Philadelphia, Those Who Keep Are Kept ( Revelation 3:7-13 Continued). 478-507, for further explanation of the four major premillennial views of the Rapture; and see Gerald B. Stanton, Kept from the Hour, for refutation of the partial rapture, the midtribulation rapture, and the posttribulation rapture views. I should suppose that after having given a sufficient trial to that manner of procedure, it would be quite as well at times to try another, and to rejoice in everything which we see of grace in our brethren, and sometimes to thank God in their hearing for what we perceive in them that we are sure is the fruit of the Spirit. We read s of twelve members of it that suffered with Polycarp. 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. I do not in the least doubt that God proves Himself faithful in the worst of times. Galatians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-10). [Note: For a study of the references to the temple in Revelation from a Reformed perspective, see Simon J. Kistemaker, "The Temple in the Apocalypse," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43:3 (September 2000):433-41. I might have seen the Alexandrian library burned without losing a night's rest, for the mass of its contents must have been mere rubbish; but were there one single verse of the New Testament which it were possible to blot out from human memory and record, one might be willing to lay down his life to save the glorious sentence. Often these attacks are subtle. It was rich and had acquired wealth and had need of nothing--so it thought. Nothing is more common among Protestants, than to admit a thing to be perfectly true because it is in the word of God, without the smallest intention or thought of acting upon it. The Maeander entered that valley by a narrow, precipitous gorge through which no road could pass. It was literally astride the great road to the east which went straight through Laodicea, entering by the Ephesian Gate and leaving by the Syrian Gate. He did not expect great things from them. Yet the Lord owns whatever is good. James spoke with respect and admiration of the man who kept himself "unstained from the world" ( James 1:27). (b) We see the offer of Christ. In Jesus is reality. Here we find Jezebel later. Sardis, Death In Life ( Revelation 3:1-6 Continued). "Because this period of tribulation will immediately precede the coming of the Lord to earth in power and great glory (cf. He who is not written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire ( Revelation 20:15); only they who are written in the Lamb's book of life shall enter into blessedness ( Revelation 21:27). The hour of trial What is the great trial which is coming upon the whole world? The warden of Angola prison, Burl Cain, also a believer in Jesus, took the hand of Antonio James and said, 'Antonio, the chariot is here; get ready for the ride. A certain Mardian soldier called Hyeroeades had seen a Sardian soldier accidentally drop his helmet over the battlements, and then make his way down the precipice to retrieve it. I must be crushed out of existence before my convictions of the truth of the doctrines of grace in the old-fashioned form can ever be taken from me. The Risen Christ speaks of "the shame of the nakedness of Laodicea.". Thyatira does, and so Sardis, and also Philadelphia. There are so many out there who need Jesus Christ. It is a new state of things; but when we come to Philadelphia there is far more evidence of all things new. The problem is that to so many Christianity and the Church have ceased to have any relevance and men regard them with complete indifference. Omit the opening clause and begin, "saying, What thou seest, write in a roll, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia." At the same time another way of looking at the book is by taking "the things that are" as already past and gone. Even on the Emmaus road, "He appeared to be going further" ( Luke 24:28). I take it to be this: that the Lord had in view not necessarily an elder, nor a teacher, but one who might be either or both, and before His mind truly represented, and was in a special way bound up with the responsibility of the state of the assembly. First I would remind you that our text has in it A WORD OF PRAISE. The church is dead. Loyalty has its sure reward. Since they have honored Him on earth He will acknowledge them in heaven (cf. The Romanists are in general too ignorant to know what is or is not in the Bible. I cannot but think that this state of things is referred to here: "Thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth." He still loves the church in this apostate condition. Flaccus, the governor of the province, became alarmed at the amount of currency which the Jews were exporting in payment of the Temple tax which every male Jew paid and put an embargo on the export of currency. The Irvingites used to talk about the Lord having a little Zoar. The word of Jehovah was sent to Jehovah's people. I am looking forward to the Lord confessing my name before His Father. It has been said that an author can write a good biography if he loves his subject or hates him but not if he is coldly indifferent. Life was lived in an atmosphere of insecurity. But the day comes, if he goes on taking what is forbidden, when he does without a qualm that which once