By: Tom Lowe Date: 6-19-15
Lesson: II.F: The Church at Philadelphia (3:7-13)
Revelation 3:7-13 (NIV)
7“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.
13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Introduction
The city of Philadelphia was twenty-five miles south of Sardis. It was named for its founder, Attalus Philadelphus, who was king of Pergamos. It was on the edge of a great volcanic plain bearing the marks of lava, and the ashes of volcanoes then extinct. Such land is fertile; and Philadelphia was the center of a great grape-growing area and a famous producer of wines. But that situation had its perils, and these perils had left their mark more deeply on Philadelphia than on any other city. In A.D. 17 there was a great earthquake which destroyed Sardis and ten other cities. In Philadelphia the tremors went on for years.
Today the city is named Allah Shehr, meaning “City of God,” and it’s populated largely by Greeks (there are approximately 15,000 there). The remains of early Christian influences are more clearly seen today in this than in any of the other cities in Asia where the seven churches were located. The ruins of twenty-five churches can be found there, and marble pillars—the remains of great churches—can be a plainly seen. No doubt these marble columns are the remains of pillars that were there even in John’s day or shortly thereafter.
The city of Philadelphia continued longer than any of the other cities named by John, and was the last Christian city to surrender to the Turks. When the Turks and Mohammedanism flooded across Asia Minor and every other town had fallen, Philadelphia stood erect. For centuries it was a free Greek Christian city amidst a pagan people. It was the last bastion of Asian Christianity. It was not till midway through the fourteenth century that it fell; and to this day there is a Christian bishop and 1000 Christians in it. With the exception of Smyrna the other churches are in ruins but Philadelphia still holds aloft the banner of the Christian faith.
The name “Philadelphia” means brotherly love. Brotherly love is a distinct characteristic of the household of God—“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (Ephesians 2:19). Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another” (John 13:35).
Commentary
7“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
The Messenger to the CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA identifies Himself by saying, “THESE ARE THE WORDS OF HIM WHO IS HOLY AND TRUE.” These are divine attributes. (Read Hosea 11:9; Jeremiah 10:10; Revelation 4:8; 1 Thessalonian’s 1:9; Isaiah 6:3; 1 John 5:20.) Deity is delivering the message to the church of brotherly love.
Holiness is an essential attribute of deity. In the Old Testament Jehovah refers to Himself as “the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25). On a number of occasions He said, “I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). Jesus quite naturally says it, and rightly so, for He is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). Peter testified of Him as the One “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Holiness is what Christ is in Himself, in His essential character. This is tantamount to declaring that He is God, which, of course, He is. Jesus Christ is “HOLY” in His character, His words, His actions, and His purposes. As the Holy One, He is uniquely set apart from everything else, and nothing can be compared to Him. Because He is holy, every word He ever spoke and everything he ever did was perfect.
But He is also the One who is “TRUE”—that is, genuine. He is the original, not a copy; the authentic God and not a manufactured one. There were hundreds of false gods and goddesses in those days (1 Corinthians 8:5-6[1]), but only Jesus Christ could rightfully claim to be the true God.
The Messenger is further identified by the words, “HIM . . . WHO HOLDS THE KEY OF DAVID.” “HIM,” in this case, is the Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ to hold the key of David means that He has the authority to open the door to His future kingdom. This alludes to an event recorded in Isaiah 22:15-25 when the official position of secretary of state in Judea was taken from Shebna and given to Eliakim. God through Isaac said to Eliakim: “I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. He will open doors, and no one will be able to shut them; he will close doors, and no one will be able to open them” (Isaiah 22:22, NLT). Christ holds absolute power and authority over entrance into His future kingdom. After the door is opened, no one can shut it—salvation is assured. Once it is shut, no one can open it—judgment is certain. “Jesus is also the One who holds the keys of hell and of death—“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). Jesus gave Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and Peter used those keys to open the Kingdom of Heaven to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). He again used the keys to open the door of salvation by grace to the Gentiles, in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10). Peter has been dead for a long time, and now the keys are back in the hands of Christ and He has left these doors open—therefore the keys of the Kingdom are mentioned no more. Since the door of the Kingdom has not been closed, it does not need to be opened in these modern days by a pope, a priest, a bishop, a preacher nor an evangelist. The door is open to “whosoeverwill.”
