In the Midst - Revelation 2:1

Today, before moving on to the next verse, I want to take one more look at Revelation 2:1 where it says, “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.” Notice that it says that Jesus is walking in "the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.” We’ve already established by looking at Revelation 1:20 that the seven candlesticks represent the seven churches spoken of here chapters 2 and 3.

It is interesting to note that in the very first church that represents the birth of the church, Jesus is walking in the midst of it. However, by the time we arrive at the last church at the end of chapter 3 we see that Jesus is trying to get back in! Notice what it says in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” What a sad commentary on that church.

In the age in which you and I live; which I believe to be the last days church of Laodicea; you don’t have to visit many churches to figure out that Jesus is not in the midst of them. George Barna, founder of Barna Research, gives a staggering statistic in his latest evaluation of the church today. He estimates that six out of ten people who are sitting in churches throughout the United States on any given Sunday morning are lost! That means that they have no real relationship with Jesus Christ. They are faithful to the church, etc…, but they do not really know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

We have lived to see the day when the divinity of Jesus is denied. There are groups of so called Christians out there that deny that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. That means that they do not believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. We have lived to see a day when his virgin birth is questioned. I got news for you, if Jesus was not born of a virgin; he is in need of a Savior himself. I don’t think so! Jesus was born of a virgin and to deny that is to simply deny your own possibility of salvation. We have lived to see a day when the church is scoffed at, ignored, and passed up by the masses. How many people are there in your city? How many of them are in a church on any given Sunday morning? Just by personal observation and my knowledge of the other churches in my area, I would guess around 2000 to 2500 out of approximately 35,000. Oh, I’m sure that there are more than that on the church rolls, but I’m talking about actual attendance. I’m sure that there are some who go to churches in other communities, I must confess that that bothers me a little bit, but be that as it may; the majority of the churches in our community are half empty every Sunday.

We have lived to see a day when Jesus’ Second Coming is ridiculed and hirelings are in pulpits across America telling them what they want to hear and how to get rich! Paul warned us in 1 Timothy 6:6 to withdraw ourselves from any man that preaches godliness as a means of getting rich. Instead of crying for lost souls that are doomed for Hell, much of the church is crying, “Make us healthy, wealthy, and wise!”

I get amused when I hear on the Christian television station that we are in the midst of a great revival. I find no factual or scriptural support for that. As a matter of fact, I find the opposite.  Jesus said in Matthew 24:12, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Paul said in II Thessalonians 2:3, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” Quite the opposite, we are in the midst of what the Bible calls the great apostasy. There is no revival from apostasy in the Bible without judgment.  The organized church is not going to “get back to God.” Instead, they are drifting more and more every day further away from Him. Are you going with them?