We'll turn again to Revelation chapter three. Revelation three. We're gonna continue our examination of the letters to the seven churches that Jesus wrote. These were seven churches in the Roman province of Asia. Today we're gonna be looking at the church in Philadelphia. This is the second of the seven churches that received no rebuke. There's no correction of them. Instead, they're just encouraged to remain faithful in the position that they are in. A quick review of the letters, the previous ones we've already examined, show that each church in a specific location, a specific time with specific problems, is getting a specific message from Christ on what they were doing well and what needed to be corrected. There are those who claim these letters are prophetic of future ages within the church and frankly that's nonsense. The context does not have any suggestion toward that, and no matter how you try and break up church history, it nothing fits, because it would require that all churches everywhere around the globe are going through something similar at the same time, and that's never been true. At any point in time, even going to history past, you find churches in different places going through different things, and some were like Ephesus, and some like Sardis, and some like Pergamon, and some like Thyatira, and some like Philadelphia, which we're gonna look at today. That's there, but we have particular letters, particular messages, and yet at the end of each of those messages is a statement for he who has ears let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, plural. So the principles within them apply to all Christians, all churches, everywhere at all times if they match what's going on in that church, if that's the situation, if they're responding to this matter. And so, today as we look at these, we're gonna find, yes, there's gonna be application in them, and I hope you've seen some of that as we've gone through these. By quick review, remember, Ephesus is the starting point. That is because Paul had planted a church in Ephesus, and Acts 19 records that from Ephesus, the gospel went out through all of Asia, or nearly all of Asia, as the text actually says, and churches were planted. It's also the church the Apostle John was most associated with and as he is writing while he's exiled in Patmos the letters are going to first go to Ephesus and then they're going to be moved around the the imperial postal route which circles through Asia and each church in sequence is going to have a message to it and then they're going to go on with the rest of the book. Now letters and copies then end up throughout all of Asia. Now the Church of Ephesus was commended and there's a lot to commend there, their deeds, their toil, their perseverance, very strong moral and doctrinal integrity and yet they lacked. The text says they had left their first love, and that left them with a cold orthodoxy. It lacked the warmth of Christian charity. They were commanded, Repent from where you had fallen and go in again. Redo those things you had done at first. Otherwise, they were actually in danger of ceasing to be a church. We know that they did listen because they remained a church for centuries afterward. Though promise given to the overcomers in that particular letter was that they'd eat of the tree of life and the paradise of God, which is described in Revelation 22. Eternity is assured of them. Now that's an encouragement to all Christians. We need to be diligent, walk faithfully with the Lord in purity of doctrine and morals. At the same time, the motivation must be love of Christ. If we love Christ, then the natural reaction is that his love is gonna extend through us to other people. So it's not you conjuring up love for others, it's actually God loving them through you as you walk with him. Now, Smyrna was 35 miles north of Ephesus, very difficult place for Christians. They had a lot of tribulation caused by both pagan society and the unbelieving Jews who blasphemed them. If you did not participate in the emperor worship, offering incense and saying Caesar is Lord, you would be excluded from a lot of society, including the means of economic gain. You lose your job. And so they were impoverished when it comes to the things of the world, and yet the text says they were rich in the things of God. No correction of them in any way, shape, or form. It's simply an encouragement for them. Remain faithful and promise them the crown of life described at the end of Revelation 20. They will not be cast in the lake of fire. They are exempt from that because they belong to Christ. They can look forward to eternity with complete confidence and so can every Christian. I don't have to fear death because I know what eternity will bring me. It's been in God's promises. There's a lot of Christian brothers and sisters around the world that live in places of this kind of severe persecution. They are impoverished in the things of this world, and yet rich in the things of God. I was reading yesterday about believers in Nigeria, which currently is the most dangerous place for Christians, northern Nigeria. The number of our brothers and sisters being, the only word I can think of, slaughtered there in the last couple years just keeps going up. And yet, they're happy. They understand Christ, and so they're faithful. They're rich in the things of God. So we need to make sure we continue to pray for those who are being persecuted around the world, that they remain faithful, as the text encourages them, in the midst of that suffering. At the same time we should covet their prayers because they will pray for us that the worries of this world and deceitfulness of riches would not lead us astray in our own walk with Christ. Pergamon was 60 miles north of Smyrna, the capital of the Providence and so extremely dangerous place for Christians because not to participate in emperor worship could even lead to your death as it did for Antipas. He