"The time is at hand." It could mean, either, that Jesus was the first person to be created or that he began the process of creation, as Trench put it, "dynamically the beginning." Sin is the killer of life's loveliness. Matthew 24:29-30), and because the generation to whom John wrote these words has long since passed away, Philadelphias representation of not just the other six churches of Asia but also of the church universal throughout the present age is evident . In the Greek of the Septuagint the word for love is agapan ( G25) which indicates the unconquerable attitude of goodwill which nothing can turn to hate; but it is a word which maybe has more of the head than the heart in it; and in the quotation the Risen Christ changes agapan ( G25) to philein ( G5368) which is the most tender affection. It is not that the time is actually come so that we must go through all or any part; but the time is at hand. The real innovators were those who departed by slip or by will from the very words of the Spirit; and the arbitrariness now would be in maintaining what has not sufficient authority, against that which is as certain as can be. Whichever picture is behind this, the sense is that the faithful ones will wear the unmistakable badge of God. May every church of the Lord Jesus Christ, whether it have little strength or much, be concerned to be steadfast in the faith loyal to King Jesus firm in the truths which Christ has taught us by the Holy Ghost. The Lord "opens the door, "so this message calls us to be faithful, using the opportunities of service which Christ provides. The percentages are down around fifty to sixty percent that don't believe in these things. 290. "Who calleth herself a prophetess, and teachest and seducest my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols." Is this wise? Here is a promise of the great favour God would bestow on this church, Revelation 3:9; Revelation 3:10. 1. How can it surprise those who are ever awaiting Him? (c) It is just possible that we have an Old Testament picture. The persevering Christian shall win the prize from backsliding professors, who once stood fair for it.". It says to every man: "This means you." Tell them that this or that is to be found in the Bible, and they look amazed. This indifference can be broken down only by the actual demonstration that Christianity is a power to make life strong and a grace to make life beautiful. Satan's synagogue. May we tonight, O God, listen to what you would say to us. It is the hope of the Psalmist that the wicked will be blotted out of the book of the living ( Psalms 69:28). Jesus himself tells of the wicked servant, who took advantage of his master's absence to conduct himself evilly and to whom the master made a sudden return that brought judgment. This saying does two things. Thirdly, This will, by the grace of Christ, soften the hearts of their enemies, and make them desirous to be admitted into communion with them. The Christian must be ready to open whenever he hears his Lord knocking ( Luke 12:36). This gives us, as is obvious and familiar to almost every reader, the threefold division of the book of Revelation. (i) Watchfulness should be the constant attitude of the Christian life. Take no notice of anything I say if it cannot be supported by the word of divine truth. In the Spirit he must be, both to shut out every impression from external objects, and to give him an entrance into all that God was about to reveal; but first of all we should recognise the fact that it was on the Lord's day; and next that, before he was shown what was before, he must turn to the voice behind him and learn what the Lord judged of that which bore His name on the earth. Philadelphia had a great characteristic which has left its mark upon this letter. No one goes to hades before he dies death being in relation to the body, hades to the separate spirit. Philadelphia was the youngest of all the seven cities. If a man will open the door, Jesus Christ will come in and linger long with him. No man knows the day and the hour when for him eternity will invade time. We will speak upon the text to-night with a view to that, and we shall notice, first, that there is a word of praise: God praises this faithful messenger of the church. Then history repeated itself. Not all the clothes in the world will beautify a person whose nature is twisted and whose character is ugly. I have set it open, and kept it open, though there be many adversaries. By whom this letter was signed; even by the same Jesus who is alone the universal head of all the churches; and here observe by what title he chooses to represent himself to this church: He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, c. You have his personal character: He that is holy and he that is true, holy in his nature, and therefore he cannot but be true to his word, for he hath spoken in his holiness and you have also his political character: He hath the key of David, he openeth, and no man shutteth; he hath the key of the house of David, the key of government and authority in and over the church. It is remarkable that after the greatest persecutions, when Christendom and even Christians had been seduced into accepting