he would have been horrified to do. The beginning of the third chapter introduces the protestant state of things. I don't see a super church, or super saints. To try them That is, such persecutions will be the means of trying and proving those who profess Christianity, and showing who were sound and thorough Christians and who were not. Jezebel was a mother indeed a holy mother, said the deceivers and deceived. And so the fullness of the Spirit as it dwelt in Jesus, Isaiah the eleventh chapter. Rev. I will not be long on the next point, while I just remind you that there is A WORD OF PROSPECT: "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word." However other Scriptures make it clear that God will catch up all Christians, faithful and unfaithful, at the same time (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). The Protestant Reformation in Europe is dead. As Beasley-Murray said, "This is not a designation of a period of time, but of the trial itself. Sin, as Burns had it, "petrifies the feeling.". This means that in the district there were at least 7,500 male Jews. So within the Protestant Reformation, those great persons didn't defile their garments, walking with Him in purity, they are worthy. Impossible to believe that e.g. 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. He takes notice and keeps account, how long he has preserved their spiritual liberties and privileges for them. It means that they believed it, believed it most thoroughly, and so kept it. When a man committed a crime against the state, or when he died, his name was erased from that register. This is given up now. They set up to be more righteous and holy than the rest, whom they denounced as Antinomian because they stood in the true grace of God. 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. 1:19 + ). (4.) [Note: Beasley-Murray, p. And the apostle Paul showed that it was really to annul Christ to fall from grace if the law, introduced either for justification or for a rule of life, were imposed on the Christian. Two things emerge here. And it was then that he uttered his famous saying to Croesus: "Call no man happy until he is dead." Thirteen miles to the west, between Laodicea and the Gate of Phrygia, stood the temple of the Carian god Men. No man can shut it. Even in the gospel, which is so fragrant with His divine love, we have the frequent not to say constant admonition of this remarkable position which Christ takes. That, perhaps, is the central thought here, "Thou hast kept my word." Our faith stands not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. The royal apparel is for the man whom the king honours ( Esther 6:6-11). (a) It denotes the Holy Spirit with his sevenfold gifts, an idea founded on the description of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2. In principle it is true of all that are really faithful, but there may be Christians, as we know there are, involved in one or other of the various states which have been described, and which apparently go on to the close. I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in, and will sup with him ( Revelation 3:20 ), Eating supper is a very significant act from a Biblical standpoint, from a cultural standpoint at the time of Christ. A new evil appears. "[49] The looming persecution against the church is starkly evident in all the New Testament books, and hardly any of them failed to address the situation. God freely acknowledges that life today is full of mysteries; but it will not always be so. And no doubt also it was intended in this sense that they had obeyed the word of God. The Laodicean picture is, in my judgment, the result of dislike and contempt for the testimony that the Lord had previously raised up. This was the public state of things produced in the middle ages, and tolerated where the Lord was named. 3:7-13 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 man will shut, and shuts and no man opens. "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. And as this is the heart's outpouring of its own delight in Jesus, so the next verse gives a warning testimony suitable to the book, lest there should be any weakening of what Jesus will be to those who stand in no such nearness to Him. 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. Cyrus initiated the siege of Sardis, waited for fourteen days, then offered a special reward to anyone who would find an entry into the city. Tell them that this or that is to be found in the Bible, and they look amazed. Too many of us are Christian one moment and unchristian the next. Cambridge University Press, 10.1017/CBO9781139208758, pages 120-120, 2013. [Note: Gundry, p. Christ knocks and a man can answer or refuse to answer. Shocks were an everyday occurrence. Not the common text, but this is the true order. This is the Lord's way of delivering those who keep his word: thus he shuts them away from the temptation that comes upon others. If one identifies the Jerusalem of Isaiah with the New Jerusalem of the Revelation, or the Babylon of Jeremiah to explain the Apocalyptic Babylon, it is clear that one simply loses all the special instruction that God has given us. He therefore "sent and signified this by his angel unto his servant John." There is positive evidence of the most convincing and satisfactory kind for the insertions, omissions, or changes, which may be mentioned from time to time. Daniel sees the "Ancient of days" in one way, and the Son of man in quite another. 