became a martyr, an example for the rest. They're commended. They were doing well. They were witnessing even in a place that Jesus refers to as Satan's throne. Would you want to live in a city called that? Yeah, I wouldn't. I know some bad cities, but I don't know they're all called, any of them called Satan's throne yet. Yet there was condemnation because there were some within that church that were tolerating the teachings that were equated with Balaam and those of Nicolaitans that were syncristic. They were merging together the practice of paganism and Christianity and saying that participating in those pagan practices was not sinful. So they were commanded to repent or Jesus was going to come and make war on them. The overcomer there was promised that they would be participating in the marriage supper of the Lamb, described in Revelation 19. A lot of churches and Christians are in similar places today and similar problems. They fall for heresy, which excuses the participation in sinful practice of the society around them. That compromise makes them more acceptable to the society around them, but it displeases God very much. Remember, Jesus provides salvation, not from hell, but from sin. It's because the sin problem is dealt with that we do not go to hell. You are made righteous by the imputation of Jesus' righteousness upon you by faith in Christ. those who turn salvation just to a fire insurance policy of get out of hell free card or something, then they're very susceptible to falling for the society around them and thinking well, I'm safe so I can do anything I want. No, I'm safe from sin to righteousness. Thyatira was located 40 miles southeast of Pergamon. They were commended for their deeds, their love, their faith, their service and perseverance, which actually increased over time. Kind of the opposite of the Ephesians. Well, they were also opposite of the Ephesians in another way, because they had a problem similar to Pergamon in tolerating a syncretic religion, but worse in that it was the majority of the church, not a small group. In fact, in particular, there was a female false teacher there, Jesus equated with Jezebel, the pagan wife of King Ahab of Israel in the Old Testament. They had a false idea of love that tolerated blatant heresy and sinful practices within the church. They were commanded to repent or face great tribulation or even death. The few not following that heresy, those heresies were called to continue to be faithful and they would rule with Jesus in the future kingdom. Now that is a major problem in a lot of churches today. This perverted idea of what love is and so toleration of heretics and blatant sinners in their midst. Really all that demonstrates is a lack of love for God and those people. If you love God and you love people, you want them to walk with God, and so you're going to correct them. You're going to try and get involved in their life, or Galatians 6, 1 through 4 is, you bear their burdens with them, you get involved, and help them out of the sin that they've stumbled into. That's true love. That's what they were missing. That's the first part of it. The other part is if you love God and other people, you want to protect those people from people who would lead them astray. And so you're also going to correct, make corrections there too. I want to protect them. I want to protect the other people around me. Now Sardis was located 33 miles south of Thyatira. I referred to this last week as the zombie church because though it was still moving about, it was carrying out religious rituals and practices, Jesus said they were dead. They were spiritually dead. He doesn't commend them for anything. That's bad. There's nothing. In fact, the only way I could describe this, the few cells left in this dead corpse. There's some little life in a few cells there. Jesus commands them to be on the alert, to strengthen what did remain, to remember to keep and repent before they also died. Now those that would do this were promised to walk with Jesus in white, a symbol of purity. Same promise given to all who overcome, to all believers. Promise of eternal life to all who believe in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ is assured. Well the few that were there did because we know toward the end of the second century there was a major apologist for Christianity in that city. Today we come to the letter to the church at Philadelphia. Follow along as I read Revelation 7 through 13 and then we're going to come back and look at the specific points within the text. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, he who is holy and who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this, I know your deeds, behold I have put before you an open door which no one can shut. Because you have little a little power and have kept my word and have not denied my name Behold, I will cause those who are the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. He will not go out from it anymore. And 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 my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Now as with the previous letters, this one begins with an address that is being written to the angel of a church, this one at Philadelphia. This is a human messenger. It is not one of God's supernatural holy angels. It's a human messenger. He represents the church and will be taking the letter to that church. Now, as with the previous letters, it does help to have a bit of background on the city in which that church was founded and its situation there. Now, Philadelphia was named after Attalus II, who was nicknamed Philadelphus because of his loyalty to his brother, Eumenes II, who had been king before him. founded sometime after 189 B.C. by one of these brothers because the location itself was along the road in the Cogumas River Valley, it's a tributary of the Hermes River Valley which ran by Sardis 25 miles to the northwest. Now this is the major trade route