De-Funding the Wolves
Discernment Clue: Ministries that aren’t provoking you to get into God’s Word FOR YOURSELF DAILY, simply want you to depend on them-not God!
The wolves of today would not be in business if there weren’t so many biblically-illiterate people who claim to be following Christ while they fund these false ministries.
Could you be funding a wolf ministry and not yet realize it?
Only those who are in God’s Word diligently and daily can discern properly who is true and who is false.
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11
The LORD makes it clear in His Word that He would have all wolves to become skinny – dried up and out of business!
Actually one sign of a wolf is that he refuses to teach the sheep how to discern truth from falsehood (Ezekiel 44:23-24)
Were we not all repeatedly warned of these wolves coming on the scene in the final days?
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Peter 2:1-3
Below is a possible revenue flow model to begin a local fellowship – to honor God according to HIS Word – seeking to follow the wisdom of His kingdom priorities.
The percentages can be adjusted. This is a possible model, attempting to align with the divine plan. The attempt is to exercise kingdom priorities as revealed and recorded in the Holy Scriptures. As we saw above, it seems that many local churches do not exercise biblical priorities when stewarding the revenues coming into their local body of believers. The LORD reveals His priorities to us in His Word and we should diligently adhere to His wisdom.
- Benevolence for local believers – (hardship needs for God’s people, etc. – Matt. 25:40, 45; Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35; Romans 15:26; Galatians 2:10; James 1:). This could include supporting genuine local ministries who do this type serving (Acts 6:1-4).
- Elder fund – Elder brothers who are serving in the study and dispensing of God’s Word and doing ministry to the saints – overseeing, feeding, nurturing, watching for their souls, and being given to prayer (Acts 6:4; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 Corinthians 9:1-14)
- Sending forth fund – This would be a fund that is available when God speaks to send forth one or more saints, especially those He’s equipped, for ministry exploits (Acts 13:1-2). To be prayerfully decided upon by elders as they seek the LORD – possibly to be used when another preaching elder(s) is set forth by the Spirit or an equipped saint is sent forth for true missionary work (1 Tim. 5:17).
- Local Evangelism Fund – This is to support several diligent witnesses and a Gospel tract ministry, etc.
- Foreign Missions –
- Internet Media Feeding and Evangelism Fund –
- Administrative Workers –
- Administrative servant(s), printing costs, postage, etc. –
One might say that this seems pragmatic, but is it not biblical? Need we pray and be “led of the Spirit” to the point that we do not acknowledge what the Holy Spirit of God has already given us in His Word? See 2 Peter 1:20-21 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Deuteronomy 29:29; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13.
In local gatherings already established, it would certainly be wise to reconstruct current revenue flow to align with the LORD’s priorities. For those who may be being led to begin a new fellowship to care for, feed, and train up saints, this would be the right time to lay the foundational grid up front.
Jesus Is coming to take account of every penny of our stewardship. See Matthew 25; Luke 12, 16.
Divine Priorities
People – His people first, then the world – Gal. 6:10; John 17:9; Matt. 25:40, 45
Geographically – Acts 1:8 – Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, then the utter most parts of the earth.
Divine Principle and Directive: Take good care of those men who do the most important work on earth – they worship and serve Him full-time and watch for the souls of His beloved people in prayer, the Word, rebuke, maturing and fruitfulness (Acts 6:1-7; 2 Tim. 3:15-4:5; Eph. 4:11-12). All suffer when they are shorted (Deut. 12:19; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 Cor. 9:1-14).
The question recently arose as to what poor people to help. “The poor saints“ are God’s priority.
“For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.” Romans 15:26
Note here that the Christians in the cities of Macedonia and Archaia were “pleased” or blessed “to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.”
Learn also Galatians 6:10 and John 17:9 for God’s priority.
Wise Kingdom Givers
The LORD is calling for the launching and financial support of ministers and ministries for the advancement of His kingdom. His Great Commission command is still in full force and will be until He returns (Matthew 28:18-20). God has not changed and we are fully responsible to be doing what He sent us forth to do. He is not pleased with the waste of money on temporal physical buildings, CEO salaries, unbiblical church programs, and the myriad of irresponsible spending and waste that goes on in the modern visible church. As a member of the body of Christ, we should understand and see that God’s kingdom is a “spiritual house” and not a physical building (1 Pet. 2:5). To His own, Jesus said that the LORD’s kingdom is “within you.” (Lk. 17:21) There are numerous other unnecessary expenditures that are the result of the physical buildings – light bills, electric bills, janitors, supplies, repair, upkeep, remodeling, etc. ….. To a large degree, it seems that the vast majority of the financial love offerings of God’s people are absorbed into a building and a bureaucracy. Also, the people – who are the real church – are being pigeon holed into a central meeting place without launching and mobilizing them for ministry, which is the divine mandate placed upon leaders – to mature all Christians they oversee to do ministry (Eph. 4:11-14). Any local church organization not doing so is false.
