The Christian Faith Radio Hour

The Seven Churches (5): "Thyatira," or, Seeing the Roman Catholic Church for What It Truly Is

As the followers of Christ, it is important for us to not only love what the Lord loves, but also to hate what the Lord hates; otherwise, it indicates that our love for the Lord may not be so genuine, or at least, not so enduring.So, in this episode of the podcast we consider the Lord’s word to the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29. To this church the Lord says that He has “the eyes like a flame of fire,” because in His word here He burns away all its false, outward appearance to expose this church for what it truly is.In brief, Thyatira prefigures the Roman Catholic church; the Lord’s word here corresponds to His Parable of the Tares in Matthew 13:33, and also to the vision of the Great Harlot of Revelation 17.All of these passages make it very clear that the Lord considers the Roman Catholic church to abomination. Far from being the one true church, as it so strongly claims for itself, it is the continuation of the pagan system of worship found in ancient Rome, which in turn was a continuation of so much of the paganism of the ancient Middle East.While this is a very negative topic, if we see the real nature of the Roman church, it will be a great protection to us, to keep us from being deceived by that evil religious system as we seek to follow Christ today. We will also appreciate much more fully the Lord’s desire to have the one true church, which is composed of all the genuine believers in Christ, as His spotless bride.
Length: 1 Hour
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RESOURCES
WebsitesWikipedia: The Pontifex Maximus
Wikipedia: Pope Damascus
Books
Watchman NeeThe Orthodoxy of the Church
Bible VersesSee  The Seven Churches (5): Seeing Thyatira, the Roman Catholic Church, for What It Truly Is”
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RecordingRecorded in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, 1 May 2024

The Seven Churches (4): Thyatira: The Apostate, Pagan, Roman Catholic Church

As we study the prophecy of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, which shows us the seven stages of the history of the church, we will gain a clear view of where we should seek to be in terms of our church fellowship, namely, in the fellowship of the church in Philadelphia.In this episode we consider the fourth of these churches, the church in Thyatira. This signifies the apostate, pagan, Roman Catholic church, beginning from the last part of the sixth century and remaining until the Lord’s return. This is the “Jezebel” of Revelation 2:20 and also the “Great Harlot” seen later in the book of Revelation, in chapter 17. This stage of the church is also depicted in the Parable of the Leaven in Matthew 13:33.While this is a very negative topic, if we see the real nature of the Roman church, it will be a great protection to us, to keep us from being deceived by that evil religious system as we seek to follow Christ today. We will also appreciate much more fully the Lord’s desire to have the one true church, which is composed of all the genuine believers in Christ, as His spotless bride.
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===========SUMMARY
Seeing the Roman Catholic church for what it really is will be a protection to us, keeping us from being deceived by it as we follow Christ today
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RESOURCES
Books
Watchman NeeThe Orthodoxy of the Church
E.H. BroadbentThe Pilgrim Church
Bible VersesSee Episode #88: “The Seven Churches (4): Thyatira: The Apostate, Pagan, Roman Church”
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RECORDINGRecorded in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, 24 April 2024

The Seven Churches (3): Pergamos, the Worldly Church

The more you study the prophecy of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, the more you have to be convinced that only God Himself could have written this book; only He could have so accurately foreseen the history of the professing church, as it is depicted in this prophecy, from the end of the first century all the way until the Lord’s return.Moreover, having a clear view of the prophetic history of these churches will help us see where we need to be in terms of our church fellowship, namely, in the fellowship of the church in Philadelphia.In this episode we consider the third of these churches, Pergamos. This church signifies the church from the fourth through the sixth centuries, that is, the church as it was turning away from Christ and being corrupted by the world. This stage of the church is also depicted in the Parable of the Tares in Matthew 13:24-30.
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RESOURCES
WebsiteChicagoMeeting.org
Books
Watchman NeeThe Orthodoxy of the Church
E.H. BroadbentThe Pilgrim Church
OnlineDarby on Matthew 24
Previous EpisodesEpisode #35: “The End of Amillennialism” (1)
Bible VersesSee Episode #87: “The Seven Churches (3): Pergamos, the Worldly Church”
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RecordingRecorded in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, 17 April 2024

The Seven Churches (2): Ephesus & Smyrna, the Early Church & the Suffering Church

