“I know your works, and your toil, and perseverance, in that you can not endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you have found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Revelation 2:2-4 NAS
The Ephesus church was the first candlestick in the hand of the Lord. The early church of the Lord’s apostles had many false teachers working among them. They had old teachings of the Judaizers and Gnostics as well as myriads of other ideas. The true saints needed patience to prove the value of true ministries that were rejected by many, including the state governments.
While Jesus sent His Spirit to teach and quicken followers to a life joined to God as a Father with a son, within this first stage of candlestick church development the Ephesus believers, for the most part, were duped by false apostles. These started bringing Nicolaitan ideas, teachings that caused them to leave their “first love”, to love the church fellowships and religious esteem accrued by false teachers. The church headship was taken over by men who loved having the preeminence, such that even John was not received in some early Christian fellowships:
" I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.” 3 John 1:9-10
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent." Revelation 2:4-5
The early church was warned to repent from false teachings, or their place in the presence of the Lord would be lowered, lost, removing them from their rightful spiritual experience. Their whole system of worship would lose its spiritual understanding and insight and its original place never again found in any of the candlestick churches.
Those who developed practices using the religious ways presented by the Nicolaitans were and still are hated by the Lord. The falsehoods that now prevails in church systems were formed by Nicolaitan doctrine, teaching control by a priesthood (Nico) over the people (laity). This included the practices of Balaam (prophecy for hire) that formed a “Jezebel organization,” a deceptive harlot system with many, many daughters that now routinely blasphemes in ways that usurp the King’s preeminence.
Thus, the candlestick of the early church was removed from its place. Babylon is fallen under false teachings into confused and false ways. Although honored by men, it has never been able to recover its original connections with God. We should understand well that the candlestick churches are in a lowered state, a fallen state, a Babylonian condition that is most certainly fallen. The history of the organized church grew worse and worse while some of the Lord’s followers were called, chosen, and elected to faithfully overcome these false deeds and doctrines of the church age rulers. These were gaining the right to partake of the Tree of Life, and in a SPIRITUAL manner, to be aware of the center of paradise.
There is promise of restoration in the words of Jesus. So also there has always been some rank of believing overcomers in every generation of Christian history. Most surely there was a great host at the beginning of the church age that had been gathered to the throne realm, raised to the city of God, raised to Zion’s heights. These are overcoming sons, made alive ever since the early days of the candlestick churches. Overcomers LOVE THE LORD MORE (kept their “first love”) than the status and pay of the prevailing hierarchies who were forming systems “in the name of Christ” that defraud. In these systems, ministers become frauds, devotees of the system more than the Father, produce nothing worth keeping.
In each of the candlestick church systems, a rank of overcomers turned their hearts and followed Jesus as pilgrims pressing into loving expressions of the Lord Himself. Today overcomers are eating from a heavenly tree of life, a source of light with which they are filled. Christ spiritually enables us to see what He sees, having the same anointed mind as Jesus about even the smallest matters.
Sealed sons are actively being clothed with a quickened spiritual mind! We are in need of PATIENCE concerning our personal growth into this hidden inner work God is doing in sons to draw us to higher places of worship in Him. We are able to be on a much quicker path by being outside every camp ruled by religious men. We are being individually led by God’s Spirit into purifying dealings that complete our promised salvation.
When we take trips with young children, we soon hear the question, “Are we almost there yet?” It can become an annoying question for parents when it comes about twenty minutes into a day-long drive. The Lord’s people are not altogether innocent of such questioning, “O my God, when are you going to come? When will we be there? Haven’t we been through enough? Are the meek ever going to inherit the earth? How much longer do we have to endure the dark night of this present world swamped in conditions of death’s workings on every hand? Isn’t it time we arrive at the promised destination? Can’t the work of gathering overcomers be finished sooner? Are we almost there?”
The common words expressed among believers in times of crisis are: “Lord, do something!” Humans are COMPLETELY CONTRARY TO GOD’S NATURE. We must be made one spirit with God’s Spirit to STAND AWAKE, WAITING, enduring the outward circumstances, having inner guidance when we face perplexing trials which teach us to, in fact, WAIT PATIENTLY FOR GOD TO ACT. Love is patient and kind! It is difficult to develop these characteristics until we are disciplined as sons to follow after the perfection of Jesus in Zion.
Christ delivers us from every worry and all panic when things do not move according to our plans or on our timetable. The mature do not give God deadlines and time limits, but pray for mercy in time of need, for the Lord will do something before it is too late. We pray for change, but nevertheless, I do not hesitate to state that ALL THINGS ARE NOW WORKING ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL.
God is never late! Mary and Martha found that out when their brother, Lazarus, died and was buried. Jesus always acts the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We know our life’s circumstances are not going according to our time schedule, but His. Love is patient and kind. Sons learn to be patient and kind, trusting Him in every time of need, and most certainly in every crisis, endeavoring to see Him in every matter.
Indeed, He often leads us into situations that are challenging, even frightening, and of which we would try to avoid or be critical. God uses many difficult situations in order to teach us how to better know His ways. He tries each son or daughter until they are able to STAND STILL and see the salvation of God. Our trials will teach us all we really need to know about ceasing from our own works, to learn how to stay in His rest, patiently waiting on the Lord’s guidance. Those loving Him first have oneness of Spirit operational to enrich our life’s commitments.
