Rev.# 10~philadelphia, The Faithful Church: ~1730-1900 A.d.~ Series

REV.# 10~ 3:7-13~ PHILADELPHIA ~1730-1900 A.D.~ 6-20-09

Today we’ll continue our study of this great book of Prophecy, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, let me remind us, this is not the Revelation of John, God used John to pin the Prophesy as he was exiled to the small island of Patmos by the then Emperor Domition, because of Johns testimony of Jesus, unknowing to Domition, it was all in the plan of God in order for John to receive and write down what was made known to John.

Rev. 1: 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Philadelphia, the Faithful Church: ~1730-1900 A.D.~

This church is the church of the faithful remnant; all true believers from among all 7 church periods are members of the one true church. There are no words of rebuke for this church.

Ø Back ground and history~

The city was named after its founder, Atta lus Philadelphus, who was king of Pergamos from (159–138 b.c.), because he was loyal to his brother Eu me nes.

The city got its name because of the love that Atta lus had for his brother Eume nes, Attalus had a great love and loyalty for his brother, and because of that it is called “the city of brotherly love.”

The modern name of this town is Ala se hir.—which means [the city of God]

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In 17 b.c. a great earthquake struck this city and totally destroyed it. The same earthquake totally destroyed Sardis and many other Lydian cities throughout that area.

Tiberius, who was the emperor at that time, allocated a vast sum of money for the rebuilding of these cities, and they were then restored.

Afterward, some of the citizens refused to move back into the city and remained in the surrounding countryside afraid perhaps of another earthquake, more of the population than normal chose to live outside the city walls.

Philadelphia {6th church} along with Smyrna {2nd church} that are named in chapters 2&3, are the only two churches that the Lord had no word of rebuke. And the reason was, these 2 churches had remained true to the Word of God.

The places where these two churches were located are still in existence, although the churches themselves have disappeared.

Let me give us the 7 named churches again; Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicia.

There were more churches there in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, than these 7 named churches.

But the Lord chose these 7 particular church’s to represent 7 different pictures we could say, of what would be taking place during the entire time the Church would be on earth, and let me say once again that each of these 7 churches are still with us today in some form or fashion, and there were true believers in each of these 7, which one of these churches do you attend? ~~the Apostolic church, the persecuted church, the compromising church, the corrupted church, the reformed church, the church of brotherly love, or the pretenders church.

Philadelphia covers the times of revivals and missions that began about the nineteenth century after the deadening effect of doctrinal controversies and state & church union in the midst of professing Protestantism. –SARDIS CHURCH--.

As a result of the carnality, division and worldliness of the Church of Sardis, God rebukes its dead orthodoxy and deals with this remnant, the missionary Church of the revival of the nineteenth century.

Until the nineteenth century the blessed hope of the pre millennial return of the Lord was seldom TAUGHT AND PREACHED. The truth was believed by many of God’s faithful remnant, but it was seldom preached and was utterly unknown to the masses of church members.

The church of Philadelphia was the time the Gospel was sent to distant shores through missionary work.

This period of the church is when great revivals broke out with such men as the Wesley brothers and Charles G. Finney.

Ø Christ was the One who opened the missionary door for this church.

The church of Philadelphia will exist side by side for a period of time with the Laodicean church, the pretenders.

When Christ calls out His True Church at what is known as the rapture, He will catch up the Philadelphia church out of the world to meet Him in the air. He will keep this church from the “hour of trial” which refers to the period of time known as the Great Tribulation period, which will come upon the whole earth.

The Lord will call out His true church and spew out the false church. The Laodicean church, the pretenders.

Ø Listen as I read today’s text found in Rev. 3:7-14