In Revelation 2-3 the Lord first deals with the seven churches, which show us prophetically the history of the entire church age, before going on in the remaining chapters of Revelation to judge the world and Satan. This is in keeping with the principle the Apostle Peter gives us, that “judgment begins with the house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17).On the one hand, before God the churches are golden lampstands, shining out God’s testimony, and we really need to appreciate them in this way. But even so, on the other hand, they exist practically on the earth according to their actual condition, and the Lord judges them on that basis in chapters 2-3 of the book of Revelation.In this episode of the podcast, we consider the first two of these churches, Ephesus & Smyrna. These represent, respectively, the church at the end of the first century and the suffering church of the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
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RESOURCES
OnlineDarby on Acts 20
Books
Watchman NeeThe Orthodoxy of the Church
E.H. BroadbentThe Pilgrim Church
Previous EpisodesEpisode #63: “Could We Be Disciplined When We See the Lord?” (1)
Bible VersesSee Episode #86: “The Seven Churches (2): Ephesus & Smyrna, the Early Church”
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RecordingRecorded in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, 10 April 2024

The Seven Churches (1)

This episode begins with a clip of some recent sharing by Titus Chu, a brother who has helped me a great deal in my walk the Lord. He answers the question, “What is the need of the churches today?,” saying, very directly, that the need is for brothers and sisters to be raised up by the Lord to serve Him with various ministries; only when there are such ones among us can the churches go on in a good way.We then begin a study of the Lord’s word to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, which is a remarkable prophecy of the public history of the church, and of the seven stages it would go through before the Lord returns. If we have a clear view of this prophecy, it will greatly help us to see where we can find the New Testament fellowship of the Body of Christ today.
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OUR WEBSITETheChristianFaith.org
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RESOURCES
Bible VersesSee Episode #85: “The Seven Churches (1): The New Testament Fellowship”
BooksAndrew Murry, Absolute Surrender
Previous EpisodesEpisode #84: “The Need for Ministry” (4) & “The New Testament Fellowship” (1)
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Recording
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, 28 March 2024

Christ in You: The Need for Ministry (4) & the New Testament Fellowship (1)

This episode begins by highlighting the ministries of three servants of the Lord who helped the saints enter into the experience of Christ as their life, and recommending their books to the saints: T. Austin Sparks, Mary McDonough, and Andrew Murray. I then go on to encourage readers to study the writings of J.N. Darby, who focused more on the objective aspect of the truth, and also the 1917 edition of the Scofield Study Bible.Finally, I recommend the ministry of Brother Titus Chu, which has been a great help to me personally. He was a co-worker of Witness Lee, and currently serves the Lord in the Great Lakes area of the United States and Canada, and oversees as well.The last segment begins to consider the question of just what is, and what is not, the New Testament Fellowship of the believers in Christ.
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BOOKS RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE
For the list of books referred to in this episode, please see its page on our website:Episode #84: “Christ In You: The Need for Ministry” (4) & "The New Testament Fellowship" (1)
OTHER RESOURCES
A Bible Chart, based on Mary McDonough’s “3 Circle” diagramsA Chart of God’s Full Salvation
VideoHow I Found the New Testament Fellowship
Previous Episodes of the PodcastEpisode #80: The Bible in One VerseEpisode #82: “Christ In You: The Need for Ministry” (2) Episode #83: Christ In You: The Need for Ministry (3)
BIBLE VERSES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODESee Episode #84: “Christ In You: The Need for Ministry” (4) & "The New Testament Fellowship" (1)
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Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on the Lord’s Day Evening, 24 March 2024

Christ In You: The Need for Ministry (3)

