True Salvation – He Who Overcomes to the End
Rev 3:15-16
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot; I will spit you out of My mouth.”
A Divine Revelation
This difficult passage of Scripture is the rebuke Jesus gives to the church of Laodicea in chapter three of Revelation. This is the last letter John writes before all hell breaks loose. And let me warn you upfront, this devotional will not be user-friendly either. Many biblical scholars believe it represents the church age we are currently in. If so, it doesn’t seem as if Jesus is very pleased with us. In fact, we make Him sick to the point of vomiting us out of His mouth. Not good, and in our current state of apathy, many of us who believe in a rapture before the great tribulation may have a rude awakening when we are left behind.
Rev 3:21 implies that those of the Laodicea church would undergo reproof and discipline from the Lord before He returns. It also says, “and to him who overcomes, I will grant to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” With this in mind, let me ask you a question. What did Jesus overcome? Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening (beating) for our well-being fell on Him, and by His scourging, we are healed.”
A Divine Challenge
It sounds to me, that if God does intend to rapture us, He will first ready us like gold purified through fire to remove those impurities that shame His reputation and hinder us from being transformed into the image of His Son. This may mean God’s discipline and a possibility of fierce persecution, and therefore, may be the reason why it is predicted that many will fall away. Matt 24:9-10 says, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another.”
Call to Action
Regardless of whether this happens before, during, or after the great tribulation, the point of this warning is for US TO BE READY!!! The discipline of the Lord is coming beloved. It will be a time that the Lord sifts the chaff from the wheat to expose those who truly belong to Him and those who don’t. What will He find when He sifts your life? Matt 25:13 says, “But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.” The exhortation to you and to me is the same as Christ’s was to the church at Laodicea, “HE WHO HAS AN EAR LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE CHURCHES.”
Father, gives us ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying at this critical time in our history. Holy Spirit send Your loving discipline to refine the body of Christ and make us pure. The fields are ripe for harvest so raise up a remnant that is not ashamed to proclaim the gossip of Christ to a lost and dying world that will perish if we don’t. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!