Going a Little Deeper
“The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21
The Greek word that “observation” comes from here is parateresis which means inspection, ocular evidence. God’s kingdom is within the saint in the earth and so His children do not need to look with their physical eyes for it to come. King-dom = domain of Jesus the King. Where ever King Jesus reigns, His kingdom has come.
Putting the Greedy Wolves on a Fast
“(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” Philippians 3:18-19
I believe the LORD is calling His people to defund the hirelings who have built their little church business and building nest and are absorbing billions of dollars of the money of God’s people for their own selfish gain (Philippians 3:18-19). Regrettably, so many people do not peer into the Word and look beyond their own immediate comfort to see what is really going on. So, they continue to financially fund those “evil workers” who are actually “enemies of the cross of Christ” while pretending to represent Jesus (Philippians 3:1-3; 18-19).
Most of our minds have been well trained by enterprising pastors to bring money to their physical church building on Sunday mornings. This allows a nice comfortable place for us to be entertained for an hour weekly. Is this not self-serving? All local churches that meet in a separate building are not operating this way, yet it seems the vast majority are in this hour of apostasy.
Kingdom Proposal – at any time (don’t wait till Sunday or when you are inside a physical building), write a check or carry cash to a true servant of Christ so their lives and families can be sustained to do the most important work on the earth – the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the hearts of men. The time is short beloved. Pray daily for the true servants of Christ around you to be able to be full-time in the care of souls, fastings and pray and the ministry of the Word.
Would you mind if I shared a personal testimony? – Knowing God’s plan for His kingdom furtherance and economy, it has always seemed just and right to immediately and deliberately release those funds into the hands of men who were laboring in caring for the body of Christ and to win souls. I remember when I owned my own company – a Christian business directory here in the Dallas area. Checks of varying amounts would come in to the business. Having been blessed to understand “firstfruit” principle or truth, I would call one of my friends who did ministry and would ask him to meet me somewhere in the vicinity in which we lived. I would then give him a portion of the amount of money that had come in to the company that day.
Unfortunately, the hoards of hirelings have made their church buildings the “official” place to give. God never limited our giving to a certain building. He says to give the offerings where the Word/meat is being brought forth and where His New Testament plan is being enacted (Mal. 3:8-11; Gal. 6:6).
Instead of focusing on furnishing the hearts of men with the Word and character of Jesus, the hireling further furnishes and embellishes his own church palace.
Always keep in mind that we must live by God’s Word and see things the way He sees them. His kingdom is not limited to any man’s church building. Jesus Christ made all things for His own pleasure (Col. 1:15-17; Rev. 4:11). To the true servant of Christ, the whole world is his pulpit and mission field – he doesn’t hypocritically wait till he is conducting a so-called “church service/program” to serve others and communicate the Gospel. In contrast, the hireling has his staged profession with no passion for lost souls or to perpetually declare God’s Word to all, everywhere he happens to be. He’s a fraud.
Christ commanded, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”(Mk. 16:15) The spread of God’s kingdom in the hearts of men is the worthy cause which true believers are to support and also to cease funding all who are not doing such in their daily lives. Anyone can stage a ministry – true disciples live to serve and minister. For example, most leaders today do not do personal evangelism, nor do they care about those they speak to on Sunday mornings. Yet, they have the luxury of passing a basket to collect financial offerings weekly from those they refuse to get to know. When do we see those who are supposed to “watch for your souls” calling their sheep on the phone for a moment to ask how one is doing and asking to lift up a prayer or share a Scripture to encourage? (Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:1-6) Of the false shepherds cited in Jeremiah 23, the LORD says they “have not visited them (the sheep).” (Jer. 23:2) In other words, their shepherds, like most today, were too busy playing golf or sporting around to care for the LORD’s people. Such a person is not “given to hospitality” or “apt (capable, ready) to teach.” (1 Tim. 3:2)
“For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.” Jeremiah 10:21
As we partake in His true Gospel program, will our Father in Heaven not reward each the giver and the goer for eternity? (Romans 10:14-15) Let’s fund the true Gospel saints and those called out men who genuinely live and spread it! Jesus told us: “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.” (John 4:36)
Corn Fed | Are Ministers of Christ to be Compensated? | New Testament Money Distribution
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Articles
The Communication of Thy Faith

Excerpt from the book Revolutionary Evangelism
“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Philemon 1:6
Is God concerned how much we sweat or hurt ourselves in order to communicate His truth? I think not. I believe that He is simply desirous that we communicate His Word, no matter what available legitimate method(s) we might choose. The key in the LORD’s economy is “the communication of thy faith.”