Notice that there are three great titles given to the Risen Christ in verse seven—(1) He is He who is “HOLY”; (2) He is He who is “TRUE”; (3) He is He “WHO HOLDS THE KEY OF DAVID, WHAT HE OPENS NO ONE CAN SHUT, AND WHAT HE SHUTS NO ONE CAN OPEN.”
8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
The One delivering the message to the church in Philadelphia is the One who opens—and no man shuts; shuts; and no man opens. This is the door of service, not of salvation. “SEE, I HAVE PLACED BEFORE YOU AN OPEN DOOR.” (Read Acts 14:27; 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12). Jesus has the key that opens the door of service. Who would dare question His authority to open that door—or to close it? His authority is final and overwhelming. I suggest to you that the door that our Lord is speaking of is the door of missionary opportunity. Writing to the Corinthians of the work which lies ahead of him, Paul says: “For a wide door for affective work has opened to me” (1 Corinthians 16:9). When he came to Troas, a door was opened to him by the Lord (2 Corinthians 2:12). He asks the Colossians to pray that a door of utterance may be opened for him (Colossians 4:3). When he came back to Antioch he told how GOD had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 14:27).
As in the letters to the other churches, Christ stated here that he knew their “DEEDS”— I KNOW YOUR DEEDS”—yet he had no words of rebuke for the believers. The church may have been small (“YOU HAVE LITTLE STRENGTH”) and may have had little impact upon the city, but it had obeyed and had not denied God; alluding to some particular occasion when her faithfulness was put to the test. They had been faithful in a difficult area. Although Christ accepts a “LITTLE STRENGTH,” yet believers must not rest satisfied with a little, but strive to grow in grace, to be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Actually, the little strength they possessed became the source of Almighty power and led them to rest wholly on His power. I do not read that our Lord’s followers were ever in the numerical majority. Abraham had just 318 men when he defeated the armies of four Kings (Genesis 14:14-16). Gideon and his band of 300 put to route a whole army of Midianites (Judges 7:19-23). Elijah on God’s side was more than a match for the 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:21-40).
The door of service was open to the church in Philadelphia because the assembly there had (1) “KEPT HIS WORD,” and (2) “HAD NOT DENIED HIS NAME.” The church in Sardis walked hand in hand with the world, and therefore God had no alternative but that Sardis must suffer the judgment of a holy God. God cannot condone sin. Whatsoever is sown by a man, a family, a church or a nation, that shall they also reap. “The world passes away and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of god abides for ever” (1 John 2:15-17). The future of the saints at Philadelphia was bright because they kept his Word and confessed His name. They did not deny the Lord before a wicked and perverse generation.
No man can shut the door which is open to those who honor the Word of God and the precious name of Jesus. Many times in the New Testament, the Spirit opened and closed doors to the apostles. One such case is found in Acts 16:6-7. The Holy Spirit definitely shut the door to certain cities, forbidding the apostles to preach there. When the blind man was brought to Jesus in the city of Bethsaida, He took him outside the city, opened his blind eyes and then instructed him to go home. He commanded him not to return to the city, nor tell any person in the city who had opened his eyes. “And He sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, or tell it to any in the town” (Mark 8:26). Read verses 22 through 26 to get the complete story. God commands certain men to go to certain places and carry on certain ministries, but He also commands some ministers NOT to go to certain cities and peoples. It is God who opens and closes the door of service. It was Paul’s prayer that he would never force his way unceremoniously through doors which the Lord never opened—“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains” (Colossians 4:3). Any man of God in the will of God will find an open door for Christian service, and there is no power on earth or in hell that can shut the door which God has opened.
Philadelphia is the second of these seven churches without criticism or rebuke. Smyrna is the other church not criticized or rebuked by the Spirit. Smyrna was the suffering church, the persecuted church, the church that underwent a bloodbath. Philadelphia, the weak but faithful church, is not rebuked, but on the contrary is commended because she kept the Word and did not deny the name that is above every name.
