Church in Philadelphia Revelation 3:7-13  CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Church in Philadelphia

Introduction of the Speaker

Jesus – now Jesus is being described with characteristics other than those that were mentioned by John in the first chapter – holy, 1 Peter 1:15-16 – true, 1 John 5:20, Revelation 19:11 – and he hath the key of David, Isaiah 22:22 – he openeth and shutteth [indicating that he has ultimate control over opening and closing the door on David’s covenant, Psalms 89:20-49]

Compliments

I know thy works – 8 – again his judgment of tribulation saints is going to be based on works – James 2:20-24 – Revelation 20:11-15

Set before thee an open door and no man can shut it – 8 – but they will try to shut it Psalms 83 – however they won’t succeed Romans 11:25-27

3 qualities of this church – 8 –

You have a little strength – and that’s all they need [2 Corinthians 12:7-10]

You’ve kept my word – John 14:23 – compare Revelation 2:4 and that’s huge

You haven’t denied my name – Matthew 10:32-33 – and that’s huge

Make those of the synagogue of Satan to worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved you – 9 – they lie about being Jews – synagogue is a Jewish meeting place – but this synagogue is run by the devil – and his people are pretending to be Jews – yet they are Satan worshippers – that’s to attract Jews away from the true churches, which are called churches rather than synagogues, which a Jew would be more inclined to attend, in order to deceive them – that’s like calling a modern entertainment center and concert hall a church in order to attract people away from true churches

The hour of temptation – 10 – this is something that tries the whole world – probably the mark of the beast, Revelation 3:16-17 – remember that the Jews in the wilderness were tempted to go back to Egypt when God tried them there to prove whether they would keep his commandments or not – Deuteronomy 8:2-3 – he suffered them to hunger and fed them with manna – in their disobedience, they made an image [see Revelation 13] and turned back to Egypt under a Jewish priest named Aaron – likewise there will be a counterfeit Jew [the antichrist, Ezekiel 21:25-27] to lead them to an image [Matthew 24:15] and away from the Lord [2 Thessalonians 2:3] and the only way to defend themselves will be to keep the word of his patience  [Hebrews 10:36, James 5:7].

A Warning – 11 – I come quickly Revelation 22:7 – hold fast (the three things in verse 8)[like Revelation 2:25] because it will be more difficult to hold on to them right before the Lord’s arrival – no man take thy crown 2 John 8 they have a reward coming in the form of a crown like Revelation 2:10 and like the church age saints at the Judgment Seat of Christ

A Promise – 12 – God will make the overcomers a pillar in the temple of God [John 2:19, Ephesians 2:18-22, Jeremiah 1:18, Galatians 2:9] and he will write upon them three things:

The name of my God [Revelation 14:1]

The name of the city of my God [New Jerusalem Revelation 21:10-27]

My new name – probably Revelation 19:12 but remember that Peter got a new name [John 1:29] and Paul got a new name [Acts 13:9] and so did John and James [Mark 3:17]