John Chapter 10 Speaks to us today!

Without a doubt we as the people of God find ourselves in the Laodicean era of His Church.  The EVIDENCE is there all around us! There are now some 400 offshoots or splinter groups of what was once the Worldwide Church of God. Each of these groups are teaching and preaching something different than the others, yet ALL believe they are right!  HOW can this be!?

Many THOUSANDS of members of the once united WCG are now going all directions with their different ideas and beliefs. There are almost as many ideas and beliefs now (or gods ?) as there are people in God’s scattered Church!

Not very many believe now days that Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong was God’s end time apostle who restored truths and established doctrines into God’s Church, which believe it or not are STILL BINDING TODAY. But someone has to say- THAT MOST CERTAINLY DID HAPPEN! And he was much more than God’s apostle as is shown throughout this website.

As time goes on, we can now see more clearly that SINCE the death of Mr. Armstrong and the beginning of the Laodicean era, that there are NO truly loyal ministers of God.  Oh yes, there are ministers, and they are ministers of Jesus Christ (that’s the shame of it).  And most all will “say” that they are loyal. They may have all been loyal at one time. But God in His Word says that now they are not. This is to their shame, ESPECIALLY since they are ministers! This is a bold statement I realize, but it is based on the Word of God! I have already covered for example on this website, Ezek. 34 and Jer. 23, and there is much more.

All we have to do is go to the Word of God and look into this era and the prophesies that are coming alive today, and let the Bible speak for itself. Much of this has already been covered in this website, but the purpose of this article is to show what Christ is saying to us ALL today in this era, and specifically in John chapter 10.

First let’s look at a brief statement that Christ makes to us in this era, in Revelation 3:20.  It says:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”   

Notice I put emphasis on the words “door” and “My voice” above. This is for a reason as we will see going into John 10. So please remember this verse in Rev. 3:20 as we proceed.  I also touched on this verse in another place on this website.

Now notice John 10 verses 1-5, which state:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of  strangers.”

When you compare this with Rev. 3:20 a picture should begin to emerge. Notice verse 7 which clears it up even more. It says:

“Then Jesus said to them again, Most assuredly, I say to you , I am the door of the sheep.”

So Christ says here that HE is the door. And He says in verses 3 and 4 that His sheep hear HIS “voice”. So WHAT is that voice? It is of course the Word of God, Christ IS that Word.  But He has also spoken to His people throughout the centuries through prophets, who were His voice (or spokesmen) and He has spoken to us in the Church age through His apostles who were also His voice (or spokesmen).  The apostles of the Bible AND the end time apostle- Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. He was a VOICE of God, crying out in the spiritual wilderness of this world. That we should all know by now.

But now there are NO loyal ministers, and Christ begins to address this here if we have “eyes to see”.  Obviously there have been loyal ministers or servants down through the ages and even in the 20^th century, as is proven by the works God accomplished through Mr. Armstrong and the ministry under him at that time.

But now we are in the time of the prophesied great falling away from truth, and a spiritual abomination of desolation (a type of the physical one to come).  So spiritually speaking, this is a very dark and gloomy time for God’s Church! We don’t have to look very far around us today to see that.

But the Bible STILL speaks to us today! It is more alive and relevant today than ever. So Christ here begins to address THIS time period we are in right now, as is made evident.

Notice now verse 8 concerning this time period:

“All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.”   

As we proceed here, we will see that it is SHEPHERDS or ministers that Christ is talking about! This has to be the Laodicean era He is talking about because it is obvious that there HAVE BEEN loyal servants in the past, at least UNTIL the end of the Philadelphia era when Mr. Armstrong died. So this is referring to a time when Christ says there are NO shepherds (Ezek. 34 & Jer. 23), a time when ALL have slumbered and slept or gone off track again (Matt. 25:5). So it is about the Laodicean time period. These scriptures are for us now!

So let’s continue reading these verses. Verses 9-11:

“I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

Notice first, Christ’s reference to “the door”.  Sounds again like Rev. 3:20 right? But in these verses (8-11) Christ keeps referring to “THIEVES”, and we will clearly see that it is the shepherds or MINISTRY He is talking about! If we look at the “spiritual” meaning of verses 8 through 11 it should already be clear. But read on. Notice verse 12 now and we will see why Christ calls them thieves. He gets even more specific. Notice verse 12:

“But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.

So Christ calls “all these who have come before Him” in this Laodicean era HIRELINGS! They are only there for the money, the “job security” aspect. They are not really caring for the sheep because they simply do not care for them. Notice verse 13:

“The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.”

If we take the time now and go back and read Ezekiel 34, this picture becomes crystal clear! God says in that chapter that because these ministers have NOT fed the flock but rather fed themSELVES, that He (God) will do it HIMSELF! And HE will gather His flock together. And He is addressing ALL the ministry, because He says that they have ALL fallen away after their own lusts. He says there is NO shepherd.

This promise God gives His loyal sheep in Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23 to FEED us and GATHER us together is basically repeated here in John 10.

Notice verses 14-16:

“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

Very encouraging words indeed! Someday soon Christ will gather together His elect and there will be one flock and one shepherd. You can read on through the rest of this chapter, especially verses 25-30 for even more encouragement!

But back in verse 3 of John 10, Christ says concerning His sheep that He “LEADS THEM OUT”. Out of what? Out of the Laodicean condition if we simply repent! Again Rev. 3:20 makes this clear. This is already happening to some, not many, but it is beginning to happen! In verse 4 He says when He “BRINGS OUT His own sheep”. Brings out from what? Laodicea of course! Then He says He “GOES BEFORE THEM” and the sheep “FOLLOW HIM”, and why? Because they KNOW HIS VOICE!

As mentioned in other places on this website, that VOICE is Jesus Christ in His written form – the Bible. But it is also the VOICE of His loyal servant of the past era- Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong! That voice STILL speaks to us today through his writings and audio files which have been preserved. 

So what was Christ’s point in these verses mentioned above? It should be clearly evident when compared with other scriptures and discerning the “times” we live in.

Christ says He and HE ONLY, is the GOOD SHEPHERD. He is the only shepherd who has remained loyal in this era. Why else would He say that ‘ALL” who have come before Him are thiefs and robbers? That certainly did NOT apply to the Philadelphia era of God’s Church. Christ had nothing but good to say about that era in Revelation 3. And as well it could not have applied to the first century apostles whose writings are preserved for us today in the Bible. So it can only apply to our time now. This “should” be a WAKE UP CALL to God’s ministry today! Will they listen? Of course not, or at least not yet. They would have too much to lose “physically” speaking.

Notice what Christ says in verses 25-26 of John 10.  This should be a warning to all of us - the ministry as well as members. 

Verse 25 says:  “I told you, and you do not believe...”  And verse 26 states:  “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.”

But the GOOD NEWS in all of this is that we can SEE these prophesies being fulfilled before our very eyes. And the GOOD NEWS is that Jesus Christ is still our High Priest. He is the good shepherd. He is loyal and will never give up on us. Let’s not give up on Him! We simply have to be LOYAL SHEEP that recognize and HEAR His voice. Then we respond by following His commands, which can be summarized by saying: “ALL THAT WAS RESTORED TO US DURING THE PHILADELPHIA ERA!” LISTEN to the last command Christ gave to us for the Philadelphian era (Rev. 3:11), and LISTEN to the commands He gives us for this Laodicean time period (Rev. 3:14-22).

Notice these words of encouragement in verses 27-29:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”