The “NAME” of Christ in Scripture stands for all that He is. His full name is “Lord Jesus Christ.” He is Lord [Master], Jesus [Mediator], Christ [Messiah]. But in the New Testament the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is invested with all that the name “Jehovah” implied in the Old Testament. That name suggests His deity, honor, glory, majesty, holiness, eternality, omnipotence, omnificence, and omnipresence. Sinners are saved through faith in His name (Matthew 1:21; John 1:12; 20:31; Romans 10:13), and in His name only—“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Conversely, all who have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God are “condemned already” (John 3:18). Our Lord taught His followers to pray in His name as an essential requisite to receiving answers to their prayers (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24). He promised that “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). He promised further an abundant reward for any sacrifice one would make for His name’s sake—“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29).
Shortly after Saul of Tarsus was converted, the Lord sent His servant Ananias to assess the new convert. Ananias expressed his reluctance to go, on the grounds that Saul had authority from the chief priests to imprison all persons who called on Christ’s name (Acts 9:14). The Lord urged Ananias to go, assuring him that Saul was truly saved, “A chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel;” and then He added, “For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (9:15-16). From that moment on, the great apostle was known as one who “spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus” (9:27, 29). When Agabus besought Paul not to go to Jerusalem so that his life might be spared, God’s servant replied, “I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus (21:13). Paul never denied Christ’s name. The cost of acknowledging the name of Christ was high in the days of the apostles, and the day is upon us again when we may pay a price for declaring His name, but, blessed be God, we sanctify “a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).
The church at Philadelphia was the one which was true to the Word of God. In our day, the church which it represents could not be called the Protestant church or the Roman Catholic church or any other church. Actually, it represents all churches the world over—regardless of their labels—which still remain true to the Word of God.
As the end approaches we will see more and more doors closed. God could have kept them open—but He permitted them to be closed because of the unfaithfulness of believers. The church in America spends millions for movies, cosmetics, cigarettes, soft drinks, computers, televisions and automobiles—and sends the left-over pennies to missions! God pity America when this country stands before God! “To whom much is given, of the same shall much be required.” Oh, God! Have mercy on us to whom so much has been given!
9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
Apparently there was significant conflict between the Christians and the Jews in Philadelphia because we meet the same party here as in the address to Smyrna. The character of opposition may not be the same in both churches, for “SATAN” varies in his methods of attacks, but in both the opposition is termed the “SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN.” Those referred to are not necessarily of Jewish nationality, but just as the Jews claim to be God’s chosen people here on earth and that to the exclusion of all others on earth, so here we have a church which assumes the same position. No doubt they demonstrated the spirit of hyper-Calvinism. But just remember that nothing misses the all-seeing eyes of Jesus . . . those eyes like “flames of fire.” The Son of God assures the true believers that He will set them straight; so He exposes the true character of these people “WHO CLAIM TO BE JEWS THOUGH THEY ARE NOT, BUT ARE LIARS” and declares them to be “THE SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN.”
These people descended from Abraham and were Jews by birth, and they vehemently opposed and persecuted the Christians for their belief that Jesus was the Messiah. This dominant little clique of ungodly men in the church despised those who remained true to the Scriptures and to the Lord. Because of their opposition, Christ considered them as belonging to Satan, for we do not battle against flesh and blood—“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). True Jews (God’s people) have accepted Jesus as Messiah and Savior (Read Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 3:29; 6:16). These Jews who had rejected the Messiah truly belonged to Satan, not to God. They had shut the Christians out of their synagogues, but Christ says that he will force these people to “COME AND FALL DOWN” at the feet of his faithful people. Then they will acknowledge that the Christians are indeed the ones that Christ loves. At Christ’s return, true believers will be vindicated.
It was the Christian belief that the Jewish nation had lost its place in the plan of God and that that place had been handed to the Church. A Jew in Paul’s sense of the term was not one who could claim racial descent from Abraham but one of any nation who had made the same venture of faith as he had (Romans 9:6-9). The Church was the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). It was, therefore, now true that all the promises which had been made to Israel had been inherited by the Church. It was to her that one day all men would humbly make their submission. This promise is a reversal of all that the Jews had expected; they had expected that all nations would kneel before them; but the day was to come when they with all nations would kneel before Christ.