Christians are coming out of “fallen church systems” controlled by the traditions of men. We are seeing the treasures of the tree of Life in our house:
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God." Revelation 2:7 NAS
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way.” Psalms 37:23
The Hebrew word for “ordered” here means ‘prearranged, step by step, fixed, ordained by God.’ This means it is God, NOT the devil or some freak accident of historical events that leads us step by step through the difficult choices of our life. HE is leading us through places He arranges that we experience something profitable to go through. The character of God is formed within us as he writes on us the truth deep in His heart, He brings love and peace into our lives.
His character development removes our immature questioning cries about our difficult trials and tests. He arranges tests and trials, step by step, so we may learn to be a partaker of His holiness. It is a true inheritance given to true believers who then have access to the tree of life. True saints are clothed in light, spiritually strengthened to bear what man can not. Most church systems today are worshiping God in a mixture of true and false concepts and filled with doctrines within hierarchies controlled by religious men. Their viewpoint of the Lord has been marred, “marked in their forehead” (thinking), and in their “hand” (fellowship), marked by their traditional manners of worship. The Lord’s advice to all “who have ears to hear” what His spirit is teaching to “come out” from Mystery Babylon and her many daughters. It is only A-F-T-E-R we come out that we can be raised up:
"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, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne." Revelation 4:1-2 NAS
“Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters [teachings]; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” Revelation 17:1-2
Earthly minded Christians get drunk, truly hilarious, serving the passions of the great whore. She is a deceiver which holds a golden cup (the word of God) in one hand, but her love is for the kings of the earth. She doesn't love you, she takes your wealth and puts you to work for the church system. The Ephesus candlestick left her “first love”, and the Pergamum candlestick held to the teachings of the Nicolaitans who worked out to establish Satan’s throne, a hierarchy of ministry to control Christian people. The Nicolaitan teachings won out over the churches of Christ in the Pergamum candlestick to remain entrenched among the rest of the candlestick churches:
"But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it." Revelation 2:14-17 NAS
People caught in candlestick church heavens search but never find real peace, nor do they find the REST of God, a ceasing of their own works. Day or night they are worshiping God under traditional religious church worship that contains dead practices corrupted by the confusion of mixture with worldly standards and dead doctrines. The candlestick churches are filled with man’s ideas, and God calls it “mystery Babylon”, a condition of mixture that has developed within Christian people that now needs to be washed away, consumed, burnt up by the words of His mouth. Understanding truth will be the measure of our “crown” of patience, as we grow into being LOVING and KIND as true believers:
"If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath (passion) of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascends up ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints;" Revelation 14:9-12
Saints have needed patience to endure His courts, waiting silently for Him to appear, to fulfill all His will. He removes the dross of the literal understandings of the book of Revelation still taught in most church organizations as standard fare. Those who are supporting those viewpoints must yet be drawn nearer to Him. It may be assumed that well meaning Christians throughout the church age have needed refinement. Patience is needed in His people, where saints should be able to learn the truths of God.
Saints are letting love’s patience have a perfecting work in their life. Love IS patient and kind, and this especially matters in Christian fellowship. We are in fellowship with the Father and His son Jesus. As we are made complete in Him, we are enabled to keep the precepts of scripture and reign over our “earth” within the glory of God with those having faith in Jesus Christ. Some enabled saints wait patiently for God to show them what is perfect in His sight.
Love is patient, and is kind. We rejoice together with those enabled to rejoice, and weep with those who weep. We are enabled to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are ready to forgive the trespasses of others. We expect what God promises to give. We expect fulfilment of the promises given those who endure correction that comes to form perfectly working love into us. We are letting patience do its work of perfection as God becomes our All in All.
Being with God’s people is where we learn about being patient — learning to not to judge others in a condemning manner, nor be gossiping, while disqualifying others by our own religious standards. We are waiting for Him to present to Himself these ranks of believers, to be a glorious church, “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish”.
Each of us needs to be led by the Lord as to what judgments to express in Christian fellowship. We must try the spirit of each speaker to determine what to embrace. Nothing can stop us from being individuals who can eat hidden manna from the tree of life. Those who come out of the lukewarm conditions in the fellowships of the Laodicean candlestick are individually being granted strength and might to be DAILY FED BY HIS SPIRIT IN THEIR INNER SPIRITUAL PERSON.
So, our patience endures others who are presently in mixture with those who lie, saying they are apostles and are not. We can bear it patiently as He spoke to the Philadelphian candlestick:
"Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." Revelation 3:10-13
We can not let man’s thoughts be our crown. False ways of Christian worship are multiplied today but each is destined to be creating the character of PATIENCE AND FAITH where it is most needed — amongst Christian brotherhood —starting by erasing the markings of Babylon's accomplished hold on so many Christian hearts.
As God's people, we shall dwell in perfect peace, rest, and patience under the orders of the Lord. We eat what He supplies about the “up hither realm.” The seven fold Spirit is flowing from the throne of God working to fully clothe us with our personal wedding garments of being joined and possessed by the beloved:
" And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.” I Corinthians 13:3-10 NAS