THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Church
Message Three—The Church Prophesied in the Entire Bible
Scripture Reading: Eph. 1:23; 3:4; 5:26-27; Col. 1:27; Matt. 16:18-19; Matt. 13; Rev. 1:3-4; 19:7
I. Prophecies concerning the church—the church being the hidden mystery in God’s eternal economy—Eph. 3:4; Col. 1:27; Eph. 1:23: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
A. The New Testament reveals the church being the mystery of God’s eternal economy—Eph. 3:4. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
B. The church as a mystery being hidden, not made known to God’s people before the New Testament age—Eph. 3:9: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
1. Being hidden throughout the ages in God, who created all things—Eph. 3:9. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
2. Not being made known to the sons of men in other generations—Eph. 3:5a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
3. Being revealed to the apostles and prophets in spirit in the New Testament age—Eph. 3:5; Col. 1:26. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
C. The prophecies in the Old Testament concerning God’s selection of the Gentiles: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
1. The New Testament believers being Abraham’s spiritual descendants like the stars of the heavens—Gen. 22:17. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
2. The Gentiles becoming God’s people, the beloved sons of the living God—Rom. 9:23-26. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
3. The Gentiles rejoicing with the Jews—Rom. 15:8-11. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
4. The Gentiles being gathered together to serve Jehovah—Isa. 56:6-8. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 13)
II. Prophecies concerning the church—the kingdom of the heavens—Matt. 16:18-19; Matt. 13: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
A. The beginning of the kingdom of the heavens—Matt. 3:2; Matt. 4:17: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
1. Also being called the kingdom of God—Matt. 13:11; Mark 4:11. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
2. Being a specific section within the kingdom of God—Matt. 3:2. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
3. Comprising the church age. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
4. Beginning at the church’s beginning—Matt. 13. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
B. The formation of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens—vv. 24-30; 36-43. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
C. The development of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens—vv. 31-32. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
D. The corruption of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens—v. 33. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
E. The outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens existing along with the church in the church age. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
F. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens—Matt. 24:44—25:30: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
1. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be the manifestation of the reality of the kingdom of the heavens—Matt. 13:40-42. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
2. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be called the kingdom of the Father, the heavenly part of the millennium—Matt. 13:43. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
3. Being a reward to the overcoming saints—2 Tim. 4:18. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 14)
III. Prophecies concerning the church—the building up and the stages of the church—Matt. 16:18; Rev. 1:3-4: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
A. The building up of the church—Matt. 16:18: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
1. Beginning at Pentecost—Acts 2:1-4; 41-42. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
2. The prophecy concerning the building up of the church in Ephesians 4—Eph. 4:13, 16. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
B. The stages of the church—Rev. 1:3-4: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
1. The church in Ephesus—the church at the end of the initial stage—Rev. 2:1-7: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
a. Having works, labor, and endurance and having tried the false apostles—Rev. 2:2. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
b. In the epistle to the church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation through John, the Lord rebuked them for having left their first love—Rev. 2:4. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
c. The church in Ephesus hated the works of the Nicolaitans, which the Lord also hated—2:6. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
2. The Church in Smyrna—the suffering under the persecution of the Roman Empire—Rev. 2:8-11: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
a. During the period prefigured by the church in Smyrna, there were Jews outside the church who were persecuting the church. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
b. Suffering the Persecution of the Roman Empire—Rev. 2:10. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
3. The Church in Pergamos—the worldly Church—Rev. 2:12-17: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
a. Being in union with the world and becoming a fortified tower—Matt. 13:31-33. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
b. Holding fast the Lord’s name and not denying the Lord’s faith—Rev. 2:13b. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
c. Dwelling where Satan’s throne is—v. 13a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
d. Holding the Teaching of Balaam and the Teaching of the Nicolaitans—Rev. 2:14-15. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
4. The church in Thyatira—the apostate church—Rev. 2:18-29: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
a. Doing many works—Rev. 2:19. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
b. Tolerating the prophetess Jezebel—allowing her to teach and lead the Lord’s slaves astray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices—Rev. 2:20. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
c. Not willing to repent and being sick in bed—vv. 21-22a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
d. Those committing adultery with her suffering tribulation, and her children being killed with death—vv. 22b-23a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
5. The church in Sardis—the reformed church—Rev. 3:1-6: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
a. Living in name but being dead—Rev. 3:1b. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
b. The things which remain being about to die—v. 2a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
c. Having no work completed—v. 2b. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
6. The church in Philadelphia—the church of brotherly love—Rev. 3:7-13: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
a. Keeping the Lord’s word—3:8. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
b. Not denying the Lord’s name—v. 8b. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
c. Being given an opened door—v. 8a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
d. Having the promise of being kept out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth—v. 10. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
7. The church in Laodicea—the degraded recovered church—Rev. 3:14-22: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
a. Being full of human opinion—Rev. 3:14. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
b. Being neither cold nor hot—Rev. 3:15-16. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
c. Thinking that she is rich but not knowing that she is wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—v. 17a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 15)
d. Keeping the Lord outside her door—v. 20a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn.16)
IV. Prophecies concerning the church—the consummation of the church—John 3:29; Hosea 2:19; Eph. 5:26-27; Rev. 19:7: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
A. God’s eternal plan being to obtain a counterpart for Christ—John 3:29; Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:14; 31:32; Hosea 2:19: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
1. Being for Christ’s satisfaction and rest in love—Gen. 2:7, 20-22. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
2. Being the great mystery—Eph. 5:32. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
3. Being the increase of Christ the Bridegroom, the Husband—John 3:29-30. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
B. The church being the bride of Christ—Eph. 5:26-27: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
1. The preparation of the bride—Eph. 5:26-27; Rev. 19:7. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
2. The readiness of the bride depending on the maturity of the overcomers—Rev. 19:7-9. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
3. After the marriage of the Lamb, the church being the bride of Christ in the millennium—19:7-9. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
C. The church as the bride consummating in the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:2. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)
D. The church being wife of Christ in eternity—21:9-10; 22:17a. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 4, vol. 1, lsn. 17)