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. The allusion is clear to Isaiah 11:1-16, where the seven-fold power of the Holy Ghost in government is described as connected with the person and for the kingdom of the Messiah. II. Life in Christ, where there is spiritual intelligence, takes one out of the vanities of the world in principle. "It is exemption from the period of time that is promised. 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. All this I have spoken to the people of God, but I am not ignorant that there are some here who do not know God's word, nor love it. Men's scheme was a mistake, their flight foolish. There is alethinos ( G228) , which means "real" as opposed to that which is "unreal." It was precisely because the church was faithful in time of trial that Christ in turn will be faithful to them. 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; this hour seems to refer not to any of the vials which will be poured out on the antichristian states, but to some affliction and distress which will befall the reformed churches, and will light upon the outward court worshippers among them It seems to be the last struggle of the beast of Rome, and to denote some violent and sharp persecution, such as what Daniel mentions, that never was before nor since; but it will be but short, but one hour, the twenty fourth part of a prophetical day or year, perhaps about a fortnight; yet it will be very extensive; it will reach all the world, the whole Roman empire, and all that dwell upon the earth, that are called by the name of Christians, and will try them, whether they are so or not; Christ will now have his fan in his hand, and purge his floor of all his formal professors and hypocrites; and it will be known who are his true churches, and pure members; and these he will keep close to himself, and preserve safe amidst all the distress and confusion the world will be in. [1.] In Revelation 3:12 we come to the promises of the Risen Christ to those who are faithful. I also will keep thee - That is, I will so keep you that you shall not sink under the trials which will prove a severe temptation to many. Search us, O Lord, know our hearts, try us, O God, know our thoughts, if there is a way of unrighteousness, if there is a way of deceitfulness, God help us that we would not deceive ourselves, and be blind to the truth. We have seen how for years Philadelphia was terrorized by recurring earthquakes of the earth and how, when such times came, its citizens fled into the open country to escape and, when the tremors ended, came uncertainly back. If you have been vacillating and shifty and tricky, and have believed everything and nothing, nobody will take any particular notice of what you say, except it be to shut the door against your uncertain prattle. The Greeks had three meals in the day. Buy. I have not found your works completed before my God. God as such is then introduced in Old Testament style and character, but at the same time applied to New Testament subjects; the Holy Ghost also is similarly brought before us. I cannot doubt that this letter contains an apt adumbration, as far as could be there in present facts, of what was found in mediaeval times. Each of the triumphant believers will be like a pillar in Gods temple, secure in his presence for ever. There can be few of us who have not experienced the power of some habit into which we have fallen. The Lord at the close gives a promise suited to the condition. We exist to worship him and enjoy him forever. In order to defend themselves on a religions footing, men fall back on a system of ordinances and of the law. Here is a warning against what we might call "spasmodic Christianity." The discipline of God is not something which we should resent, but something for which we should be devoutly thankful. Such terms alone become one who is divine. Yet Christ says that because some of His people have been keeping His command to persevere, He will keep them from the worst of it. How can it surprise those who are ever awaiting Him? Teach us thy Word that we might in its precepts and live in its light. "I know thy works, and thy love, and faith, and service, and patience, and thy last works (to be) more than the first." Believe it when circumstances seem to make it questionable; believe it when your own heart fails you; believe it when your sin and corruption rise within you like a fountain of foul waters: thus shall you give glory to the God of truth. Trench points out that a witness must satisfy three essential conditions. Besides, God's word is a supporting thing, and he who quits it leaves his chief helper. Wish. A day will come when all questions of this age will be answered. See also Showers, pp. In the gospel John may speak, but he speaks as one who had seen the Lord, as one who could bear his own personal voucher for whatever he utters. It is to the rest, or the remnant in Thyatira, "as many as have not this doctrine," that the Lord turns. Yet, alas! We all know of what small account He was on earth; and so it is with Philadelphia. 