Captured in the verse below, seems like the beloved Job is referring also to the refreshment that comes from opening our lips and testifying of our LORD’s great goodness!
“I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.” Job 32:20
With this truth in mind does it not behoove each and every believer to find ways to confess Christ to others who need Him?
OSWALD J. SMITH stated: ”For more than thirty years I have prayerfully considered the problem: How can we evangelise the world in the space of one generation? I do not believe we ever can send out enough missionaries; but there must be a way. After travel and study in fifty-three countries, I have come to the conclusion, the only way we are going to be able to carry out the Great Commission – ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15) – will be by means of the printed page.”
The end is near. What seed have you sown to reach the lost? What will you tell the Master in the end about how you spent your life on this earth (the life He gave you)?
“I believe our Gospel literature is having a greater impact for Christ on Africa than the coming of five thousand new missionaries.” Dr. Guy Playfield – Sudan Interior Mission
For nearly 500 years now, Gospel tracts have been used to reach the lost with the message of the Good News. No doubt that salvation tracts, also referred to as Gospel or silent messengers, are ordained by God as one of the primary methods/tools to evangelize the world.
“Unquestionably the most economical and effective method of world evangelism is the printed page. Ninety percent of the reported conversions to Christianity in Latin America are the result of sound Gospel literature. One good Gospel tract or Bible study booklet given careful, prayerful, wide distribution may easily reach more people than all the sermons one could preach in a lifetime. And after we are gone, they remain, like Longfellow’s ‘Footprints on the Sands of Time’ streams of blessing that will flow on forever.” J.E. McKEE
By divine inspiration, the modern printing press was invented about the time of the great reformation in order to communicate the grace of Jesus Christ to the world. As a result, in the 16th century, the Gospel message blazed across Europe, evangelizing those who were previously locked up by the devil in the dark ages of false religion. The great reformer stated:
- “Printing is God’s latest and best work to spread true religion throughout the whole world.” Martin Luther
Today, more Word tracts are printed and distributed in the world than any previous time in human history. Could this be as a result of the orchestrating of the Holy Spirit due to Christ’s soon return?
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30
Are you a soul winner? Do you have a systematic program to distribute God’s Word via the printed page? Do you have a willing heart? Need Gospel literature?
The message of salvation through Christ, printed in a brief format and easy to distribute, makes it more than feasible for every true Christian to “confess” Christ (Lk. 12:8-9) while communicating His message. With this in mind, will there be any excuse on Judgment Day for having ignored the Great Commission command and the precious lost souls for whom Christ died?
Good News for the disciple: Gospel tracts, which contain the salvation message of holy Scripture, make it possible for every believer to “Do the work of an evangelist.” (2 Timothy 4:5) Good tracts are available to those who desire to be about their Father’s business in winning the lost. Beware of tracts without the direct life or death message Jesus and His original apostles presented (Lk 13:3,5; Mk 16:16, 2 Cor. 2:16, etc.).
You can order Gospel tracts on this site which present the most important elements of Scripture to the lost; Holiness of God, sinfulness of men in breaking His holy law, the necessity of repentance and being born again into the body of Christ through Jesus Christ alone.
PRAYER: God, in the name of Jesus we ask You now to grant this world more Gospel workers (Matt. 9:37-38). Cause each of us to be obedient in this matter LORD. Forgive our coldness and selfishness in disobeying your Great Commission command and for not being considerate to those who don’t yet know you by hiding You from them in not sharing Your message with them. Forgive us for the excuses we have made up and how we have been ashamed of You towards those who need Your love so desperately. I am Yours LORD, please use me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Abiding
The Weapons of Our Warfare [podcast]

Fighting Vertically (seeking His face continually) Guarantees that God will take care of the Horizontal
Your ground game will never work until you push praise to the One who made and saved you. Today is your day to train upward. The outward will follow. Verticaly praise to our LORD guarantees horizonal victory. The cross.
“Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; 7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.” Psalms 149:5-9
Dealing a crushing blow to your enemies – sin and Satan – requires kisses blown to Jesus Christ, the “first love” of your life! (Revelation 2:4-5) Like David, it will be the worshippers who will be God’s warriors!
“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” Psalms 2:12
Seeking the face of the LORD is to be “continually.” The victory Jesus died to procure for you, to bless you to walk in, will evade all who do not “seek his face continually.”
“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11
The only way to get up swinging, get up winning, is to set your heart to seek the face of your Savior! Simple prescription. Do it. Your plan is set in stone. You arise each morning with joyful praise, hands and heart and tongue pointed, aimed at Heaven, lifting the name of Jesus Christ!
“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.” 1 Chronicles 16:22
The only ones the LORD is going to powerfully use to “build” His kingdom in the hearts of men, are those who “set” their soul to seek His holy face.
Is your obedience being fulfilled? Are you filled with love and therefore obedience to the Savior?
The “weapons of our warfare” are:
- The Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
- Prayer and persistence in prayer (Luke 18:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).
- The name of Jesus (Acts 14:13-14; 16:23-24; Acts 3:16, etc.).
OUR GREATEST WEAPON IS THE WRITTEN WORD, PRAYER, AND THE NAME OF JESUS SAINTS. FRET NOT.
In the wilderness Jesus defeated the enemy by speaking forth the Word (Luke 4). He pulled out specific ammo for the enemy to address specific attacks, On all points, against every weapon of the enemy, Jesus had ammo with the devil’s evil name on it. And in doing so, He gave us the knowledge and example of how the enemy is defeated in our own lives. The Word of God is “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” and is “sharper than any twoedged sword” (2 Corinthians 10:4; Hebrews 4:12).
Studying, knowing the Word of God is like building the military, the arsenal of your life, in order to defeat the enemy. Without a strong arsenal of weapons and ammo, and the expert ability to use those weapons, you will be naked in the battle and lose. God’s Word is your arsenal – that which you have in you – the knowledge and performance thereof. Nothing is more important to your life today than seeking God in His Word and prayer. Jesus is Heaven’s Mighty Warrior, He is “a man of war” and is coming back “in flaming fire…” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 19:11-16, etc.).
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12
We are in a war and must fight to win! “FIGHT the good fight….”
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Jesus demonstrated exactly what “the weapons of our warfare” are when He faced Satan in the wilderness. That weapon is the Word of God.
David, who was first a worshipper, was also an expert warrior. His life is a great example to the New Testament saint. David was learning to walk with the LORD, faithfully seeking Him in the pasture as he tended to sheep. He was building up his arsenal. And because he truly knew and sought the LORD, having been diligently training for warfare, the LORD, who is “a man of war,” directed him in choosing the specific ammo from His arsenal to take out Goliath (Exodus 15:3).
The “good soldier of Jesus Christ” is entrenched in the business of war, of winning the war. His Master, Jesus Christ, has never lost – and never will. Yet that blessing is reserved exclusively to those of His saints, His holy soldiers, who “strive lawfully.”
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.” 2 Timothy 2:3-5
Striving “lawfully” simply means striving or working God’s way, according to His instructions and wishes, and not your own. Such includes to:
- “endure hardness.”
- realize you are a “soldier” which means you are in a war.
- not be entangled with this world.
- seek to please the LORD, who is “a man of war” and has chosen you to be His “soldier,” waging His war.
The LORD has and is bringing His true disciples to the understanding that this truly is a WAR, a fight to the death. You must “FIGHT the good fight of faith” or you will be a needless casualty of war! (1 Timothy 6:12) And so a military, a militant stance, posture, must be assumed by the disciple who will endure to the end (Matthew 10:22; 24:10-14, etc.).
Spiritual Warfare | Fake Bibles Exposed
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Abiding
A Fresh Look at Jesus’ 7 Letters to the Churches [podcast]

Did Jesus tell even one of the seven churches He addressed that they are as sure for Heaven as if they were already there due to being initially saved by Him?
Did Jesus give conditions for being with Him in eternal glory?
Can someone please help me figure out where un-conditional eternal security/OSAS fits in with the 7 letters of Jesus to the churches of Asia? Is it anywhere mentioned? No.
