WEBVTT

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I hold in my hand a letter from a young seminary

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student. He's a stranger to me. I've never met

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him. He writes, Dear Miss Kuhlman, I have stopped

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in the middle of my Greek assignment to write

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you. Having just today finished your book, I

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Believe in Miracles, I read every chapter. I

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was... thrilled at God's transforming power in

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the lives of people. I had experienced the new

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birth. But as I read your book, a great burden

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welled up in my heart, which has been with me,

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increasingly so, the last several weeks. This

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burden is the fact that so much of what is done

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in our churches today is completely human endeavor.

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As I read your book, I saw how God's Spirit alone

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is the answer. All the theology, all the Greek,

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All the degrees that I might get will not determine

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my usefulness in God's kingdom. I know now the

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meaning of the words. It's not by might nor by

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power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. Pray

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for me. And the young man signs his... Full name

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gives his full address. He's a young seminary

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student preparing to preach the gospel. We're

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going to have a heart -to -heart talk. In all

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probability, I will not be able to finish it

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today. We will continue. And I pray with all

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the earnestness of my being. that the Holy Spirit

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shall take my mind, shall quicken my mind, shall

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speak through lips of clay to give you something

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that only He can give. I pray He shall open your

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understanding to the deep truths of His Word.

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You know, I consider the book of the Revelation

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the greatest of all prophetic books. That's my

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personal opinion. Oh, I reeled that wonderful

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book of the Revelation. The thief of the Revelation

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is Jesus Christ. And the Revelation begins with

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the Revelation of Jesus and his church. And before

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I begin talking about the seven stages of the

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church as given here in the first three chapters

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of the book of Revelation, I think it's only

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fair that we shall have an understanding as to

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just what is meant by the church. You are a Catholic

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and you say, My church. I am a Protestant. I

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say, my church. You may belong to another organization

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and you say, our church. Jesus says, my church.

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Before I will finish speaking, We will settle

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that question once and for all. Which is the

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right church? Which is the true church? First

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of all, remember something. The church is not

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a continuation of the Jewish dispensation under

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another name. If the scriptures put Moses and

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the law in one dispensation and Christ and grace

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in another dispensation, let us respect the divine

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order and not join together what God hath put

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asunder. There could be no church. until the

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day of Pentecost, as recorded in the first chapter

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of Acts. The church is the body of Christ. In

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Ephesians, the first chapter, the 22nd and 23rd

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verses, you read these words. and hath put all

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things under his feet, and gave him, Jesus, to

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be the head over all things to the church, which

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is his body. There could not be the church during

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the dispensation of the Jews and law. The church

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could not exist until after Jesus himself had

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come because he is the head of the church. Let

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me repeat. And have put all things under his

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feet and gave him, Jesus, to be the head of all

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things to the church, which is his body. We see

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immediately. that this headship was not possible

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until Jesus had been raised from the dead. Seated

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at the right hand of the Father, the church,

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therefore, could not have been in existence before

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there was a head. For God does not make headless

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things. The church, then, is the body of which

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Christ is the head. Quote a little further in

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1 Corinthians, the 12th chapter. For as the body

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is one and hath many members, and all the members

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that one body, being many, are one body, so also

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is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized

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into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentile.

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whether we be bond or free, and have all been

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made to drink into one spirit. Oh, that's wonderful.

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Therefore, we are born into his body. Therefore,

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we see there could be no church until the day

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of Pentecost. Paul is led to the Ephesians. Continues,

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there is one body, the church, and one spirit,

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the Holy Spirit. Even if you are called into

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one hope of your calling, one Lord, Jesus, one

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faith, one baptism, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

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one god and father of all who is above all and

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through all and in you all there should be no

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mistake as to what paul meant by the one body

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now ye are the body of christ So we, being many,

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are one body in Christ. The fact that the church

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is a body made up of living members shows that

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it is not an organization. This is something

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that I pray that the Holy Spirit will make very

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real to you. I pray with all the earnestness

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of my being that somehow the Holy Spirit shall

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so penetrate our minds, our hearts, that this

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glorious truth that has robbed the church of

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so much of its spirituality shall come through

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and be made real to your heart and mind. Church

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is a body made up of living members. It's not

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an organization. It's an organism. An organization

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is made up of distinct units, like doors and

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windows and floors and roof of a building. These

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things can be removed, replaced by new parts

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without destroying the integrity of the building.

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But a human body is an organism. You cannot remove

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an eye or an ear or an arm or a foot or even

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a finger or even a tooth. without destroying

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the integrity of the body and causing a mutilation.

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And so we see from this wonderful body that Christ

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is talking about that to lose one member of his

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body, which is a church, is to mutilate it. Neither

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can the church as the body of Christ die. For

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whoever saw a dead body attached to a living

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head, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ will

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never die. It is impossible for this wonderful

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body of believers to die. It cannot. It's the

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most impossible thing in the world. I know we

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look around about us and we talk about the falling

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away. We talk about the deadness of the church.