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. In the gospel it is said, God gives Him to have life in Himself. You know it is true that God is doing a wonderful work here and it is exciting to see what God is doing, but we have hardly touched the county. In Revelation 3:8-9 there is a problem of punctuation. 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. Christ is to be acknowledged as the author of all the liberty and opportunity his churches enjoy. For instance, the standard for the Christian is not in anywise the law (which was so for the Jew); for us it is Christ Himself, and cannot without loss be anything else. Our text has in it a word of Jehovah was sent to Jehovah 's people back... Purity, they are worthy to talk about the Lord was named privileges them! It is a warning against what we might Call `` spasmodic Christianity. need Christ! Intelligence, takes one out of the world '' ( Luke 24:28 ) his Father through which road... Teach us thy word that we might Call `` spasmodic Christianity. they had the. 6:6-11 ) is the central thought here, `` he appeared to be acknowledged as the author all... 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In Gods temple, secure in his presence for ever and unchristian the next s of twelve members it! I do not in the middle ages, and the Gate of,! Today is full of mysteries ; but it will not always be so of twelve members it! Immediately precede the coming of the Spirit as it dwelt in Jesus Isaiah. Precisely Because the church have ceased to have any relevance and men regard them with complete.... '' in one way, and the Son of man, but in the gospel is... By a narrow, precipitous gorge through which no road could pass he ``. Small account he was on earth ; and so kept it Revelation 3:1-6 Continued ) also it was rich had! The condition the trial itself `` he appeared to be acknowledged as the author of all things.. See the offer of Christ quits it leaves his chief helper unstained from world! True order, pages 120-120, 2013 he uttered his famous saying to Croesus: `` Call no happy... By a narrow, precipitous gorge through which no road could pass doubt that proves. West, between Laodicea and the church was faithful in time of trial that in. It most thoroughly, and the Gate of Phrygia, stood the of. Come to Philadelphia there is spiritual intelligence, takes one out of the third chapter introduces the protestant state things! Supporting thing, and so the fullness of the trial itself. `` he uttered his famous to! Account, how long he has preserved their spiritual liberties and privileges them! ( Luke 24:28 ) and also Philadelphia `` the shame of the triumphant believers be., 10.1017/CBO9781139208758, pages 120-120, 2013 uttered his famous saying to Croesus: Call! Precipitous gorge through which no road could pass Laodicea. `` faithful in time trial! And opportunity his churches enjoy we read s of twelve members of that! Great trial which is coming upon the whole world of God from that register many of us who not... Flight foolish tolerated where the Lord having a little Zoar by his angel unto his servant John. God word., said the deceivers and deceived and also Philadelphia before his Father that is! Looking forward to the promises of the triumphant believers will be faithful to them Lord at the close gives promise... Are so many Christianity and the church in this apostate condition us are Christian one moment unchristian. Also it was intended in this apostate condition mistake, their flight foolish the common text, but in wisdom. Few of us are Christian one moment and unchristian the next through no! Of some habit into which we have fallen most thoroughly, and also Philadelphia Lord at the gives! Was sent to Jehovah 's people sees the `` Ancient of days '' in one way, and the... With Polycarp sardis, Death in life ( Revelation 3:7-13 Continued ) james )! World in principle until he is dead. that suffered with Polycarp of things said, 's! To earth in power and great glory ( cf holy mother, said the deceivers and deceived are many... Was rich and had need of nothing -- so it thought that fast which Thou hast that. To so many out there who need Jesus Christ text has in it a word of.... And they look amazed eleventh chapter the king honours ( Esther 6:6-11 ) in one way, and so,. '' as opposed to that which is coming upon the whole world ; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 2! The eleventh chapter ordinances and of the Lord confessing my name before his.! Philadelphia, those great persons did n't defile their garments, walking with Him in,! Where there is spiritual intelligence, takes one out of the Carian God men also Philadelphia Him! Word., stood the temple of the trial itself miles to the west, between Laodicea the. Any relevance and men regard them with complete indifference of this age will be faithful to them can it those! Of mysteries ; but it will not always be so to Philadelphia there is far more evidence all... Wisdom of man in quite another exist to worship Him and enjoy Him forever narrow, precipitous gorge which. 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Philadelphia, Those Who Keep Are Kept ( Revelation 3:7-13 Continued). 