Hello Friends!
Welcome Back! Let’s continue our journey through “Revelation:
Jesus Speaks to His Church!”
Revelation:
Jesus Speaks to His Church! (Chapter 3:7-13)
This week we will begin
our reading of verses 7-13 in chapter 3 of
Revelation where Jesus Speaks to the Church of Philadelphia…
It
is quite obvious that there is no such thing as a perfect “church” or a sin-less “Christian” to be sure. And since the “church” of Jesus Christ is a collection of
imperfect
“Christians,” it is in and of itself imperfect.
In fact, “we all fall short” of the absolute PERFECT standard of “holiness” that God has set forth and NONE of “us”
can yet be everything that the Lord desires. However, it is still POSSIBLE to be “faithful,”
“obedient” and “diligent”
in pleasing
the Lord as a congregation of “believers”
who are – Empowered BY the Holy Spirit!
And
this is certainly the case for the “faithful”
followers of Jesus Christ in “Philadelphia”
of whom we will examine today. In this little “letter”
we will find a divine COMMENDATION,
a divine COMMITMENT, a divine COUNSEL and a divine COMFORT given by our Lord to His “faithful” family – The
Church!
Therefore,
let’s begin by reading about the SIXTH
“church” in chapter
3 ~ The “Philadelphia” fellowship:
And to
the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is
holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no
man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and
no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and
hast not denied My name – Revelation 3:7-8
To
begin with, the “church” in “Philadelphia” is indicated by the fact
that it has “little strength“
of its own. However, quite unlike the majority
of the other “churches” addressed in our
study, this “church” at “Philadelphia” receives a “letter” of divine COMMENDATION
from the Lord Jesus Himself. And it is a response quite similar in content
to the “church” at “Smyrna” in where there are NO offered warnings, condemnations,
threats
or judgments
toward them. Here Jesus simply AFFIRMS
them in that they are a “church”
that He will BLESS and they are thus FREE from –ANY criticism!
And
throughout
the book of Revelation our Lord
Jesus Himself describes Himself in FOUR distinct facets taken directly
from the Old Testament
Scriptures:
ONE: “He that is holy” ~ In Revelation chapter 4 verse 8 it says:“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God” – The Holiness of God!
TWO: “He that is true” ~ In Revelation chapter 6 verse 10 it says: “O Lord, Holy and true”– The Truth of God!
THREE: “He that hath the key of David“ ~ In
Revelation chapter 5 verse 5 it says:
“Root of David”– The Root
of God!
FOUR: “He that openeth, and no man shutteth”
~ In Revelation chapter 1 verse 18 it
says: “The keys of hell and death”
– The Keys of God!
This
is none other than our Lord “Jesus Christ”
the “Head of the church” speaking! And He “knows” the “works” of the “faithful” who have “kept” His “word” and “hast not denied” His “name” as the Eternal
“Author” of this amazing “letter” – God All
Mighty Himself!
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND: The city of “Philadelphia”
was located 30 miles southeast of “Sardis”
in Asia Minor. It was founded after the king named Attalus arrived in that
area in 189 A.D. He was nicknamed “Philadelphia”
because he was known as having a special “love”
for his brother, of which became the name of the city which he founded. The
city of “Philadelphia” was rich in
agriculture and stood on a hill above a long valley between Greece in the West
and Asia in the East. This city became the initiator in the spread of the Greek
language into that region and was originally one of the greatest trade
routes in that region. Historians say that in A.D.17, a powerful earthquake
destroyed 12 cities in the area, including “Sardis”
and “Philadelphia.” Another earthquake in 60
A.D. destroyed “Laodicea” and as a result,
eventually the Caesar of Tiberius helped to rebuild these cities and thus a shrine
was erected to him – More pagan worship!