Jesus assures the true believers in Philadelphia that He will make the pretenders, the counterfeit church members, those who profess but do not possess, to come and worship at the feet of the true Church. God is jealous for the Church. The Church is the Bride of Christ. He purchased it with His own blood—“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28)—and those who counterfeit the true Church will pay for their deadly evil.
Wicked men may come to power and defy God’s throne, but He still has ultimate control over their actions. All situations are under His government. Yet his greatest desire is to find feeble ones, faithful ones, who will listen to His voice. To them He unveils the secrets of His heart, and He tells them what moves to make. He wants them to win! The King eternal, immortal, invisible, longs to bestow on His people the victor’s crown. To that end He controls all situations, frustrates the moves of evil men, and reveals Himself to His own as the One who opens and no man shuts; shuts and no man opens.
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
Two things are pointed out here. First, “SINCE YOU HAVE KEPT MY COMMAND TO ENDURE PATIENTLY. . .” By this the Spirit means, “Because you have been true to the pure Word of God.” Until we reach Heaven we will never know the importance of God’s holy Word. Dear friend, did you know that if the devil could discredit the Word of God, the foundation of Christianity would crumble and hell would destroy the Church of the living God? But that will never happen. The Word of God is the solid Rock of Gibraltar, spiritually speaking. “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God.” If the devil could destroy the Word, the devil could destroy God, because God and His Word are synonymous. If the devil could discredit the Word of God, the devil would look God in the face and brand Him a liar. But hallelujah! “Thy Word, O Lord, is forever settled in heaven!” I thank God that the bishops, the translators and revisers cannot get their crooked, demented hands on God’s holy, pure, complete, protected, living word. Praise His Holy Name!
Secondly—they had not only kept the Word, but they had also kept His name. They had not denied, but had lifted up the name that is lifted up in the Word—“the name of Jesus” at the sound of which, “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10).
There are many ideas, doctrines and dogmas concerning The Church and the Great Tribulation period that shall come upon the earth during the reign of the Antichrist. Some teach that The Church will go through the first half of the Tribulation. Some teach that the church will go through all of the Tribulation. And then—there are those who preach the truth: That the Church will be raptured before the appearing of Antichrist, before the beginning of the Tribulation, “THE HOUR OF TRIAL THAT IS GOING TO COME ON THE WHOLE WORLD TO TEST THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH.” The tribulation spoken of in the paragraphs that follow is directed towards “THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH”, a phrase that refers to the unbelievers of the world (11:10).
You may rest assured that the born again children of God will not enter or go through any portion of the Tribulation period that will come upon this earth. True believers keep the Word. True believers confess the name of Jesus. And the promise to the believers in Philadelphia is, “SINCE YOU HAVE KEPT MY COMMAND TO ENDURE PATIENTLY, I WILL ALSO KEEP YOU FROM THE HOUR OF TRIAL THAT IS GOING TO COME ON THE WHOLE WORLD.” All outstanding, fundamental, evangelistic, Bible-believing teachers and preachers believe and teach that “THE HOUR OF TRIAL” mentioned here is the Great Tribulation known in the Old Testament as “the time of Jacob’s troubles.”
True believers will not go through any part of the Great Tribulation. Proof: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Born again believers are not saved to go through wrath. We are saved and delivered from the wrath of God; therefore, as members of the body of Christ, we are not appointed unto wrath, but to obtain complete and full salvation. Jesus died on the cross to redeem the soul. He is to deliver us daily from the power of sin, the world, the flesh and the devil. As Jesus said before His death, “I’m a not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one” (John 17:15). He is coming in the Rapture to deliver us from corruption as having to do with the mortal body. This mortal shall put on immortality, and this great miracle will take place when Jesus comes in the Rapture. (Read the entire 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians and 1 John 3:1-3.) But hear this! “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9). But Christ promised protection for the obedient church at Philadelphia: “I WILL ALSO KEEP YOU FROM THE HOUR OF TRIAL.” We cannot interpret from this verse when or for how long Christians will experience the “HOUR OF TRIAL.” Today many Christians are suffering and dying at the hands of godless terrorists throughout the world. For them, the “HOUR OF TRIAL” has already begun. But whenever Christians suffer, Christ promises protection for their eternal souls. Jesus said, “Everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to Me. But not a hair of your head will perish! By standing firm, you will win your souls” (Luke 21:17-19, NLT). Even when time comes to an end, and the world as we know it ceases to exist, He who is faithful to Christ will still be safe in His keeping.