the patronage of the world, up to that point there remained real faithfulness in refusing all efforts to deny the deity of Christ Under the same Constantine, who was the instrument of thus casting the world's shield over Christianity, was the battle fought and won against the Arian foe. That letters were written to literal congregations from Ephesus to Laodicea seems to be unquestionable; but I cannot doubt that these were chosen, and the addresses so shaped to them as to bring before those who have ears to hear the complete circle of the Lord's testimony here below as long as there should be anything possessed (responsibly if not really) of a church character. One can understand their passing through the scene of his power, but to be dwelling there is significant. No such condition appears afterwards. To those who have been faithful comes the threefold promise. "He that believeth hath everlasting life," for "this is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." You are a vessel fit for the Master's use, and there never was a vessel fit for his use that he did not use one day or other. Not so, I apprehend, where angels of the churches are spoken of. The unwelcome visitation of a thief would be utterly incongruous if they were enjoying the sweet hope according to His own word, that He is coming for them quickly. Still hold on to the promise made to you in the word of God, and to the manifestation of God which is seen in Christ Jesus, and you will be doing your God the honour which he deserves at your hands, and he will say, "I know thy works; for thou hast a little strength, but thou hast kept my word." But that cannot happen if every day a man lives in the presence of Christ; he who walks hand-in-hand with Christ cannot be taken unawares by his coming. Philadelphia, Those Who Keep Are Kept ( Revelation 3:7-13 Continued). "How do I know that they will accept it?" That in itself would have been enough to make Laodicea one of the great commercial and strategic centres of the ancient world. PHILADELPHIA--The church with opportunity. In Greek there are two words for true. 293. It does not mean He would preserve them through it (the posttribulation position) or remove them during it (the midtribulation position). They appreciated it: they fed upon it. the Jews). "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life." Revelation 3:1. . To those who have kept his word, Christ promises, I will keep you from the coming hour of trial, which will put those who dwell on the earth to the test. And the way to "maintain the spiritual glow" ( Romans 12:11, Moffatt) is to live close to Christ. It is the present imperative and means: "Keep on remembering; never allow yourself to forget." (iii) Jesus Christ will write upon the faithful Christian the name of his God. Let us bear our protest: the gold is good enough for us. Dear hearer, see that you win it too. 9 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 . Consistency with Him as a revealed God in Christ is their rule. Christ knocks and a man can answer or refuse to answer. There was ariston ( G712) , the midday meal. It cannot buy happiness nor give a man health either of body or of mind; it cannot bring comfort in sorrow nor fellowship in loneliness. Has it no price in His eyes? Until less than a hundred years ago great markets were regularly held on its site. We are soon going to be entering into the Lent season which was borrowed from the Babylonian system. "He that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand." "It is exemption from the period of time that is promised. "[50] A secondary meaning applies the text to the final judgment. It means that their message was not confined to the people in the seven Churches nineteen hundred years ago, but that through them the Spirit is speaking to every man in every generation. Would that you were cold or hot! Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, hold fast, repent. It is true that neither of these new names lasted and "Philadelphia" was restored. Through Christ, who has the key to life and death (see v. 7; cf. Behold, I have set before you a door which stands open and which no man shuts, because you have a little strength and because you have kept my word, and have not denied my name. This picture has been derived from two different sources. 46-50, 108-37; and Jeffrey Townsend, "The Rapture in Revelation 3:10," Bibliotheca Sacra 137:547 (July-September 1980):252-66.]