from the port of Smyrna and moves all the way up into the central plateau of what is modern day Turkey. Now that road actually rivaled the one coming from Ephesus that went south of it. Now the city was in a good defensible position being on the slope of a broad hill leading up to Mount Tumulus. But its primary purpose actually was to consolidate, regulate, and educate the central region subject to the Pergmanian kings. It became a hub of the Greco-Asiatic civilization spreading its language and culture. It was successful at that because the Lydian language by AD 19 was no longer in the city, instead it was Greek. Now the area was subject to earthquakes and the one that destroyed Sardis in AD 17 also destroyed Philadelphia and 10 other cities in the area. The many aftershocks of the quake caused a lot of the residents to live outside the city in huts. They were afraid to go back into it. The earthquake in 1860 that destroyed Laodicea to the southeast of them just kept that fear alive. Now, this figures in, after the city was destroyed, Emperor Tiberius provided a substantial help to them to rebuild. And in honor of that, Philadelphia, along with some of the other cities that were helped, erected the monument to him. They even changed their name for a time to Neo-Caesarea, or New Caesar, in honor of that. They also ended up having the establishment of the cult of Germanicus, that's the adopted son of Tiberius. And during the reign of Vespian in 70 to 79 AD, the city took on the additional name of Flavia, which was the imperial title. All that to say this, very obvious the emperor cult worship would have been existing there. There was a lot of favoritism toward the emperors. Now at the same time the primary god of Philadelphia was Dionysius. He is the god of wine. The reason is the rich volcanic soil was good for growing grapes and that was their major industry. Now Domitian issued an edict in 1890 for half of those vineyards to be torn up and for them to plant small grains because the empire needed the small grains, but it wasn't a good place for small grains. Those are shallow roots, you need something deep-rooted because of the way the climate is there. In bad years, they wouldn't be able to grow enough grain for themselves. And without the vineyards to fall back on, they could have a hard time. So the emperor wasn't well liked, I would say. They were disillusioned with him by that point in time. The coinage found in the archeological studies of the area demonstrate that there was a religious bent of the city toward the Graeco-Asiatic mix, much like in Sardis. It's paganism. And like the other cities, the Christians there would have been in danger. There was also a Jewish presence there as we see in the text. So the Christians are in danger from the pagans, from emperor worship, from the blasphemy from the unbelieving Jews. So, like the other churches in the area, probably planted by Christians from Ephesus, but it wasn't an easy place to be a Christian. Now Jesus describes himself in the second part of verse seven as, he who is holy and is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens. And here's what he says, he begins to his letter. Now this is a different description than as in the other letters. The other letters can be traced to something in the description in chapter one. Either what John saw or how Jesus described himself. Other than having a key, there's really nothing similar. Now the first statement is that Jesus is the Holy One, ha-agios. Now that's a title that's used for God the Father in Revelation 4, 8, and 6, 10. It's often found in the Old Testament as a title for the God of Israel. It's also used in the New Testament as a messianic title, as it is here. Now holiness, we often think of and equate it with sinless purity, and Jesus certainly was that, right? He was in all points tempted as we are, and yet, without sin. Completely sinless. Completely pure. But the root idea of the word of holiness is actually to be set apart. To be set apart in reverence. Jesus was completely set apart. His own statements is that he came from God, from heaven, not to do his will, but to do the will of his father who sent him. That's being set apart, and so there should be reverence given to him. And we find that though the Gentiles and unbelieving Jews reject him, he still maintains that is who he is, that is what is due to him. We're told in Philippians 2, 10 and 11 that there will be a day when every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. So he is the Holy One. He also declares that he is the true one. Alathenos. It's true in everything he does. It's his character. He's true in what he does, he's true in what he says, he's true in who he is. He is the true, the genuine Messiah, promised from ancient times, who will carry out every single one of his promises because he's true. No lies, no deception, no deceit. Now, if you were in the midst of persecution, that would be a comfort to you. The Lord that you have is true. I can hold on to his promises. It's rough right now, but I know what's coming in the future. I know what he's told me. I can hold on to that. Whatever I'm going through, it will end. Even if it ends in your death, it still ends, right? It ends. It's only a short period of time. Second, Christ will reign. You're not gonna keep him from doing that, he's gonna keep his promise for that, and God in his righteousness is going to prevail. I can trust all these things. That's a comfort when things are hard. Now the third and fourth statements Jesus makes are separate in one sense, but they're necessarily tied together. He says he has the key of David, and then immediately says, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one will open. It's actually, the idea here arises through the ministry of a fellow named Eliakim. He's mentioned Isaiah 22, verses 20 through 22. This is the man who had the authority over David's royal treasury. He had the key of David that