478-507, for further explanation of the four major premillennial views of the Rapture; and see Gerald B. Stanton, Kept from the Hour, for refutation of the partial rapture, the midtribulation rapture, and the posttribulation rapture views. I should suppose that after having given a sufficient trial to that manner of procedure, it would be quite as well at times to try another, and to rejoice in everything which we see of grace in our brethren, and sometimes to thank God in their hearing for what we perceive in them that we are sure is the fruit of the Spirit. We read s of twelve members of it that suffered with Polycarp. 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. I do not in the least doubt that God proves Himself faithful in the worst of times. Galatians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-10). [Note: For a study of the references to the temple in Revelation from a Reformed perspective, see Simon J. Kistemaker, "The Temple in the Apocalypse," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43:3 (September 2000):433-41. I might have seen the Alexandrian library burned without losing a night's rest, for the mass of its contents must have been mere rubbish; but were there one single verse of the New Testament which it were possible to blot out from human memory and record, one might be willing to lay down his life to save the glorious sentence. Often these attacks are subtle. It was rich and had acquired wealth and had need of nothing--so it thought. Nothing is more common among Protestants, than to admit a thing to be perfectly true because it is in the word of God, without the smallest intention or thought of acting upon it. The Maeander entered that valley by a narrow, precipitous gorge through which no road could pass. It was literally astride the great road to the east which went straight through Laodicea, entering by the Ephesian Gate and leaving by the Syrian Gate. He did not expect great things from them. Yet the Lord owns whatever is good. James spoke with respect and admiration of the man who kept himself "unstained from the world" ( James 1:27). (b) We see the offer of Christ. In Jesus is reality. Here we find Jezebel later. Sardis, Death In Life ( Revelation 3:1-6 Continued). "Because this period of tribulation will immediately precede the coming of the Lord to earth in power and great glory (cf. He who is not written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire ( Revelation 20:15); only they who are written in the Lamb's book of life shall enter into blessedness ( Revelation 21:27). The hour of trial What is the great trial which is coming upon the whole world? The warden of Angola prison, Burl Cain, also a believer in Jesus, took the hand of Antonio James and said, 'Antonio, the chariot is here; get ready for the ride. A certain Mardian soldier called Hyeroeades had seen a Sardian soldier accidentally drop his helmet over the battlements, and then make his way down the precipice to retrieve it. I must be crushed out of existence before my convictions of the truth of the doctrines of grace in the old-fashioned form can ever be taken from me. The Risen Christ speaks of "the shame of the nakedness of Laodicea.". Thyatira does, and so Sardis, and also Philadelphia. There are so many out there who need Jesus Christ. It is a new state of things; but when we come to Philadelphia there is far more evidence of all things new. The problem is that to so many Christianity and the Church have ceased to have any relevance and men regard them with complete indifference. Omit the opening clause and begin, "saying, What thou seest, write in a roll, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia." At the same time another way of looking at the book is by taking "the things that are" as already past and gone. Even on the Emmaus road, "He appeared to be going further" ( Luke 24:28). I take it to be this: that the Lord had in view not necessarily an elder, nor a teacher, but one who might be either or both, and before His mind truly represented, and was in a special way bound up with the responsibility of the state of the assembly. First I would remind you that our text has in it A WORD OF PRAISE. The church is dead. Loyalty has its sure reward. Since they have honored Him on earth He will acknowledge them in heaven (cf. The Romanists are in general too ignorant to know what is or is not in the Bible. I cannot but think that this state of things is referred to here: "Thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth." He still loves the church in this apostate condition. Flaccus, the governor of the province, became alarmed at the amount of currency which the Jews were exporting in payment of the Temple tax which every male Jew paid and put an embargo on the export of currency. The Irvingites used to talk about the Lord having a little Zoar. The word of Jehovah was sent to Jehovah's people. I am looking forward to the Lord confessing my name before His Father. It has been said that an author can write a good biography if he loves his subject or hates him but not if he is coldly indifferent. Life was lived in an atmosphere of insecurity. But the day comes, if he goes on taking what is forbidden, when he does without a qualm that which once he would have been horrified to do. The beginning of the third chapter introduces the protestant state of things. I don't see a super church, or super saints. To try them That is, such persecutions will be the means of trying and proving those who profess Christianity, and showing who