Can anyone find OSAS/eternal security in Jesus’ 7 letters to CHURCHES in Revelation 2 and 3? No. No such thing. Instead He gives conditions to overcome, to endure to the end, to abide, remain, and continue in Christ, in faith and obedience.
No such thing as “eternal security” in Christ’s kingdom until AFTER you are in Heaven. Such heresy is the bait of Satan as it was in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:17 > 3:4). Only moral cowards who make excuse for sin instead of being crucified with Christ daily as Jesus commanded. Bite on this bait (Luke 9:23-25). Eternal hell awaits. Time to repent and get “honest” (Luke 8:15).
Satan’s First Doctrine is a Lie. Yet Many Claim it’s Part of the Gospel of Jesus. Beware of these Wolves.
No such thing as a born again AND presently abiding saint who is not fruitful, who is not bearing good fruit. Otherwise why did Jesus instruct His people to know themselves and others “by their fruit”? See Matthew 7:16, 19. Such a notion as is heretical. Anyone who Jesus saves and then they don’t endure to the end, they don’t continue abiding in Christ, is no longer the LORD’s and going to hell. Read John 15:1-6 and stop believing the Devil’s very first lie—OSAS (Genesis 2:17; 3:4).
“If a man abide (continue, remain) not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:6
WHEN YOU ARE IN YOUR MIND beginning to make excuse for sin, you KNOW it’s your un-crucified flesh and Satan that are in control. You know then that repentance, re-turning to the LORD who is Holy, is necessary.
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:13-15
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
When you are tempted to believe in the satanic heresy of “eternal security,” otherwise known as “once saved always saved (OSAS),” you know SATAN is seeking to seduce you (Genesis 2:17; 3:14).
Concerning these 7 letters of Jesus to the churches, one source notes the following:
“Revelation chapters 2 and 3 contain seven individual messages from Jesus Christ to seven historical churches in Asia Minor. The letters share a common pattern: an address to the church’s angel, a description of Christ, an evaluation of the church’s spiritual state, a call to repentance or perseverance, and a promise to those who overcome.”
Overview of the Letters
- Ephesus, Pergamum, Sardis, and Laodicea receive direct rebukes for forsaking their first love, tolerating false teachings, dead orthodoxy, or lukewarmness, alongside urgent calls to repent.
- Smyrna and Philadelphia face intense tribulation or persecution yet receive no rebuke, and are encouraged to hold fast to their faith.
- Promises to Overcomers: Each letter concludes with eternal assurances for “him that overcometh” such as the tree of life (Revelation 2:7), the crown of life (Revelation 2:10), and exemption from the second death (Revelation 2:11).
The Notion of Eternal Security Expelled
Some interpret the repeated conditional commands to “overcome” and “hold fast” as evidence that eternal salvation requires ongoing faithfulness and endurance to the end, suggesting that warnings against unrepentance involve real spiritual risk rather than unconditional security.”
For Example, Jesus’ letter to the church at Sardis:
“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Revelation 3:1-6
Also:
“… confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved …. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matthew 10:22; 24:13
Concerning Jesus’ 7 Letters and OSAS, once commentator notes:
“The seven letters of Jesus in Revelation 2-3 challenge absolute eternal security (“once saved, always saved”) by repeatedly commanding repentance, warning believers that unfaithfulness carries severe consequences, and conditioning eternal promises on actual endurance.
Warnings and Conditions in the Letters
- Ephesus: Jesus warns that if the church does not repent for leaving its first love, He will “remove thy candlestick out of his place” (Revelation 2:5). [1]
- Smyrna & Philadelphia: The promise of the crown of life and inclusion is explicitly tied to being “faithful unto death” (Revelation 2:10) and holding fast what they have “that no man take thy crown” (Revelation 3:11).
- Thyatira: Jesus warns He will cast those committing adultery into great tribulation and will “kill her children with death” (Revelation 2:22-23).
- Sardis: Jesus tells those who do not watch that He will come upon them “as a thief” (Revelation 3:3).
- Laodicea: The lukewarm church is threatened with rejection: “I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16).
The Promise to the Overcomer
- In every letter, rewards like eating from the tree of life or being clothed in white raiment are promised specifically “to him that overcometh” (Revelation 2:7, 3:5).
- Supporters of eternal security point to Christ’s assurance in Sardis—“I will not blot out his name out of the book of life” (Revelation 3:5)—as proof of permanent keeping, while critics argue the conditional phrasing implies names can be blotted out for failing to overcome.”
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