could open or shut access to the treasury. He controlled it. If he shut it, it was shut. If he opened it, it was open. So he becomes a type of what is going to be talked about here. Jesus is the greater son of David, fulfilling the covenant that God made with David back in 2 Samuel 7. This means Jesus has complete authority of who enters his kingdom and who is shut out. The unbelieving Jews rejected Jesus and his authority. They wanted to keep for themselves the determination of who gets in and who doesn't according to their own judgment about how well that person kept the law of Moses. Now there's strong opposition to the gospel of salvation by God's grace through faith in Christ alone. was because it meant the Gentiles could be saved, they could be part of God's kingdom without first becoming a proselyte to Judaism and keeping the Mosaic commandments. That was their problem. Well, Jesus has the key and no one can shut the door of his kingdom to whom he opens it. And though they were trying to keep it closed to the Gentiles, they couldn't close it. If he opened it, it was open for them. At the same time, he shut it tight against those that would somehow try to seek to enter his kingdom by their own righteousness. You can't get in that way. So he opens, it's open. He shuts it, it's shut. Now Revelation 3, 8, and 9 then contain the first assessments of this church. What was it like for the Philadelphians? What was their character right? What are promises that are related to it? Well it begins with the assessment, begins with a statement that occurs to the letters in Ephesus, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea. know your deeds. The word know there is one that demonstrates an omniscience. He knows everything about their past. He knows everything about their present. He will continue to know everything about them in the future. And guess what? Jesus knows the same about you too. Okay? Now that can be either a comfort or it might make you a little uncomfortable. If it makes you a little uncomfortable, well get right with Jesus until it is comfortable. He knows everything about you. And He still loves you. That's amazing, isn't it? He still loves us despite our enmity against Him. And that's why He paid the sacrifice for us, so we could walk with Him. Now knowing their past and present work as well as their situation, Jesus declares His own actions before He gives the reasons for it. So the first thing He says is, Behold, I have put an open door which no one can shut. This is what I put before you. It's actually an extension of the claim he just made. He has authority to open and shut as he desires and no one can thwart what he does. The promise here is in the perfect tense, meaning it is something he's already done and it continues on into the future. He's already taken the action. The verse is often taken as a promise that the Philadelphia church is going to have an expanded missionary opportunity. They're going to be the missionary church. Often those who try to make this with ages, they're going to arrange the different periods of time when there was great missions going out from different areas. Well, yes and no. Yes, from this standpoint, any place any Christian goes should be an extension of missions. Why? Well, what has God commanded us to do? We're to preach the gospel to all creation. We're to make disciples everywhere. Going, baptizing, teaching them to obey whatever he's commanded. So anywhere any Christian goes is an expansion of missions. So that's all for us too, right? How do you think the gospel got here to New York? Right? Christians came in. They started talking. They started telling people. Okay? That's the same thing we continue to do. That's an expansion of missions. You go someplace, you are the missionary. Okay? I know you don't think yourselves that way all the time, but we should. I am God's missionary to wherever I go. But the open door in the context here is the entrance to the kingdom. That's what we just saw. He has provided this for them and no one, not even these Jews opposing the gospel, can shut them out of it. They can't keep them out. What Jesus opens, no one can shut. Paul's statement in Romans 8, 38 and 39 elaborates on this very wonderful truth. I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now those are words of hope and comfort to any believer but especially to those who are being persecuted. No one can keep me from what God has done for me. I belong to Him and you're going to see that is continually going to get hit throughout this letter. It's an absolute assurance. Now why did Jesus make this promise to them? Well the first reason he lists is because you have little power. Apparently the church there was not very large and had very minimal influence. They were in a pagan society. It's not uncommon if a church has existed for a long time and it remains small that it becomes discouraging because we think we're supposed to grow. But different circumstances affect you different ways. And for them they easily could have been there for already 30 years from when it was first planted and yet From what it says here, it seems like it's still small and they are persecuted. So it's a great encouragement to them to be given an assurance that no one's able to shut the door he'd opened for them by extension to anybody else. So they can continue their ministries and that's up to God, isn't it? Who builds the church? Jesus does, right? What's our part in it? Just be faithful, right? That's up to him. All right, after almost 34 years here, I could say that's frustrating. How many people have come and gone, come and gone, come and gone? Well, okay, this is where God put me. Should I be discouraged by that? Absolutely not. Why? Because God has allowed us to be faithful, so those who are here, for whatever length of time, we pour into them and help them walk with Christ, and guess what they do? They move away. Tennessee seems to be the favorite place right