Zechariah has a vision of the day when all men of all nations and languages shall turn to Jerusalem, "they shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you"' ( Zechariah 8:22-23). We will get the picture right if we remember that the eastern throne was more like a couch than a single seat. To take the position of a Jew thus is to be one of those that say they are such and are not, but are alas! And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands." We have most of us heard what conflicts he had, and not merely at the beginning of his career but to the end. The reason is manifest, because the way in which we are called to walk is always according to the place and relations in which we stand. 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. They are waiting for Him expectantly without such an idea as His thief-like surprise. The Book is our ultimatum. This is an echo of an expectation of the Jews which finds frequent expression in the Old Testament. On the other hand Christ said in view of the sufferer, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days." What does Revelation 3:10 mean? So, it wasn't a complete reformation. None the less is it "the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ," even if it consists not of that which ministers directly to the edification of the Christian in his own position, but indirectly as announcing the doom of such as despise God and do their own will in the face of His revelation. 1. ], What if some in the church did not keep the word of Christs perseverance? Eventually they would have to admit their error, at the judgment of unbelievers (the great white throne judgment) if not earlier (Isaiah 45:23; Isaiah 60:14; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10-11). Observe, First, The greatest honour and happiness any church can enjoy consist in the peculiar love and favour of Christ. Sardis had been flabby already but the last vestige of spirit was banished from its people and it became a city of degeneration. Two of them were called Zeuxis and Alexander Philalethes. For centuries it was a free Greek Christian city amidst a pagan people. (ii) We cannot say that that meaning is impossible and yet it does not seem to fit the context, for the atmosphere of the passage is not so much warning as love. But here He has the seven Spirits of God. The Church is the possession of Jesus Christ. You go into a post-Christian era when you get to Europe. We have seen this just before. "But to you I say, the rest (or remnant) in Thyatira." By the power of God upon the hearts of his enemies, and by signal discoveries of his peculiar favour to his church: They shall know that I have loved thee. Revelation 3:1. "And from the seven Spirits which are before his throne." Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." (ii) The Christian must be on the watch against the wiles of the devil ( 1 Peter 5:8). 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. We will also release more in depth conversations on specific passages of scripture as the Father leads. 5:2 + ). It is very possible, when the epistles were sent out in the days of John, that no particular emphasis would be laid on "the things that are;" but inasmuch as these things have been going on from that day to the present, we can see the immense force such a phrase thereby acquires. Tell them that this or that is to be found in the Bible, and they look amazed. In the Pastoral Epistles we read: "She who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives" ( 1 Timothy 5:6), The Prodigal Son is he who was dead and is alive again ( Luke 15:24). There is little point in a man adorning his body, if he has nothing to adorn his soul. Clearly such a position made it almost impregnable. And that isn't to say that God doesn't call people as He did to the Jews, but He has not called me. I have no intention to enter at any length on this way of looking at the churches as quite by-gone, and the prophecy as at once flowing on; but I mention it because it seems due to truth to name this as well as the other, according to which "what shall be after these" is when the church condition is no longer applicable at all. If therefore we look at the abstract nature of the angel of the church, what is implied by the term? I suppose that the Philadelphian church had but little strength in the following respects: the number of its members would be small, and it had therefore but little strength for undertaking any extensive enterprize which would call for numerous bands of workers. There will be that day that will come that the Jews will recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. When this earthquake devastated it, Tiberius was as generous to Philadelphia as he had been to Sardis. But this is here restricted: it does not mean the truth in general, nor the gospel in particular, though we cannot doubt that John did preach the gospel, and did nourish the church of God in all His revealed truth; but this is not the subject of the Apocalypse, nor the meaning of our text. In Greek there are two words for true. I counsel thee buy from me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness does not appear; anoint your eyes with eyesalve, that you may see ( Revelation 3:18 ). "He that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand." Obedience, fidelity, and a free confession of the name of Christ, are the fruits of true grace, and are pleasing to Christ as such. