Revelation Study Series 7 - God's Mysterious Plan Fulfilled
11.21.21
Message…
Revelation 3:7-13
7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.
This is the message from the One who is holy and true,
the One who has the key of David.
What He opens, no one can close;
and what He closes, no one can open:
8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed My Word and did not deny Me.
9 Look, I will force those who belong to satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
10 “Because you have obeyed My command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.
12 All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of My God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of My God, and they will be citizens in the city of My God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from My God. And I will also write on them My new name.
13 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches.
Philadelphia was a small city. It as well as the rest of the seven churches is located in Turkey. Its name means “brotherly love”.
Philadelphia was nestled in a large valley between several hills. It served as a fortress city to keep invading armies at bay before reaching the larger cities such as Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum.
The people were not wealthy. They were simple, hard working. The soil was fertile. It was well suited for grape growing, thus wine making.
The false god, Bachhus (the wine god) as we have mentioned before was worshipped there as well as others.
His mythical image was even imprinted upon their money.
Philadelphia suffered many earthquakes, and frequent tremors. Many of its citizens lived outside the city.
Revelation 3:7
7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the One who is holy and true,...
Though Jesus walked among us, He was also separated from us, in that He was holy and He is true!
John 6:33 The true bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
There is only One who can fill your spiritual hunger. He is the only One who can quench your spiritual thirst and give you life everlasting!
Revelation 3:7
7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the One who is holy and true, the One who has the key of David....
This “key of David” speaks of Christ’s authority. (Whoever has the keys is truly in charge/control.)
Jesus has the keys! He holds the keys to the entrance into His kingdom! He alone holds the keys, the One who is holy, the One who is true…
He holds the keys because He is our Creator. He is the owner of the keys!
He rightfully holds the keys in His nail-scarred hands because He purchased them with His shed blood on the cross…
Vs. 7 goes on to say... “...What He opens, no one can close; and what He closes, no one can open:”
John 15:5b “...apart from Me you can do nothing.”
God opens doors! God shuts doors! It is all by God’s power not man’s!
Even more important is the fact that satan can’t open the door, and satan can’t shut the door.
Man doesn’t have the keys. satan doesn’t have the keys. Jesus alone with all authority and power holds the keys!
Revelation 3:8
8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed My word and did not deny Me.
“You have little strength”...
The church in Philadelphia was small (contrasted to last week where the church in Sardis was large...everyone knew of that church...that church had a name but, remember the Lord said it was dead...spiritually dead...no power.)
This church in Philadelphia was small. It had a little strength. It probably had little in terms of talent, ability, resources, or money…
If you would have passed by it, you probably would have said, “Well, that’s a nice little church!”
What can a “little” church possibly do?!
That “little” church packed a punch!
“For thou hast a little strength” - “dunamis” is the Greek word from which we get our English word “dynamite”.
He says, “You have a little power.”
Where did their “little strength/power” come from?
“...obeyed My word and did not deny Me.”
Their obedience was their strength and their faith in Him was their power!
Your obedience to God’s Word is your strength.
Your faith in Jesus, your faith in His Word is your power!
Jesus did not rebuke the people of the church here in Philadelphia. He offered them praise, encouragement, and a challenge…
Revelation 3:8
8 “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed My word and did not deny Me.
God placed before them an open door. A door that He said no one can close. Their strength was little...but, the door before them was wide open!!!
How much strength is needed to go through an open door...not much right?!
I believe the Lord was saying that their faith was not proportionate to the door that was opened before them.
Their faith was little.
Yet, little is all that is required because the door was open.
A missionary told me of a little church in Texas, with less than a dozen in attendance. He shared his heart, burden, and need for Northwest Africa. At the end of the service that little church wrote him a check for $45,000.
A tiny church, little strength, wide open door!
Jesus declared in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke that faith the size of a grain of a mustard seed can move mountains.
Faith so small yet, still faith, can move and uproot a tree. (Matt. 17:20; Luke 17:6)
Jesus said that nothing shall be impossible to you with only a little faith. (Matt. 17:20)
God told the Apostle Paul…2 Cor. 12:9a ...“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
God opens doors of unlimited possibilities to those that love, trust and obey Him!
