As we approach the end of the age there are some very important truths Christians need to bear in mind and they are highlighted in three Scripture passages:

1. Isaiah 60:1-3  “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.” This is a message to God’s people. Some will go into deep darkness and some will grow brighter with the glory of the Lord. At the end of the age the Lord will arise and shine on His faithful people and they will be shining brighter and brighter. Sadly, the darkness will also be increasing until it becomes “deep darkness”.
2. Matthew 13:1-9, 36-43 This is the parable of the wheat and the tares. It is spoken to the church. Both wheat and tares will be there side by side until the very end when the angels will gather out the tares and throw them into the fire. The tares look like the wheat but, they do not bear good fruit.
3. Revelation 22:10-12 “And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” This is a message from God saying, ‘If you want to be unjust,  go on, live it up, you don’t have long! If you want to be filthy,  be still more filthy. But, if you are righteous, be still more righteous and if you are holy, be more holy.’ In other words it is the parting of the ways. It also points out that righteousness cannot be static – you cannot stand still, you are either becoming more righteous or you are slipping backward. There can be no accommodation with wickedness, you must overcome it.

These Scriptures point to the truth that in professing Christendom, the true and the false will exist side by side right until the end when Jesus returns. With this in mind we should look at the letters Jesus dictated to the seven churches of Revelation with a new focus – who were being overcomers?

With that in mind I start with this video on the 1st church – the church of Ephesus.

The church of Ephesus had many good qualities but, they forgot their first love with Jesus. Works became more important to them than spending time with Jesus. This so easy to do and we must all guard against it.

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