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder, so he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut and none shall open." John sees the Son of man with the qualities of the Ancient of days. Remember what Solomon says, "The conies are a feeble folk," but he puts them down as wise people, for they have their habitation in the rocks. "Write therefore [which is undoubtedly genuine] the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and what shall be hereafter." There was faithfulness, and this very particularly in dealing with the wickedness which Satan sought to bring in at that time. In his book Out of Nazareth Donald Baillie cites three witnesses to the uniqueness of this conception. Laodicea prides itself on the magnificent garments it produces but spiritually it is naked and nakedness is shame. I dare say that some of us remember when people used to fly to Canada in order to escape "the great tribulation" which they expected to fall on the empire of the beast. First he sees a huge angel towering over land and sea, and holding a small scroll in his hand. Cf. And why so? I will cause the enemies of the truth to leave you alone. Those who still dared to live in the city were reckoned mad; they spent their time shoring up the shaking buildings and every now and then fleeing to the open spaces for safety. He is spoken of as Son of man; and, as we know, this is the quality in which it is given Him to execute every kind of judgment. In Revelation 3:9 the promise of the Risen Christ is that some day the Jews who slander the Christians will kneel before them. Product Identifiers Publisher Zondervan ISBN-10 [Note: Chitwood, p. 101. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. This is of so much the greater emphasis, as it is apparently designed in an express manner to counteract the tendency (but too common spite of it) to treat the Apocalypse as if it were of doubtful value and of precarious authority. I should like to see a few more of such Protestants. For it is somewhat novel, especially in the New Testament. It is precisely the claim of the so-called church, the assumption of permanent infallibility the setting up to be a sort of inspired authority to enunciate doctrine, and to direct everything in the name of God. There will be indifference to all that is good; and the only kind of zeal, if there be zeal, will be for what is bad. Jesus Christ perfectly satisfied these conditions. It is true that the New Testament uses this picture to express the imminence of the coming of Christ. Let there be at least individual even if unvalued faithfulness to the Lord Jesus. Hence, evidently, there is a comprehensive term employed with divine wisdom, "to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass." To the church at Sardis 1. And here we have for our instruction the fact, that the synagogue of Satan of those who say they are Jews, and are not revives. May God grant to us that whatever form of temptation may come upon the face of the earth, we may stand fast for his truth, so that none of us may perish like Judas, the son of perdition. Laodicea, The Wealth That Is Poverty ( Revelation 3:14-22 Continued). If there is a secret entrance to heaven he prefers it; he means to go round about and climb over the wall somewhere, or sneak in at the back gate. What does this mean? And I'll tell you if you don't believe it is dead, go to Europe. An angel setting forth representation (human or not), an ideal representative of each assembly is meant. (John 5:1-47) And now that grace and truth were about to be utterly set at naught, as He Himself had been before by that which bore His name on the earth, John was more than any other suited to let us see the solemn visions of God avenging the slighted rights of His own Son; and this, first, by providential judgments; lastly, by Christ Himself coming in the personal execution of judgment. We have a little strength. One cannot make good sense out of Revelation 3:10 otherwise. Good men have many conflicts, let us minister to their comfort. So, we find within the church today a lot of relics from the Babylonian system, the Babylonian religion. REV 3:10 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. I will be glad to share with you and become one with you just open the door.". The revelation of grace is precisely what is not found in this book. God has a task for every man; but it may be that the man proves himself unfit for the task and it is given to another. No doubt, morally speaking, He must needs execute judgment; but John could not lose sight of His divine glory, even where the subject is judgment, and the kingdom everywhere prominent. Those who have been true to God will some day walk with him in Paradise. (iv) There is the command to watch. This to me is treason against sovereign truth. This Philadelphian church had won the commendation, "Thou hast kept my word." A truly vital Church will always be under attack. It is sad. James spoke with respect and admiration of the man who kept himself "unstained from the world" ( James 1:27). "In the hour of trial" means "in any hour of trial."
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