For some of you the way you live your life/faith, it is as if God’s open door is more like a pet door. You are just crawling, or squeezing your way through life…
You are cautiously crawling through a door that is wide open before you.
What is the purpose of a door? To enter it! Use it! Go through it!
Go boldly through what God opens!
Don’t live your life with less than what God wants to do with and through you!
Let God grow your faith, stretch your faith, build your faith, increase your faith!
The Bible says that the righteous are as bold as a lion. (Prov. 28:1)
This open door is all about God placing great opportunities before us as believers and challenging us to be faithful with those opportunities!
Power and authority comes from Him! He holds the keys to the door before us! He opened it and our text says that He only can close it!
He is cheering you on to boldly/faithfully go through the door He has opened!
This isn’t about doing more for God, but rather what does God want me to trust Him for?!
Hebrews 4:16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
You may need to come out of your comfort zone of faith. Your comfort zone of low expectations. There is an open door just waiting, begging you to go through it!
Quit trusting God for the bare minimum of what He can do!
God is challenging you that you are not scratching the surface of all that He wants to do!
There is nothing impossible to God’s people, following God’s will, backed by God’s authority and power!
Revelation 3:9-12
9 Look, I will force those who belong to satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
10 “Because you have obeyed My command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.
“the great time of testing”...is a reference to the Tribulation period.
At an appointed time, known only by God the Father, Jesus will come in an instant/moment...
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
At that time, with all believers gone from this earth...there will be a seven year time of testing/tribulation... “to test those who belong to this world”...
Not for believers...but those who belong to this world...who belong to satan…
2 Corinthians 4:4
satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
While satan is called the ruler of this world...(remember he doesn’t hold the keys to anything)...
During that seven years there will be many who will suffer great persecution yet will be saved. They will die, be killed for believing/trusting and declaring the name of Jesus.
The believer who accepts the One who is Holy and True before that time will avoid going through the Tribulation...
Just like Noah was saved before the flood…
Just like Lot and his family were saved before Sodom was destroyed…
God always offers grace before judgment.
Christ encouraged all believers to stand faithful...don’t lose your crown...
Because you have been faithful, you will be spared the tribulation.
After that seven year period of testing/tribulation...the Lord will return to the earth (physically, His feet will stand on the Mt. of Olives where He ascended after His death and resurrection.)
He will physically rule and reign on this earth for 1,000 years (millennial reign in which we believers will rule with Him.)
After those 1,000 years satan will be defeated forever!
The Lord will then create a new heaven and earth.
Revelation 3:12
12 All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of My God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of My God, and they will be citizens in the city of My God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from My God. And I will also write on them My new name.
J.V. McGee describes that on one of the hills where the city of Philadelphia was located there stands a pillar. The city was destroyed by an invading army.
Many Christians were rounded up and killed for their faith. This pillar, hidden among a cluster of cedar trees, is all that remains of the city from back in John the apostle’s day.
Maybe the Lord’s description here was a prophetic glimpse.
What man may destroy here...he will not be able to destroy in the kingdom of heaven. Nor will man be able to defeat what God’s presence and power is in!
Just like that pillar that is still standing on that hill today...you will stand as a pillar in the kingdom of God forever!
Those that are His, God puts His name on.
He seals us with the Holy Spirit. He not only writes upon us who we are, but He writes our destination, our citizenship...New Jerusalem...the capital of the kingdom of God.
And, when we stand before our Lord He will give us a new name that we will call Him forever, and ever, and ever!
That new name will represent the Lord, who now we only trust in, but one day we will see face to face...in all His glory, in all His power, in all His holiness, in all His might!
God has set before us an open door!
God has great opportunities for us to believe and trust Him!
To strengthen our faith we obey His word! We trust in His name! That’s where our power comes from!
Let’s be bold believers! Let’s be a bold church! Let’s go through any and every door that God opens!
Let’s trust in His power and His authority!