. In Jesus' name, Amen. Sardis gives the rise of the new state of things, not strictly ecclesiastical the Lord acting in the way of testimony, and not so much in ecclesiastical order. Before you, my brother, the Lord God has set an open door. When he pleases, he shuts the door of opportunity and the door of utterance, and leaves obstinate sinners shut up in the hardness of their hearts; he shuts the door of church-fellowship against unbelievers and profane persons; and he shuts the door of heaven against the foolish virgins who have slept away their day of grace, and against the workers of iniquity, how vain and confident soever they may be. We need pillars in the house of our God. You may never become more numerous, or more influential; but do let it be true of you, that you have kept God's word. Here the name of Jesus is enough to stir the heart in a sweet and suited doxology. Isaiah 43:2-4; John 10:27-28; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 6:18-19). You say you are alive, but really you are dead. I have added it all up, and I count the reproach of Christ to be greater riches then all the treasures of Egypt." Clarke's Revelation 3:10 Bible Commentary The word of my patience - The doctrine which has exposed you to so much trouble and persecution, and required so much patience and magnanimity to bear up under its attendant trials. Revelation 3:10, KJV: 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. There is an old Latin saying that "the gods walk on feet that are wrapped in wool." It was not yet a question of coming out from the public body. These were proper characters for him, when speaking to a church that had endeavoured to be conformed to Christ in holiness and truth, and that had enjoyed a wide door of liberty and opportunity under his care and government. Reuben, unstable as water, lost his place to Judah ( Genesis 49:4; Genesis 49:8). To say that Jesus Christ is holy is to say that he shares the being of God. I am coming quickly. (ii) Sin is the death of the feelings. Furthermore, in addition to the inner possession and the hearty belief of the truth, we must be ready to adhere to it at all times. I am looking forward to the Lord confessing my name before His Father. Jesus declares Himself to be all this; yea, more than this "the living one, and I became dead." I want to suggest to you that if you have done this for some time the era has now arrived when you may go forward to somewhat more. God has put us in trust with the gospel, and we will sooner part with all that we have than be false to our trust. A man did not go home for it; it was simply a picnic snack eaten by the side of the pavement, or in some colonnade, or in the city square. . It is, and always must be, the effect of the clerical principle to substitute the authority of man, more or less, for that of the Lord, and to weaken and hinder the immediate action of the Spirit by the word of God on the conscience. But John saw "in the midst of the [seven] lampstands one like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot." That stands for the gift of citizenship in the city of God to the faithful Christian. I have not found your works completed before my God. "I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.". Rev. We grow very vexed if anybody denies them; but if there is no controversy over them we forget them. He opens a door of opportunity to his churches; he opens a door of utterance to his ministers; he opens a door of entrance, opens the heart; he opens a door of admission into the visible church, laying down the terms of communion; and he opens the door of admission into the church triumphant, according to the terms of salvation fixed by him. In the pagan world devotees of certain gods often wrote the name of their god on their forehead (cf. One says to me, "Are you not perplexed about the prevalence of modern thought the new phase of divinity that has come up of late, and the general progress that is being made towards a new theology? This has ever been the chief snare, as it is now. The garments made there were famous over all the world, and the wool of the sheep of Laodicea was a luxury article which all men knew, But, says the Risen Christ, Laodicea is spiritually naked; if it wants really to be clothed it must come to him. I do not mean of course for Christians, who needed no such bulwark as this, but for Christendom. And too many souls overall miss the wonder, inspiration, and comfort gained by those who would endeavor toward . "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. [4.] So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." [1.] Not the common text, but this is the true order. Jesus Christ will mark his faithful ones with his new name: what that name was we need not even speculate, for no man knows it ( Revelation 19:12), but in the time to come, when Christ has conquered all, his faithful ones will bear the badge which shows that they are his and share his triumph. The stated ground that follows is also to be weighed; for it is not, as men often assume, because we are to be in the predicted circumstances, it is not because the Christian or the church must pass through the troubles it describes: not a word to this effect is implied, but a different reason is given. ], The Greek word translated "testing" (peirasai) means to test to demonstrate the quality of a thing, not to purify its quality. According to Ezekiel the name of the re-created city of God was to be The Lord is there ( Ezekiel 48:35). There "a strong angel" is associated with the large scroll. It was not as once. Peter and James and John were the pillars of the early church in Jerusalem ( Galatians 2:9). We have most of us heard what conflicts he had, and not merely at the beginning of his career but to the end. Sardis stood in the midst of the plain of the valley of the River Hermus. , , , , , the word of my patience, I also will keep thee, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. If