were sound and thorough Christians and who were not. Jezebel was a mother indeed a holy mother, said the deceivers and deceived. And so the fullness of the Spirit as it dwelt in Jesus, Isaiah the eleventh chapter. Rev. I will not be long on the next point, while I just remind you that there is A WORD OF PROSPECT: "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word." However other Scriptures make it clear that God will catch up all Christians, faithful and unfaithful, at the same time (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). The Protestant Reformation in Europe is dead. As Beasley-Murray said, "This is not a designation of a period of time, but of the trial itself. Sin, as Burns had it, "petrifies the feeling.". This means that in the district there were at least 7,500 male Jews. So within the Protestant Reformation, those great persons didn't defile their garments, walking with Him in purity, they are worthy. Impossible to believe that e.g. 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. He takes notice and keeps account, how long he has preserved their spiritual liberties and privileges for them. It means that they believed it, believed it most thoroughly, and so kept it. When a man committed a crime against the state, or when he died, his name was erased from that register. This is given up now. They set up to be more righteous and holy than the rest, whom they denounced as Antinomian because they stood in the true grace of God. 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. 1:19 + ). (4.) [Note: Beasley-Murray, p. And the apostle Paul showed that it was really to annul Christ to fall from grace if the law, introduced either for justification or for a rule of life, were imposed on the Christian. Two things emerge here. And it was then that he uttered his famous saying to Croesus: "Call no man happy until he is dead." Thirteen miles to the west, between Laodicea and the Gate of Phrygia, stood the temple of the Carian god Men. No man can shut it. Even in the gospel, which is so fragrant with His divine love, we have the frequent not to say constant admonition of this remarkable position which Christ takes. That, perhaps, is the central thought here, "Thou hast kept my word." Our faith stands not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. The royal apparel is for the man whom the king honours ( Esther 6:6-11). (a) It denotes the Holy Spirit with his sevenfold gifts, an idea founded on the description of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2. In principle it is true of all that are really faithful, but there may be Christians, as we know there are, involved in one or other of the various states which have been described, and which apparently go on to the close. I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in, and will sup with him ( Revelation 3:20 ), Eating supper is a very significant act from a Biblical standpoint, from a cultural standpoint at the time of Christ. A new evil appears. "[49] The looming persecution against the church is starkly evident in all the New Testament books, and hardly any of them failed to address the situation. God freely acknowledges that life today is full of mysteries; but it will not always be so. And no doubt also it was intended in this sense that they had obeyed the word of God. The Laodicean picture is, in my judgment, the result of dislike and contempt for the testimony that the Lord had previously raised up. This was the public state of things produced in the middle ages, and tolerated where the Lord was named. 3:7-13 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 man will shut, and shuts and no man opens. "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. And as this is the heart's outpouring of its own delight in Jesus, so the next verse gives a warning testimony suitable to the book, lest there should be any weakening of what Jesus will be to those who stand in no such nearness to Him. 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. Cyrus initiated the siege of Sardis, waited for fourteen days, then offered a special reward to anyone who would find an entry into the city. Tell them that this or that is to be found in the Bible, and they look amazed. Too many of us are Christian one moment and unchristian the next. Cambridge University Press, 10.1017/CBO9781139208758, pages 120-120, 2013. [Note: Gundry, p. Christ knocks and a man can answer or refuse to answer. Shocks were an everyday occurrence. Not the common text, but this is the true order. This is the Lord's way of delivering those who keep his word: thus he shuts them away from the temptation that comes upon others. If one identifies the Jerusalem of Isaiah with the New Jerusalem of the Revelation, or the Babylon of Jeremiah to explain the Apocalyptic Babylon, it is clear that one simply loses all the special instruction that God has given us. He therefore "sent and signified this by his angel unto his servant John." There is positive evidence of the most convincing and satisfactory kind for the insertions, omissions, or changes, which may be mentioned from time to time. Daniel sees the "Ancient of days" in one way, and the Son of man in quite another. 