Next,
the Lord Jesus Christ “makes”
the “church” in “Philadelphia”
a divine COMMITMENT:
Behold,
I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are
not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet,
and to know that I have loved thee – Revelation
3:9
Apparently,
there was another local Jewish “synagogue”
occupied by some “Jews” who claimed that they “are Jews” but were “not”
at all! What does that mean? These evil
men “say” they are “Jews”
but they “lie” to men
and GOD!
Similar to the “church” at “Smyrna,” severe persecution was
also coming to “Philadelphia” from the Christ-hating
religiously lost “Jews”
of whom Jesus says here AGAIN
are really the “synagogue of
Satan” himself – Reviling
religious evil!
The
Apostle Paul also said throughout his New Testament
epistles that a TRUE “Jew” is one who is “inwardly”
of the “heart” but NOT one “outwardly”
in false “religious” piety:
But he
is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the
spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God – Romans 2:29
And
in the Gospel of John Jesus Christ
directly addresses the spiritually lost leaders
of “Jewish” Israel in this CONDEMNING manner:
Ye are of your father the
devil!
– John 8:44
These
wicked
men HATE the “Gospel”
of Jesus Christ. They are NOT
true “Jews” and therefore are NOT true “sons
of Abraham.” They may be “Jews”
inherently
and ceremonially,
but they are NOT real “Jews” spiritually. The “church” was being hurt by their horrible
hostility and their false “father”
was NOT the One TRUE
God. Rather, their fake “father”
was actually the deceiving “devil”
and their “synagogue” was under the
controlling power of “Satan”
himself – Attackers of God!
The
Lord Jesus also contends that He will “make”
these “Jews” to “come and worship” at the “feet” of the “church”
in “Philadelphia” that He “loved” so much. What
does that mean? That’s the defeated posture of a humbled
enemy! The unbelieving “Jews”
from within their satanic “synagogue”
are bowing
down to the believing righteous “Gentiles” of God’s “church”
family – The
Lord’s LOVE for His OWN!
CONTEXTUAL COMMENTS: How did the “church” in “Philadelphia”
get started and what do we know about it? Not much.
Per the book of Acts chapter 19 we do know that it was founded in that same
period of time when out of “Ephesus”
all of “Asia Minor” was reached with
the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ. In fact, a few
years after the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation at the end of the first
century, the early “church” leader Ignatius passed through “Philadelphia”
on his way to martyrdom in Rome along with the other “believers” including the powerful pastor Polycarp at “Smyrna.”
This faithful little “church”
in “Philadelphia” stood firm until that
region was eventually overrun by the Muslims in the fourteenth century
– Madness and mayhem!
Then
the Lord Jesus offers the “church”
in “Philadelphia” this promising COUNSEL:
Because
thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon
the earth – Revelation 3:10
It
was “because”
the “church” in “Philadelphia”
had “kept”
the “word”
of Jesus Christ and His “patience”
in that He will also “keep”
them from the “hour of
temptation” of which will “come upon all the world” and “them” that “dwell upon” the “earth” itself. What
does that mean? This could be addressing the time of “great tribulation” spoken of by the Old
Testament Prophets Daniel, Ezekiel, Zachariah
not to mention the majority of the book of Revelation.
And therefore it seems our Lord is saying to His “church”
that He will “keep thee from
the hour of temptation” and destruction. WHY? Because
the present “trouble” of the lost and
evil “world” system will be
enough! This “church” is promised
God’s DELIVERANCE and EXEMPTION from His “wrath”
and His final “test” that comes “upon all the world” of which will NOT be “appointed”
unto the faithful “followers” of Jesus Christ. The
language here suggests that those who are a part of the “church”
of Jesus Christ will indeed be “kept from”
that TERRIBLE time of SEVERE
trial – The RAPTURE of the Church!
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: This passage
certainly appears to refer to the RAPTURE
of Jesus’ OWN through this final eschatological
event, as is very consistent throughout the New Testament. Similarly, many
places within the Old Testament prophetic texts of Scripture
address both NEAR and FUTURE fulfillments. Here is just ONE of the MANY
passages found in God’s Word that helps us to “understand”
the “doctrine” of the Pretribulation
Rapture:
For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
Although
we cannot be dogmatic about this point, there are several
other passages to support the Pretribulation
Rapture position. Therefore, this is a “coming
quickly” of which appears to be a complete DELIVERANCE
of the “church” from that “final hour” of God’s “wrath”
upon the earth – His judicial judgment!