Which ministry we choose to receive will to a large extent decide our life. Those who receive the ministry of the pope will be Catholics, those who receive what Mohamed taught will be Muslims, etc. For those of us who are Bible-believing Christians, the ministry we choose to receive will to a large extent determine how well we are able to go on with the Lord.So, in this episode I share how I came to appreciate the ministry of Witness Lee, and testify of the help I received through him. He labored to bring the saints into the experience of Christ living within us as our hope of glory (Col. 1:27), which is the central point of the entire Bible. This was an enormous help to me personally in my walk with the Lord, and while we do not exalt any man, I am so very grateful to the Lord for allowing me to receive this help, and to Brother Lee for serving us as he did.
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OUR WEBSITETheChristianFaith.org
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RESOURCES
VideoHow I Found the New Testament Fellowship
Previous Episodes of the PodcastEpisode #80: The Bible in One VerseEpisode #81: Christ In You: The Need for Ministry (1)Episode #82: “Christ In You: The Need for Ministry” (2)
Publications
Witness LeeThe All-Inclusive ChristThe Life and Way for the Practice of the Church Life
Watchman NeeThe Orthodoxy of the Church
David CanfieldWritings on the Turmoil Among the Churches
Bible VersesSee Episode #83: “Christ In You: The Need for Ministry” (3)
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Recorded in Chicago, Illinois Wednesday, 13 March 2024

Christ In You: The Need for Ministry (2)

In the 20th century the Lord used two of His servants, Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, in a unique way to help the saints into the experience of Christ as their life, and as their indwelling hope of glory (Col. 1:27).In the previous episode I shared my experience of how I came to appreciate the ministry of the first of these brothers, Watchman Nee. Now in this episode I begin to share about Witness Lee, testifying first to how much I appreciate the help I received from him in my Christian life, and then going on to deal with some specific objections people have regarding his ministry.
===========OUR WEBSITE: TheChristianFaith.orgSUBSCRIBE: TheChristianFaith.org/subscribeSEND US A NOTE: notes@thechristianfaith.orgFOLLOW US: On Facebook FOLLOW US: On YouTube
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RESOURCES
Previous EpisodesEpisode #80: The Bible in One VerseEpisode #81: Christ In You: The Need for Ministry (1)
Brief Notes Note #16: “The Bible in One Verse”
Publications
David CanfieldWritings on the Turmoil Among the Churches, Full VersionWritings on the Turmoil Among the Churches, Abridged VersionDownload the Intro to this book in PDF FormatA Bible Study Chart: God’s Full Salvation
Witness LeeThe All-Inclusive Christ
Bible VersesSee Episode #82: “Christ In You: The Need for Ministry” (2)
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Recorded in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, 6 March 2024

Christ In You: The Need for Ministry (1)

In Colossians 1:27 the Apostle Paul tells us, in a concise way, what is the central point of the entire Bible: “Christ in You, the hope of glory.” But how can we enter into the experience of Christ living within us? The New Testament makes it clear that for this to happen there must be, first of all, brothers raised up as servants of the Lord to help us in this regard (cf. Col. 1:24-29).In the 20th century the Lord used two brothers in particular in this way, Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. So, in this episode I first share about the need for such ministers, and then begin to share my own experience of how I came to appreciate the ministries of these two brothers.
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RESOURCES
Previous EpisodesEpisode #7: The Way of Transformation.
Brief Notes Note #16: “The Bible in One Verse”
BooksWatchman Nee, Changed into His Likeness.Watchman Nee, Full of Grace & Truth, Vol. 1A.T. Pierson, George Muller of Bristol.A.W. Tozer, The Old Cross and the New
VideosHow I Became a ChristianHow I Found the New Testament Fellowship
Bible VersesSee Episode #81: “Christ In You (1): The Need for Ministry (1)”
OUR WEBSITETheChristianFaith.org
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RecordingChicago, Illinois Wednesday, 28 February 2024

The Bible in One Verse

Have you ever asked yourself, What is the Bible all about? Or, to put it another way, What is the central thing in the entire Bible? How would you answer that question?Fortunately, we don’t have to guess, because there is one verse in the New Testament that tells us, very specifically, what the Bible is all about, namely, Christ and our relationship with Him.In this episode we consider the verse in the New Testament that makes this clear, and which helps us understand just what is our relationship with Christ. 
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RESOURCES REFERRED TO IN THIS EPISODEBrief Notes on the Christian LifeNote #16: “The Bible in One Verse”
BookWitness Lee, The All-Inclusive Christ
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BIBLE VERSES REFERENCEDIN THIS EPISODE
For a list of Bible verses referenced in this episode of the podcast, please visit its page on our website:Episode #80: “The Bible in One Verse”
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RECORDING
This edition of the program was recorded in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, 22 February 2024.