what the proof of the true church is by revelation. It has been revealed to you and to me. It's not been revealed to the whole world. But the time is coming when Jesus Christ returns on the day of trumpets to this earth. We have already been resurrected on Pentecost, the Pentecost, just before that trumpet, the last trumpets. And here we come with Christ. And those who remain on the earth, who knew we were part of the church of God and we kept the Sabbath day and the Passover and the Holy Days and they see us, if there's any, if not them, we're in the hundred-year period. Think of those hundreds, thousands of people plus, that you knew, and now they look at you and they're going to be absolutely astounded. Now they're going to understand what you, that I seem to be so strange to them. Now they'll probably say, oh, I wish I had listened to you. Let's continue. Point two. Believes that salvation is by grace through faith in the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the, notice this next word, condition. Yes, it's conditional. The condition of deep repentance of past sins and baptism by full immersion in water after which God the Father gives us his beginning of the Holy Spirit to the believer. Point three. The true church and the brethren, the people who are part of that church, have the love and faith of Jesus Christ and keeps the commandments of God. That one point alone stands out. You know, like flashing red lights and people want to stay away from that one, don't they? And this is why the true church, from the time we learned about and hold it, is the hidden part of the church. The world doesn't recognize it, us. And for those who do what I want to do, well, they want to do what they did with Jesus. I think it was after that sermon he gave in Nazareth, they took him outside because they wanted to kill him. They wanted to throw him down. Only they're in townspeople. They talk about Jerusalem and the slaughter that went on in that city during the days of the prophets and also the days of the church, the early church. Blood was running red in the streets. Very holy city. Not then, but it's a place where God is going to place his throne. Then it will be holy. It is not holy right now. Point four. Hold to the destiny of Jesus Christ and the spirit of prophecy. This is important. The destiny of Jesus Christ. That's everything Jesus said. Old Testament, New Testament. Every word. Old Testament, New Testament. Now magnified by the spirit as it says in Isaiah 42. Is it 21-42? Four. Hold to the destiny of Jesus Christ and the spirit of prophecy. And here now this paper reveals what that means. Meaning they will understand the prophecies contained in the scriptures revealed to us. Yes. As Jesus Christ reveals them. Ongoing process. Await the return of Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords. At which time all who have died in Christ with the saints who are still alive will be raised to immortality to rule and reign with Christ on earth. Five. The last point. Faithfully keep the seventh day service. God is blessing us today because we're keeping the day that he has commanded. The day that he's sanctified. The day that he's blessed to you and to me and to the rest of his family. As his children. Keep the seventh day Sabbath. The Christian Passover. You see these are the things after all 120 A.D. We had the, what's it called? Decimate. Decimate controversy. Which was changing the day in which the Sabbath was kept on the 14th or the 15th. And then of course they did away with it completely. And then changed the Passover into the Easter or the Eucharist or whatever. Okay. The Passover. And the annual holy days of God according to God obeying calculated Hebrew calendar. A true Christian. Meaning a part of the true church. Which God will use to reveal who he is and who Jesus Christ is. And who his true church is. Who will also reject Sunday keeping. And the religious holidays of the established Roman Catholic. Orthodox and Protestant Christian religions. And all the religions come from none other than the remade, remolded ancient great Babylon. Now Babylon the great. And God says to you and to me, even now, even though we're in the body of Christ. Even though we're in the church. If there's any particle, any corner of our minds and our lives or our hearts. That is following Rome. That is following Romanism. That's following Catholicism or Protestantism. What does God say to you and me? Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins. Brethren, let us praise our God. Let us thank him. That he's called us and is continuing to call us out of this world. And making us more confirmed, substantiating us day by day. As those solid members of the body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. Each one of us is a member of his body. And Jesus Christ is the head of the church. No pope, no man who's claiming to be the branch. And who's also claims to be in the church of God. Who also claims to be Elijah. Who also makes hundreds of prophecy when Christ is returning and failing time and time again. But we know God has called us. He's placed us in the true church. And that, brethren, is a special revelation that God has given to you and to me. Let's praise God. Let's thank him. That he's just looked down to you and to me. And pulled us out of this world. That's helping us to come out of it. And to become more and more a part of the family. Loving one another. Let's get rid of any hostility. Any attitude we have against a brother or sister. Let us come together in the fullness of God's spirit. And the word of God. And love one another. Because the days are coming very, very darker all the time. So we'll end right there.