God certainly loves The Church—the Bride of His only begotten Son—as much as He loved Noah, Abraham, and David. So let no one tell you that The Church will go through any part of the reign of the Antichrist. You may rest assured that God did not save us to be buffeted and persecuted by the Antichrist. The Church is looking for Christ the Lord—not for the Antichrist. But just as God could not touch Sodom until Lot was out of the city—“But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (Genesis 19:22), God will not touch this earth in judgment and great tribulation until the Bride of Christ (the New Testament Church) is seated with the Lord Jesus in the air, at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Read 1 Thessalonian’s 4:13-18 and revelation 19:7-10.).
Cheer up, child of God—take courage! When all hell breaks loose on this earth and the blood runs like a river for 200 miles, 10 feet deep; when sinners beg God to let the rocks and mountain’s fall on them and hide them from the face of Jesus; when men chew their tongues and beg God to let them drop dead (and yet they cannot die)—we born again believers will have a ringside seat in the sky!
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
For the churches in Ephesus (2:5), Pergamum (2:16), and Sardis (3:3), Christ’s coming would be a time for them to fear if they did not repent, for He would come as their Judge. To the church at Philadelphia, however, Christ’s words “I AM COMING SOON” would NOT be threatening. Rather, they would be a promise to the believers of His eminent return. The word “SOON” can also be taken as, “without warning” (Read 1:1, 3). In the meantime, they should “HOLD ON TO WHAT [THEY] HAVE,” referring to obedience and refusal to deny Christ (3:8), a little power, His Word, His name, and the promise of His coming again. If we give up these things, we may expect to lose our reward. “Let us not be weary in 12 doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).
In the New Testament, men used the idea of the Coming of Christ as a warning to the heedless and as a comfort to all the oppressed. It is quite true that, in the literal sense, Jesus Christ did not come back to those who were so warned and exhorted. But no man knows when eternity will invade his life and God will bid him rise and come; and that must warn the careless to prepare to meet his God and cheer the oppressed with the thought of the upcoming glory of the faithful soul.
“I AM COMING SOON” is the promise that is the hope of the church. Actually, the church is not looking for the Great Tribulation Period. Nowhere are you told that you are to gird up your loins, grit your teeth, and clinch your fists because the Great Tribulation is coming and you are certainly going through it! He never said that, but He did say “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
Christians have differing gifts, abilities, experience, and maturity. God doesn’t expect believers to all be and act the same, but He does expect us to “HOLD ON” to what we have, to persevere in using our resources for Him. The Philadelphians were commended for their effort to obey (3:8) and encouraged to hold tightly to whatever strength they had. If you are a new believer, you may feel that your faith and your spiritual strength are small. Use what you have (even if it’s small) to live for Christ, and God will commend you.
Verse 11 contains an announcement and good sound advice. “I AM COMING SOON.” When Jesus comes for The Church it will all be over in the twinkling of an eye. Believers are admonished to “HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU HAVE, SO THAT NO ONE WILL TAKE YOUR CROWN.” This does not say, “Hold fast to your salvation, let no man steal your salvation.” Oh, no! It says “CROWN.” Crowns are rewards. I will name them for you in just a few moments.
Are you, dear believer, “HOLD(ING) ON TO WHAT YOU HAVE”? We preachers need more than ever to preach faithfulness to God in this hour. If ever there was a day when God’s people need to be faithful and stand up to be counted for Jesus, it is today. There are many saved people who will be ashamed at the coming of the Lord. Salvation is God’s gift. Rewards are earned through faithful stewardship—“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). Yes, a believer can lose his reward; but Jesus is our salvation. When by faith we place our hand in His precious nail-scarred hand, He is able to keep us through His mighty power. We are warned to “HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU HAVE, SO THAT NO ONE WILL TAKE YOUR CROWN”—but certainly a crown is not our salvation.