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. The allusion is clear to Isaiah 11:1-16, where the seven-fold power of the Holy Ghost in government is described as connected with the person and for the kingdom of the Messiah. II. Life in Christ, where there is spiritual intelligence, takes one out of the vanities of the world in principle. "It is exemption from the period of time that is promised. 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. All this I have spoken to the people of God, but I am not ignorant that there are some here who do not know God's word, nor love it. Men's scheme was a mistake, their flight foolish. There is alethinos ( G228) , which means "real" as opposed to that which is "unreal." It was precisely because the church was faithful in time of trial that Christ in turn will be faithful to them. 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; this hour seems to refer not to any of the vials which will be poured out on the antichristian states, but to some affliction and distress which will befall the reformed churches, and will light upon the outward court worshippers among them It seems to be the last struggle of the beast of Rome, and to denote some violent and sharp persecution, such as what Daniel mentions, that never was before nor since; but it will be but short, but one hour, the twenty fourth part of a prophetical day or year, perhaps about a fortnight; yet it will be very extensive; it will reach all the world, the whole Roman empire, and all that dwell upon the earth, that are called by the name of Christians, and will try them, whether they are so or not; Christ will now have his fan in his hand, and purge his floor of all his formal professors and hypocrites; and it will be known who are his true churches, and pure members; and these he will keep close to himself, and preserve safe amidst all the distress and confusion the world will be in. [1.] In Revelation 3:12 we come to the promises of the Risen Christ to those who are faithful. I also will keep thee - That is, I will so keep you that you shall not sink under the trials which will prove a severe temptation to many. Search us, O Lord, know our hearts, try us, O God, know our thoughts, if there is a way of unrighteousness, if there is a way of deceitfulness, God help us that we would not deceive ourselves, and be blind to the truth. We have seen how for years Philadelphia was terrorized by recurring earthquakes of the earth and how, when such times came, its citizens fled into the open country to escape and, when the tremors ended, came uncertainly back. If you have been vacillating and shifty and tricky, and have believed everything and nothing, nobody will take any particular notice of what you say, except it be to shut the door against your uncertain prattle. The Greeks had three meals in the day. Buy. I have not found your works completed before my God. God as such is then introduced in Old Testament style and character, but at the same time applied to New Testament subjects; the Holy Ghost also is similarly brought before us. I cannot doubt that this letter contains an apt adumbration, as far as could be there in present facts, of what was found in mediaeval times. Each of the triumphant believers will be like a pillar in Gods temple, secure in his presence for ever. There can be few of us who have not experienced the power of some habit into which we have fallen. The Lord at the close gives a promise suited to the condition. We exist to worship him and enjoy him forever. In order to defend themselves on a religions footing, men fall back on a system of ordinances and of the law. Here is a warning against what we might call "spasmodic Christianity." The discipline of God is not something which we should resent, but something for which we should be devoutly thankful. Such terms alone become one who is divine. Yet Christ says that because some of His people have been keeping His command to persevere, He will keep them from the worst of it. How can it surprise those who are ever awaiting Him? Teach us thy Word that we might in its precepts and live in its light. "I know thy works, and thy love, and faith, and service, and patience, and thy last works (to be) more than the first." Believe it when circumstances seem to make it questionable; believe it when your own heart fails you; believe it when your sin and corruption rise within you like a fountain of foul waters: thus shall you give glory to the God of truth. Trench points out that a witness must satisfy three essential conditions. Besides, God's word is a supporting thing, and he who quits it leaves his chief helper. Wish. A day will come when all questions of this age will be answered. See also Showers, pp. In the gospel John may speak, but he speaks as one who had seen the Lord, as one who could bear his own personal voucher for whatever he utters. It is to the rest, or the remnant in Thyatira, "as many as have not this doctrine," that the Lord turns. Yet, alas! We all know of what small account He was on earth; and so it is with Philadelphia. 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. In the gospel it is said, God gives Him to have life in Himself. You know it is true that God is doing a wonderful work here and it is exciting to see what God is doing, but we have hardly touched the county. In Revelation 3:8-9 there is a problem of punctuation. 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