Today we look at the second half of the Lord's message to the church at Philadelphia. It begins with a comment regarding a group that was persecuting the actual church of Philadelphia in the late first century AD. We have to keep in mind that Jesus isn't saying anything against the Jewish people as a whole, but that He's speaking out against a particular group in Philadelphia that claimed all the rights and privileges of descendants of Abraham without possessing what Abraham would recognize as faith.
"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." (Revelation 3:9) This group is likely made up of people who are Jews by genealogy but are not Jews spiritually. The Apostle Paul, a Jew himself, once said of people like this, "Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." (Romans 9:6) In the Lord's eyes, a person's Jewishness has to do with whether or not that person honors and serves and loves Him, not whether a person is descended from one of the tribes of Israel. In the same way, not everyone who has their name on the membership roll of a Christian church is a Christian, as we learned when we studied what the Lord said to the church at Sardis. So we see that this group which troubled the Christians of Philadelphia were Jewish by genealogy only. They felt that the Christians of their city were the scum of the earth. They considered these Christians, who were a minority in the area, to be so far beneath them that they wanted the church members to grovel at their feet. But the opposite will happen: those who have persecuted the Christians will someday have to admit that the Lord has deeply loved His church and has abundantly blessed it.
Now we move on to an awesome promise the Lord makes to the present church age. In yesterday's study we talked about how the church of Philadelphia represents the sixth church age, and that the sixth church age continues on until the Lord takes the church out of the world. In today's passage we find His promise to remove the church from the world before the Great Tribulation. "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." (Revelation 3:10) He uses the Greek word "ek" which means "out of", so what He's literally saying is, "I will keep you out of the hour of trial". He's not promising to keep the church safe through the Great Tribulation. He's promising to take the church out of the world before the "hour of trial" (the word "hour" indicating that a time limit has been set for the Great Tribulation---seven years) comes upon the earth. If you've made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, your ticket out has already been purchased. If the Lord calls for His church during your lifetime, you are going to be with Him in heaven while the end times play out on earth.
Why should we doubt that the Lord is willing and able to take His faithful ones out of the path of danger? Didn't He get Noah off the land before He sent the flood? Didn't He get Lot out of Sodom and Gomorrah before He destroyed the twin cities? Won't He take His bride, the church whom He loves with His whole heart, from the earth before He sends the plagues and disasters of the final seven years of the end times?
If we don't get this straight in our minds now, we are going to have trouble making sense of the events of Revelation from Chapter 4 on. At the beginning of Chapter 4, John will hear a loud voice commanding him to, "Come up here!", and suddenly he will be viewing events on earth from heaven. He will describe for us what is going to take place on the earth during the Great Tribulation, but in his vision he will be observing them from heaven. The church is not mentioned on the earth during those dark days; in fact, the next time we see the church, she will be returning to earth with Christ. She can't return to the earth if she hasn't left the earth. So the most logical explanation is that, at the beginning of Chapter 4, the Lord calls the church out of the world. John's sudden change of location symbolizes the rapture of the church. During the seven years of the Great Tribulation, the bride of Christ is not enduring the disasters and plagues of the world, but is on her honeymoon with her Bridegroom in heaven. In the Apostle John's day, a wedding would be celebrated for seven days, but that's not long enough for Christ to celebrate with His bride. He's going to celebrate with His bride for seven years.
The Lord's message for the sixth and current church age is this: "I am coming soon." (Revelation 3:11a) The literal translation would be not "soon", although He may call for us soon, but the actual word is "quickly". It's going to happen fast when it happens. It's interesting to study prophecies of the end times, but these things aren't to be the main focus of the church. The church is to be listening for the voice of Christ saying, "Come up here!" Then, just as suddenly as John finds himself in heaven in his vision, we will find ourselves in heaven with Christ.
The Lord now encourages us to hang in there, for the reward is great. "Hold onto what you have, so that no one will take your crown." (Revelation 3:11b) He's not warning us about the loss of salvation but about the loss of rewards. The "crown" is not a royal crown but the type of crown that was given to those who won athletic events. What He's saying is something like, "Keep your eyes on the finish line. Don't veer off the sidelines and drift from a close relationship with Me. Don't become discouraged and sit down on the ground, feeling like your work for My kingdom doesn't matter." The Lord isn't saying our salvation can be taken from us, but that we can lose out on some of the rewards we could have had. When we enter into His presence, He wants to load us down with ribbons and medals. He wants to place a crown of victory on our heads to celebrate our faithfulness and endurance. And when He does, we are going to acknowledge that we couldn't have gotten through a single thing in life unless He had given us strength, and we will take those crowns off and lay them at His feet. (Revelation 4:10) I want to have a crown to lay at His feet, don't you? So let's hang in there. Let's keep going forward, even when it seems like our testimonies aren't leading anyone to Christ, and even when it seems like our faith isn't having much impact on those around us.
"The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it." (Revelation 3:12a) Of course He's not literally going to turn us into stone pillars, but when we refer to someone being a "pillar" we mean that they are steadfast, strong, and unyielding. As a reward for our steadfastness to Christ, He promises that we will never be apart from Him.
"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." (Revelation 3:12b) We will talk more about the new Jerusalem later on in Revelation, so right now I want to concentrate on Christ giving us a new name to call Him. This new name is a name only His bride can use. Do any of you have a pet name that you call your spouse? That could be what is in view here: that the church will call her Bridegroom a special name that only someone with a close and intimate relationship with Him is allowed to use. If so, isn't that precious?
Another thing that I love about this new name is that it's a name which has never before been heard, so it's a name that has never been blasphemed or used as a curse word. Our Lord deserves a name like this! The One who laid aside all the glory of heaven, who took on flesh, who took on our sins, and who suffered in our place deserves a name that has never been misused.
The Lord concludes His message to the church of Philadelphia in the same way He concludes His message to the other six, "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:13) He's providing these messages for our instruction and for our benefit because He wants the best for us.
Tomorrow we move on into the seventh church age, the age in which the apostate church will arise, the age in which the world will feel it has little or no need for the Lord. Then we will move on into Chapter 4 where the rapture of the church takes place, and from then on the book of Revelation is action packed. One major disaster after another will occur. One plague after another will fall upon the earth. The one known as the Antichrist will come on the scene as Satan makes one final, all-out attempt to thwart the plans of God for mankind. Christ, the Word of God, will have the final word, and will overthrow Satan forever, and will ascend to the throne of David from which He will eternally rule over the world in righteousness.
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