Laodicean Church Age

The Age of Laodicea began in 1906 with the Pentecostal revival by independant non-trinitarian Christians. Laodicea's story, however, is very sad, as Jesus is ultimately left outside of the church, knocking. Just as the Saducees and Pharisees rejected the Holy Spirit after the day of Pentecost, so Christian organizations have rejected the Holy Spirit after the renewal of Pentecost (the experience, not the organization).

[edit] Summary

• The Ephesian Age left its first love,
• The Smyrian Age fought with Satan, and
• The Pergamian Age prostituted Christianity with paganism,
• The Thyariran Age was under the dominion of Jezebel,
• The Sardisian Age was the age of death, and few righteous,
• The Philadelphian Age was the age of recovery, and growth, and
• The Laodicean Age rejected Jesus Christ.

[edit] The Message to Laodicea

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor and blind, and naked:

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white rainment, that thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear: and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent.

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.

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Revelation 3:14-22

In the message "Laodicean Church Age", William Branham rebuked the Pentecostal churches by saying:

Pentecost was all right, but when you organized it, what did you do? You hybrid it and bred it into the Nicolaitane Catholic church. Exactly what you done. Took up her form of baptism took up her ways and actions, and the Bible said, "You are a daughter to a whore, a harlot: a daughter of harlot." Exactly right.

This rebuke was not out of spite, but out of love for the Pentecostal people. Immediately following this rebuke, William Branham relayed the story of how a harlot was forgiven of her sins by Jesus when she broke an alabaster box of perfume over his feet, washed his feet with her tears, and dried his feet with her hair. By combining this rebuke with this story, the message is clear: the Pentecostal Church is a lukewarm harlot, but restoration is possible if she breaks her traditions and the wealth of her uncleanness in open repentance before God.

Without repentance, however, there is no reconciliation with Jesus Christ, and organized religion will remain a harlot system by denying the headship of the Holy Spirit. The works of these organizations may seem good, but works and penance cannot unite souls to Christ. Repentance is the only escape.

In this scripture, Jesus is not talking to organizations or denominations: he is talking to indivuals. Jesus has never, and never will, deal with organizations. Those people who repent, and accept the rebuke of the Lord will sit with Jesus in his throne. Those who do not repent will be spewn out of his mouth.

You have the opportunity to accept Jesus call for repentance. Your organization is not given the same opportunity. Repent, and enjoy the riches in Christ Jesus.

Jesus said "had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:46-47). The same holds true today. If you would have believed the words of Jesus Christ, you would have believed the voice of his prophet, the angel of the church of Laodicea: William Branham. To learn more of others who have heard this voice and repented, click here.

James 5:1a & 3a says "Go to now, [ye] rich men...Your gold and silver is cankered;". The gold that Jesus is offering in Revelation 3:18 is "gold tried in the fire", and is not cankered. Revelation 1:14 describes Jesus eyes as "a flame of fire", while Revelation 5:6 says that the slain Lamb of God (Jesus) had seven eyes, which are "the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth". These seven Spirits are the angels to each of the seven Churches, including the Angel of the church of Laodicea.

The succession of these scriptures reveals that the gold tried in the fire is the product of the ministry of these Angels. The product of the ministry of William Branham was not his healing campaigns, but his teachings. To learn more of the teachings of William Branham, click here.

At the end of Paul's ministry, many of his trusted associates abandoned his teachings. Paul, the angel to the Church of Ephesus, and one of the seven Spirits of God, wrote in II Timothy 4:10-14:

For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring [with thee], and the books, [but] especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

At the end of William Branham's ministry, a similar rejection took place. Many of his friends that had joined him at the start of his ministry returned to their denominations and did not heed his warnings. William Branham prophecied in 1964 that the Protestant denominations would joining themselves with each other and the Catholic church in the World Council of Churches:

And the Bible said He'd be put out of the church in the seventh church age. He'd be put out of the church; it go completely black and go... Where does it black out? It goes into this ecclesiastical system, into this ecumenical council, World Council of Churches. She... He's put completely out, His Word. They can't agree with It; you know they can't; they can't even agree in their own little local groups. How are they going to agree in that? So they take another mark of the beast, a image unto the beast. (Sermon: Feast of the Trumpets JEFF.IN 64-0719M)