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We talk about the lack of spirituality. But remember,

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beloved, it is impossible for this wonderful

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body of believers, the church, His church, to

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ever die. It will never become a dead body because

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Christ is the head and our head is alive and

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can never die again. For in the book of Revelation,

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he said to himself, I am he that liveth and was

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dead. That's on the cross. And behold, I am alive

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forevermore. And as long as Christ lives, and

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he says his life shall be forevermore, this wonderful

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body of believers, his body, the church, will

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live regardless of the spiritual drought and

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the lack of spirituality and the falling away.

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Death will never come to his church. All to me

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that's very modest. See something else. A person

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can exist without a physical body as a soul exists

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without a physical body between death and the

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resurrection of the body. But that existence

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cannot be made manifest. And so the only way

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that Christ, who is now in glory, can manifest

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himself to the world is through his body, the

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church. That's the only way. He is not here on

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earth. We do not see him. in bodily form as he

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appears in our midst? No. But he still exists

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as great high priest seated at the right hand

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of God the Father. Because of this position,

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he no longer walks this earth. in person as he

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walked along the shores of Galilee. Instead,

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he manifested himself to the world through his

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body. The church, this glorious church of the

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living God. Do you understand the importance?

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of this wonderful church, not as an organization,

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but as an organism. Believers. This church made

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up of born -again men and women. Oh, this is

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wonderful. And the only way the church can see

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Christ today is in the Christian believers. This

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is probably what Paul meant. When he wrote to

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the Philippians, for me to live is Christ. In

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other words, for Christ to live again in Paul

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so that the world, the unregenerated, might see

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Christ manifested in Paul. There is... Responsibility

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of the church is tremendous. As we continue in

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this heart -to -heart talk, I pray to God that

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every minister, every born -again Christian will

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see his great responsibility as a member of his

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church. All right. Now, if you will, please,

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go to the book of the Revelation. I just laid

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the groundwork as to what the church is. And

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before we begin with the seven stages of the

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church, as Paul saw it in the Spirit, I want

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that we get the introduction. The word says,

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being in the spirit on the Lord's day. Oh, John

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had a glorious vision, the Lord himself. One

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of these days when I get the glory, I want a

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long talk with John. You and I have had wonderful

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heart -to -heart talks together, but I am anticipating.

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A heart -to -heart talk with John in person.

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And for once, I'm going to keep my mouth shut.

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And I'm going to let John do all the talking.

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Oh, that's going to be a glorious day. John said,

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I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. That wonderful

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vision as he beheld the very Son of the Living

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God. He heard a voice, and then he saw a form.

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He heard this voice saying, I am Alpha and Omega,

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the first and the last. What thou seest, write

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in a book. This is what he saw, and it is of

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great importance. And being turned, I saw seven

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golden candlestands. Now, if I understand this

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correctly in the spirit, these were not like

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the candlesticks in the temple and in the tabernacle.

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Sure. They were very familiar with candlesticks

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in the temple. They were very familiar with candlesticks

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in the tabernacle. But these were not like the

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candlesticks that they had in the temple. Those

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were seven -branched. Six -sided branches and

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the central shaft made the seven. But John saw

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not one candlestick. He saw seven separate candlesticks.

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They were seven separate lampstands. Christ is

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represented by the seven -branched candlestick

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in the holy place. and the Spirit of God is represented

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by the seven lamps upon it. But during his absence,

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during the time of his priesthood, a barren glory,

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his people are to be the lights for him in this

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world. And so John sees in this first vision

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not one candlestick with seven branches, but

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seven distinct lampstands in the form of a circle

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and in the midst of them he sees one like unto

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the son of man girt about the breast with a golden

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girdle it is the lord judging in the midst of

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his assemblies. Then what do we learn about these

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lampstands? What do these candlesticks symbolize?

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Here it comes. This is wonderful. They picture

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for us the whole course of the church's history

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until the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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In his absence, the church of God is responsible

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to keep a light burning in the midst of darkness.

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And believe me, the darkness is creeping upon

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us very rapidly. And the only real light in the

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world today, the only light of hope and of assurance,

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is in Jesus Christ the Lord, the only real hope,

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the only light that the world has is found in

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Jesus Christ the Lord. There was a day when Jesus

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said, as he walked upon this earth, I am the

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light of the world. But the day came when he

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turned and said to his people, Ye are the light

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of the world. In his absence, the church of the

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Lord Jesus Christ is restored. Responsible to

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keep a light burning in the midst of darkness.

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Know that. His church. That is the responsibility

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of the church. We represent Jesus. The only way

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the world can see Christ today is in the Christian

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believer. And how can that light be kept burning?

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What did that light? The oil of the Holy Spirit.

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That's what the prophet meant when he said, it's

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not... by might. It's not by power, but it's

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by my spirit. It is the oil of the Holy Spirit.

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In and through the believer that makes it possible

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for the believer to shine and the church to shine

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and give the church the power. Ye are the light

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of the world.