Beloved radio, friends, we greet you in the precious and the worthy name of the Lord Jesus. We welcome you once again to the great joy of studying the Word of God, the continuation of our blessed theme, the hope of the church. May I raise the question, do you belong to this church? I don't own it. I have no church. T'was the Lord Jesus who alone said, I will build my church. And I ask the question, do you belong to his church? A member of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, born again by the Spirit United to the Lord Jesus. May I say when the Lord Jesus comes for his church, forget the denominations, There's no special denomination or any denomination he's coming for. He's coming for every believer, whoever, wherever they are, that has trusted him as their Savior under his precious blood saved. Now we would continue under joy that our Lord Jesus will someday come and receive that church to make the church his bride and the eternal object of his love forevermore. We have already noted from Ephesians chapter five, verse twenty-five through twenty-seven, Christ loved the church. He gave himself for it. And he sanctifies him, keeps it. I want to tell you very frankly, there isn't a man on the earth that can keep the church. It's the glorious man who is in heaven that keeps it, ever living to make intercession for us, the great high priest of his people, the advocate in the presence of God. He maintains the church. He holds it up. He's not only the foundation stone. He's the cornerstone. And someday when he comes, he'll be the headstone of that great church. Now we want to continue the thought. The church is to be married, united forever in matrimony to the Lord Jesus. From chapter five of the Ephesian epistle, we noted that truth. Paul uses it as he expresses the responsibility of a husband and a wife upon the earth. that neutral and the most dearest relationship that should be and can be known upon the earth. The love of a husband for the wife and the love of a wife for a husband in their blessed relationship as it ought to be. But here is Christ, the bridegroom, the church, his blessed bride. We now go to Revelation chapter nineteen. Tis there we read concerning the marriage which is yet to come. But I would like to read in chapter nineteen before we see the marriage, verse one through five, the rejoicing of heaven over the destruction of what we can and do call the false church. For after the rapture may take place and will take place, there will be a false church. You have the whole thing in Revelation chapter seventeen, really for yourselves, seventeen and eighteen. There will be a false church. but the Lord will be not the owner of him. But I want you to note these words. For before the wedding, before the marriage can take place, that false church must be done away with. Here are the words. After these things, reading in verse one, chapter nineteen of Revelation, after these things I heard a great voice of many people in heaven saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. for true and righteous are his judgments, for he hath judged the great whore, the false church, a prostitute, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, a spiritual prostitute, if you please, and he hath avenged her blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah! And their smoke rose up forever and ever, and the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down, Worship God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen, hallelujah. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. Ah, may I bring up very forcibly, once more to state, before the Lord can thus perform that blessed look for event, when he will take the church in marriage for himself. Every false claimant must be destroyed. And I commend to you the reading of Revelation chapter seventeen and eighteen, where Babylon the great, that false prophetess, professing to be his, and professing to represent him upon the earth. But being nothing but a prostitute in a whore, she must be destroyed. And heaven rejoices over Babylon's judgment. For, oh, may I say once again, There must not be anyone or any person or anything that can make such a claim as being the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ on the earth. For may I remind you, when the rapture comes, all the unregenerated professors of Christianity will still be on the earth. Yes, there will unquestionably be, and the Scriptures support the truth of it. There will be a professing church, which will be, and again I say, read Revelation chapter seventeen and eighteen, wiped off the earth by the Lord's judgment. As you may read how he permits it and brings it to pass in those two chapters, Revelation seventeen particularly, as well as eighteen. and well you might rejoice as you read in chapter nineteen of the book the people in heaven rejoice they all say hallelujah praise the Lord salvation glory honor power unto the Lord our God true and righteous are his judgments he's done the right thing and at last he's judged this great spiritual prostitute my beloved friend may I say Whatever professes to represent Christ upon the earth, that is not under his precious redeeming blood, professing, though it may, to represent his name, to be his representation, and to be upon the earth for him. If it's not under the precious blood of Christ, but if it does not belong to him, Have you never read in the parables the Lord Jesus spoke when he was upon the earth? Let me point out to you the parable of the ten virgins by way of suggestion. In Matthew twenty-five, five of them were wise, five were foolish, but they all professed. They had lamps of profession. The wise had oil in their lamps and with their lamps. Though foolish, did not. There you have the distinct difference. There are some that profess, and there are some that are genuine. And you remember in that parable, when the door is opened for the marriage feast, the wise virgins ready with their lamp's twin, they go into the marriage. And the foolish are left behind. But they knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us. The Lord answers, I never knew you. I never knew you. Now let me repeat it again. You may not like the repetition, but nevertheless, it's the truth. There are many upon the earth. professing to be his. And the Lord has asked to say to them, and will say to them, if they meet him in that coming day, I never knew you. I'm glad he knows me. May I raise a question, incidentally? My listening friend, does he know you? Furthermore, may I go further to ask, do you know him? Do you know him? Well, did the Apostle Paul write, For I know whom I have believed in and persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. He knew Christ. And everything was trusted into the hands of his Savior, his soul, his life, his service. My beloved, I say again, do you know Christ? For as far as the judgment of the false church, what the Lord is actually saying and will say, I never knew you. when he destroys them. Ah, beloved, do you, do you, well, can you indeed wonder that heaven rejoices? A great voice of many people rejoicing in heaven says, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor unto the Lord our God. He judged the great false prophetess which did corrupt the earth with a fornication, spiritual fornication. And he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And their smoke of destruction rises up forever and ever. And the four living creatures and the elders, they fall down on worship. The ones seated upon the throne say, Amen. So be it. Hallelujah. And even a voice out of the throne speaks the same. Praise our God. Oh, ye its servants. Ye that fear him of small and big. Now, I want to use the time we have left. I want to speak particularly before we go to that glorious wedding. that follows in the verses six through nine. I want to speak very faithfully to those that are listening to me. Are you really bought with the blood of Christ, a member of his body, of his flesh and of his bones, redeemed, regenerated by the Holy Spirit? Can you say I belong to his church? Let me please be very careful and simple and clear. You can join all the churches you wish. It will never get you to heaven. No church can take you to heaven. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. And my friend, listen, I know, I know there are many that think the church that they go to, the church that they belong to, will take them to heaven. No church can take you nor me to heaven. as only one person can take you in me, and that's Christ. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the light. No man cometh under the Father but by me. I beg of my listener, make sure you're trusting the one and only person who is able to take you to heaven, Christ alone, no other. Oh, I think of a dear saint, poor and wretched as she was physically. dying upon an attic floor in the city of London many, many, many years ago. And as a Christian worker knelt having found her there in such poverty and such state, he asked her, is there anything I can do for you? What can I do for you? And in her weakness she turned and she said, I ask Christ, what want I more? Ye, my beloved friend, let me ask you. When the time comes for you to leave this place, this world, will you have Christ? Nay, do you have Christ now? If not, please may I beg of you, don't trust your church to take you to heaven. Christ is the only one who can. Father, we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus that this truth that we are presenting, Christ coming again to claim his bride, the church, may bring some dear sinner who has never yet trusted thee, Lord, to put their faith in thee right now and make sure of their salvation. When you come, there'll be members of thy church. In thy precious name, we ask. Amen.