The seventh and last church of the church age is the Laodicean period which extends from about 1900 to the rapture of the church, it is an age characterized by a lukewarm church.

Please do not be discouraged by all the gloom and doom indicated in study of the Laodicean church posted here on 5-17-22 and 5-20-22. All churches large or small are not lukewarm and all Christians are not self-centered and comfortable.

There are actually four churches of the seven which make up the church age that still exist; the Catholic Church, the Reformation churches, the Philadelphian (brotherly love) church, and the Laodicean church.

It is the Laodicean church which makes up the predominant characteristics of this present time.

There are godly men and women in each of these churches so the seven letters are written to all Christians with the intent that we examine ourselves.

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified.” 2 Corinthians 13:5.

“…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:9-10, NASB.

It is through the inspiration of God’s word that we can recognize our strengths and weaknesses and continue to serve Him with all our hearts and a new attitude.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” Ecclesiastes 9:10a, NASB.

Time is short.

“And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” Mark 13:37.

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’” Revelation 4:1.

“Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” Revelation 1:19.

It is important to begin chapter 4 with a comparison to the outline of the book given in chapter 1:19; so far, “the things which you have seen” were covered in Revelation 1:1-20.

And “the things which are [happening right now]” will be completed at the rapture of the church, an event which will be soon and will signal the end of the church age Revelation 2:1 to 3:22.

The last phase of the three part outline now begins with, “and the things which will take place after this [after Jesus takes the church away]”, Revelation 4:1 to 22:21.

“…and the things which will take place after this.” Revelation 1:19c.

Chapter four then makes a complete break from the preceding chapters 1 through 3, giving us a strong indication that the church age will have ended by that time.

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Revelation 4:1.

We now have access through, “a door standing open in heaven” and the writer, John, who is a representative of all believers, is summoned into heaven by “the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me”.

This first voice which John heard takes us back to Revelation chapter one.

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the Last…” Revelation 1:10-11a.

The New American Standard Bible shows more clearly that the two trumpet voices are one and the same.

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me…”Revelation 4:1a NASB.

The point being made here is that the voice like the sound of a trumpet who calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega, a description of God, is that of Jesus Christ.

His words, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this” have a very strong suggestion that this is also a picture of the rapture (removal from earth) of the church, as well as a call to John to enter heaven in the Spirit.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

The reasons for the rapture of the church would probably fill a book but the short and not so sweet version is that the church has failed as a whole.

As prophesied in the letter to the Laodiceans the church has become lukewarm and close to apostate, rendering it nearly useless.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Matthew 5:13.

At the same time the entire church body of saved individuals from its inception at Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) until its removal at the rapture is called the bride of Christ, these are the ones who are taken away to be with Jesus.

And when the very last individual who will complete the bride is saved by the blood of Jesus, the Lord will rescue His beloved from the wrath to come.

“For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11.

The obvious question is who will represent God on the earth during the tribulation if the church is gone? Israel is the answer to said question.

Now the replacement theologian will tell you that this cannot be since Israel was replaced by the church, but where is that in Scripture? On the other hand Scripture says things like this.

“But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of bloodguilt, whom I had not acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion.” Joel 3:20-21.

“When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person [Jesus]. You see to it.’ And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’” Matthew 27:24-25.

“I will plant them [Israel] in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.” Amos 9:15.

Read the last one or two chapters of books like, Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah, see if it does not indicate that Israel will be restored.

“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’” Romans 11:25-27.

Indeed, just as Israel’s place was taken from them and given to the church when they failed to carry out their calling from God and rejected their Messiah.

So too the church will lose its place for failing the great commission. Then once again Israel will be entrusted with the evangelism of the whole earth.

Revelation 4:1 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 10-14-16, updated on 5-23-22.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.