“And
to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is
holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” “I
know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut
it: for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My
name. “Indeed I will make those of
the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I
will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved
you. “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from
the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell
on the earth. “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no
one may take your crown. “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of
My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down
out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My
new name. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.” ’ Revelation 3:7-13 NKJV
Those who have studied the book of Revelation are more
than likely aware of the fact that the description and order of the churches
listed mimic the evolution of the Church through its history from inception to
now. That said, because it is a complete
picture of the Church, it follows that there are examples of each one in
existence at any given time, so it is important for believers to not only
examine themselves, but also choose which church to be most associated with. The logical choice, in my opinion, is the
church at Philadelphia revealed in this passage.
Although what Jesus has to say in this description is instructive
and complimentary, I and many others are struck by the fact that it is a church,
about which, Jesus had absolutely nothing bad to say. That in itself sets it apart from the others
and certainly makes me desire to be associated with it. I also believe, based on where it is listed,
that the message to it and about it seems almost perfect to apply to the times
we are now experiencing as we approach the rapture of Christ’s Church. Today I want to simply share with you the
encouraging words this letter gives to me.
“I
know your works”. How
many times lately have you wondered if God really understands what we are going
through right now? Of course, we know He
does but that’s not to say we as humans don’t sometimes doubt. Yet here we see the first thing Jesus tells
us is that He is watching and knows how we are responding to the situation we
find ourselves in. I personally find
that extremely encouraging, given how this year has unfolded so far and how it
follows that the “birth pangs” are only going to get worse. Jesus not only knows what we are going
through, He is watching.
“Because
you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of
trial”. Do I
hear a “halleluiah”? The promise to all
true believers, members of the body of Christ, is that we will be taken from
this world before that period of time called the tribulation begins. If the past seven months have showed us
anything, it seems painfully obvious just how the events of the seven year
tribulation are starting to make sense, not to mention the fact that we can see
the anger, violence, and lawlessness beginning to happen right before our very
eyes.
“Behold,
I am coming quickly!” What
exactly does an exclamation point mean to you?
If you are familiar with this passage, have you ever noticed there is an
exclamation point and not a period following Jesus’ statement? By definition, an exclamation point is used
to convey emotion and loudness of the previous statement. Here Jesus tells the church, when you find
yourselves in the situation we all believe we are in right now, be encouraged
and hang on because He is coming to take us home to be with Him “quickly!” Although we could debate when the
birth pangs actually began, there is no doubt in my mind that the “delivery” is
approaching “quickly”.
“He
who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall
go out no more.” The
word for overcome used here means literally to have victory or to conquer a
foe, which in turn, strongly implies a struggle or conflict. The Church, all true believers, have been in
a struggle the past few months with literally no end in sight. The forces of darkness can at times appear to
be winning, and unfortunately discouragement, frustration, and disappointment
can all affect the strongest of us. Yet
God in His wisdom has foreseen all that is occurring and is yet occur, and His
message to us is that for those who endure and overcome will be rewarded in
ways we can’t even imagine.
“He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Are
you listening? I and many others are
firmly convinced that this letter was written especially for us, especially for
this time. How often have you questioned
yourself these past few months about how you should react as a believer given
the circumstances we have all been subjected to? The answer to that is given in this passage
from Jesus Himself, who foreknew exactly what we are going through. The pains will only get worse until the time
of the delivery arrives; true believers delivered to eternity with our Father
in heaven, and unbelievers into a time of trouble the likes of which this world
has never seen.
Every night on the news we can see glimpses of just how
terrible that time is going to be; as we watch the powers of darkness begin to
show their true colors. The words in
this letter from Jesus tell us all we need to know, and the advice He gives us
is worth its weight in gold. He knows
what we are going through because He is watching. We are to persevere with the knowledge that
He is coming quickly, understanding that the reward for doing so will exceed
our wildest dreams. These are promises
from our Lord Jesus Christ. “He
who has an ear, let him hear”!
Keep watching.