There are five “CROWNS” mentioned in the New Testament which can be earned by a believer through faithful stewardship:
1. The incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25).
2. The crown of rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
3. The crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8).
4. The crown of life (James 1:12).
5. The crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4).
If you will study each of these Scriptures you will find clearly stated the requirements for coming into possession of one (or all five) of these crowns.
12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God[44] and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.
The church at Philadelphia is a picture of The True Church, just before the Rapture. We are now living in the very hour of the coming of the Son of God for The Church. Every minute detail of prophesy having to do with the coming of the Lord has been fulfilled, or is being fulfilled today before our very eyes! So many things have happened in the past fifty years, one almost becomes dizzy when comparing current events with prophecy. Things prophesied centuries ago have been fulfilled in our day. One of these glorious days, the Rapture well take place—and it will all be over “in the twinkling of an eye”—“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52).
We are to behave like overcomers (all believers ARE overcomers), like those who are on the victory side. We are to behave like sons and daughters of a King and be more than conquerors in view of the divine initiative and in view of the divine invitation. Overcomers will become “A PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD.” This is of course symbolic of the permanent place in heaven for believers, referred to here as the “TEMPLE OF GOD.” The entire New Jerusalem will be the ultimate temple (21:22). In contrast to earthly Temples and earthly pillars which fall, believers will continue forever in the temple.
There will be no liberal Temples in the Pearly White City—“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22). There will be no liberal Temples here on earth during the judgments and during the Millennium. (Read Revelation 11:1, 2 and Acts 15:12-18). The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb shall be the temple in the Pearly White City. Overcomers will be the “PILLARS”[3] (the members) of that great temple of God. True believers are pushed around by the worldly element in the local assemblies. True believers and true Bible preachers are many times put out of the local church. But thanks be unto God, true believers and true preachers will not be put out of that holy temple in the New Jerusalem. “NEVER AGAIN WILL THEY LEAVE IT.” The New Jerusalem is the future dwelling of the people of God—“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. (21:2). They will be citizens in God’s future kingdom. Everything will be new, pure, and secure.
There is no danger of missing the identity of these true-blue, consecrated overcomers. Jesus tells us that He will identify them by writing on them (1) the name of the city of God[4] (New Jerusalem) which stands for the gift of citizenship in the city of God to the faithful Christian; and (2) “MY NEW NAME.” This “NEW NAME” of Christ has not been revealed, but those who are victorious and persevere will have this “NEW NAME” inscribed upon them, as the name of Jehovah (“Holiness to the Lord”) was inscribed on the golden plate attached to the turban of the high priest—“Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord” (Exodus 28:36-38). So the saints in their heavenly royal priesthood shall bear His name openly, to show they are consecrated to Him. The caricature of this is seen in the brand on the forehead of the beast’s followers (13:6-17). This “NEW NAME” is not a “NEW NAME” for us; rather, He is saying that He has a “NEW NAME” for Himself that He will give to us. This “NEW NAME” exemplifies the personal relationship we will have with Him.
While I dictate these words into my computer there is not one solitary prophesy remaining to be fulfilled before the Rapture of the Church. The Rapture could take place any second. I pray, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
Are you ready for the Rapture, dear friend? If you are reading these lines and you are not born again, do not put it off another moment. Bow your head and confess your sins, ask the Lord Jesus to come into your heart—and He will save you this very moment.
13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
This closing is the same as for the letters to the other churches; all should “HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS” and understand what is being said.
END NOTES
[1] (1 Corinthians 8:5-6, NIV) “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”
[2] In biblical times, one’s name spoke of his character. Christ’s writing His name on us speaks of imprinting His character on us and identifying us as belonging to Him.
[3] The word “PILLARS” symbolizes permanence and stability. This permanence is stressed in the next phrase, “NEVER AGAIN WILL THEY LEAVE IT.” Believers will enjoy an unshakable, eternal, secure place in the presence of God.
[4] This was the city which Abraham looked for.