that light was ineffectual, if there was evil mixed with it, the state of the assembly would partake of it. In chapter one, He was known as the faithful and the true witness. I shall put it home to you, dear friends, again. Ever and again the Christian must stand before the Cross and remember again what God has done for him. In early Christian writings we read that Satan is the arche ( G746) of death, that is to say, death takes its origin in him; and that God is the arche ( G746) of all things, that is, all things find their beginning in him. One of the highest rewards of patience in one trial is the grace that God gives us to bear another. That which is not in Holy Scripture is not to be received as matter of faith in the Christian church; but that which is there is to be received and held with that stern steadfastness, that incorruptible faith, which no more changes than the unchanging truth which it has grasped. Scripture: Revelation 19:1-10 (Commentary helps listed at the end) Bottom line: We worship Jesus Christ because of who he is and what he's done. This is the reason why they were golden. Support an independent author today! The council in Jerusalem expressly exempted the Gentiles from being put under the yoke of law. As with the promises given to the other churches in chapters 2 and 3, this one is applicable to all Christians, not just the original recipients of the letter. (a) There may be a heathen background. We say, "Yes, yes; these doctrines are in the Creed;" and we put them up on the top shelf, and by that very act we lay them aside and do not heartily believe in them for ourselves. In vain men try to escape! So, the promise of being kept from the Great Tribulation, because we have kept the word of His patience. [46] Walvoord as quoted by Robert H. Mounce, op. I don't see a super church, or super saints. Revelation 3:8 , Revelation 3:10 . Do you not in this merely sink to the world's level? Believers on earth will meet the Lord in the air and thus escape the hour of trial . "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. The condemnation of Laodicea begins with a picture of almost crude vividness; because the Laodiceans are neither cold nor hot, they have about them a kind of nauseating quality, which will make the Risen Christ vomit them out of his mouth. We have taken them with the words which precede them. The state of the church in Ephesus has the same generality. "So then because thou art neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. The discipline of God is not something which we should resent, but something for which we should be devoutly thankful. Constant reference is made to the law, Psalms, and prophets, but it is never a mere repetition, as the literalists suppose, of what was found there. The Lord returns into his servants' bosoms that which they render to him: he gives keeping for keeping. He may not be described in His relationships to us, but He who is described is the one that we love. How came this? "I know thy works, and thy labour, and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil [men]; and thou didst try them which say they are apostles and are not, and didst find them liars." The remnant is here plain. There were works, and labour, and endurance. True grace, though weak, has the divine approbation; but, though Christ accepts a little strength, yet believers should not rest satisfied in a little, but should strive to grow in grace, to be strong in faith, giving glory to God. That is what the Philadelphian Church would see, at least in its beginnings, if its members were faithful. "The last day is a secret," says Augustine, "that every day may be watched." That night he led a party of Persian troops up by the fault in the rock. Accordingly the division of the next chapter (Revelation 3:1-22) seems to be happy at this point. When a man committed a crime against the state, or when he died, his name was erased from that register. Sardis had been flabby already but the last vestige of spirit was banished from its people and it became a city of degeneration. It is a serious thing where and how we dwell. Revelation 1 Commentary Summary: Read Revelation 1 KJV along with a helpful commentary. It is a church state in responsibility though not in real power, being an ecclesiastical body which presents horrors in the Lord's eyes, but not without a remnant dear to Him. For whom it was more immediately designed: The angel of the church of Philadelphia; this also was a city in Asia Minor, seated upon the borders of Mysia and Lydia, and had its name from that brotherly love for which it was eminent. The unique new fact that Christianity brought into this world is that God is the seeker of men. But it assumes a somewhat different shape when it becomes a question of assemblies which had not been, so far as we know, sending messengers at all. But what He is in heaven is exactly what is not given here. An angel setting forth representation (human or not), an ideal representative of each assembly is meant. . There the king of Lydia ruled over his empire in oriental splendour. The prayers of the saints will be answered (6:9-11; Matt. 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