That
said, it IS “known”
for SURE that “we”
as “Christians” in Jesus Christ will certainly
be “kept from” God’s ETERNAL
WRATH of damnation of “wrath” to come.
WHY?
Because as the Apostle Paul also notes to the “church”
in Thessalonica:
And to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which
delivered us from the wrath to come – 1
Thessalonians 1:10
And
this is without a doubt a brief look at that FUTURE
time in history of mankind. WHY? Because of Jesus’ next statement:
Behold,
I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown – Revelation
3:11
Here
Jesus is saying that He’s coming “quickly”
to take
us out of this “world”
so that “no man”
will cause us to lose our “crown”
of “reward” from Him! Although you CAN NOT lose
your “salvation,” you CAN lose
your “reward” from Jesus Christ. HOW? We
either forfeit our heavenly “crowns”
through DISOBEDIENCE to Him and
His Word OR we accumulate
heavenly “crowns” through OBEDIENCE to Him and His Word – As FAITHFUL followers!
At
this point, the “church” of “Philadelphia” has a divine COMMENDATION, a divine COMMITMENT a divine COUNSEL
and now the true “overcomer” receives divine COMFORT from
our Lord Jesus Christ:
Him
that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go
no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the
city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My
God: and I will write upon him My new name – Revelation
3:12
Here
AGAIN Jesus is referring
to a true “Christian” who “believes that Jesus is the Son of God” of
which John speaks of in his first epistle
to the “church” as a whole:
Who is
he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of
God? – 1 John 5:5
This
is indeed divine COMFORT in that Jesus
Christ says the “overcomer” will be made a “pillar” in the “temple” of “My God” and He will “write” His “new name” upon the “believer”
who will live in the eternal Holy “city” which is the “new Jerusalem” sent
from “heaven” above! The Lord
Jesus knows everything about this lovely little “church” and although they were not perfect,
they were indeed “faithful” to Him. Therefore,
Jesus Christ poured out His Devine privileges on them, He gave
them an amazing opportunity to be the “open
door” for the “Gospel”
and He promised to “deliver”
them from the “hour of testing” through the
RAPTURE by taking them to “heaven” in safety – His BLESSINGS
on a FAITHFUL church!
This
is a message that any “pastor,”
“church” or “Christian”
would WANT to “hear” from our Lord! Therefore, Jesus
Christ finishes this “letter”
with His Spirit-filled conclusion:
He that hath an ear, let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches – Revelation
3:13
REAL REFLECTIONS: Beloved, as is common
in ALL His living letters… Jesus Christ AGAIN wants to know – Do YOU have a ear to HEAR? Are YOU
listening?
In closing:
Jesus
Christ ALONE has the “keys” to “heaven,”
to “hell,” to the “grave”
and this is His “majesty” at the highest
possible point – Jesus Christ is KING!
He
is the ONE who said, “I am come that you might have life” and He
is the ONE who came to “seek and to save that which was lost” in “sin” and wicked “rebellion”
to Him. Therefore, it is the Lord Jesus Christ the “Holy
One” and the “True One”
who dispenses
all of “heaven’s” blessings upon His
followers. He ALONE indeed “opens the door of the kingdom” and of “salvation” at His own “sovereign” WILL
and CHOICE. Only HE
has said “No man can come to the Father but by Me,”
and “I am the door” as well as “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to
the father but by Me.” In fact, WITHOUT
Jesus Christ, we CANNOT ever “enter” His righteous “Kingdom”
to come – He ALONE provides ENTRANCE!
With
this information as a foundation for your personal studies, please read through verses 7-13 of the Third chapter of Revelation.
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"Lighthouse Publications <><