now. They move to Tennessee, they learn to say y'all, and they care about ministry. They say that in North Carolina too, right? Yeah, okay. Ashley is heading home in just about a month. Okay, we got graduates. All right, so should we be sorrowful they're leaving? Absolutely, my heart's gonna be broken as I have with so many others. And yet with a joy because I know what they're gonna be doing when they go wherever they're gonna go. Well, that's a mindset. What God has opened, no one shuts. We will continue to have a ministry here in a hard place compared to other areas because God has so ordained it. And whether we grow or are small, we simply serve the Lord and be faithful. That's what he's promised them. Just be faithful. I'm going to continue to do what I do. And your part, just be faithful in doing what I ask. And were they faithful? Yes, that's the next one. Second reason for this promise, they have kept my word. No wavering in the midst of the persecution. There is no mention of anything negative here about the Philadelphians. There's no mention of a doctrinal compromise with syncretic teachings or having heretics such as in Pergamon or Thyatira. There's no mention of a failure to love Christ or one another as in Ephesus. There's no correction of a dead spiritual life as in Sardis. They're simply commended they were faithful to keep Christ's word. So it's very encouraging to them to know the Lord was aware of them and had taken notice. The third reason for Jesus' promise is that they had not denied my name. Now that's the phrase that tells us things were tough there. Because to make that as a point of commendation means there was great pressure on them to deny Christ. Now that could have come from the emperor cult worship. Could've come from the pagan practices around them. It could've come from the unbelieving Jews. It could've come from all of them. And certainly if they would compromise and join in with them, it would go easier for them. Same kind of pressure's put on us in different places too, isn't it? If you will just compromise, don't mention Jesus, it'll go well for you. They wouldn't do that. They remained steadfast. They would not deny Christ directly. They would not compromise participating in pagan religious rituals. They would not do any of those things. They were going to live for Christ. Whatever came. That's something we need to do as well, isn't it? Live for Christ no matter what. Never deny Him. Never compromise so there is a passive denial. That was a lot of what the pressure on them was, and we've seen that in the other letters. Participate in this, and actually it is a denial of Christ. Participate and say Caesar is Lord, that's a denial of Christ. Who's Lord? Only the Lord Jesus Christ. That's it. You can't say the other without compromise, without a denial, even if it's more on the passive side. So very encouraged, they had Jesus recognized, he had remained true, and by this promise, the door to the kingdom remains open to them and anybody else he opens it to. Now verse 9 is a second promise that Jesus is going to humble the very ones that were persecuting them. Look at verse 9. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie. I will make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you. Now we've seen before this designation, synagogue of Satan. That was in the letter of Smyrna back in Now a synagogue consisted of a minimum of 10 Jewish men. The purpose of it was to worship God and promote the knowledge of God. It's specifically stated in Isaiah 43, 12. But this synagogue, this gathering of at least 10 Jewish men, had fallen for the devil's lies and his slander against God and his people. Hence, a synagogue of Satan. The statement that they claim to be Jews but are not, for they lie, is a contrast to Jesus being the truth. And it is in keeping with Jesus' statements in John 8, 39 through 47, which we've seen in times past, and also what Paul says in Romans 2, 28, 29, and 9, 6. Physical descendants of Abraham, but a claim to be a Jew is false because they did not do the deeds of Abraham. Instead, they were doing the deeds of their father, Jesus said, the devil. So you're really not of Abraham, you're the devil. That's your real lineage, your spiritual lineage. Indeed, As Paul put it, they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel because the true Jew is one who is one inwardly having a heart circumcised by the Holy Spirit. These were unbelieving Jews who opposed Jesus Christ, their Messiah, and his followers. Now the promise made here is pretty amazing. I'll make them come and bow down at your feet and make them know that I have loved you. Now the unbelieving Jews reject that God loves Gentiles, believing that they alone are the center of God's affections based on passages such as Isaiah 60. Within that passage, that chapter, it includes statements such as the wealth of the nations would be brought to them in verse 5, that they would be glorified by these other nations, verse 9, and that those who are their enemies would bow before them. Their ethnic pride blinded them to the fact that Isaiah 60 is messianic. Jesus is declaring here that the Gentile Christians are part of his kingdom and it will come about that those that were enemies of the church, those enemies of his actual kingdom, are going to be humbled and they are going to bow down to those that are in it. They will then know that Jesus does love all that are part of his church, and that includes the Gentiles. Now, there's only a few of you here that are not Gentiles, so all the rest of us could say, thank you for allowing us in, right? Okay? Jesus loves even us Gentiles. That's not something that could get passed. Pointed out earlier from Philippians 2, 10 through 11, that a day is coming which every knee will bow to Christ. But that doesn't seem to be what's actually being pointed out here since the homage here isn't to Christ, it is to those who are part of the church whom they had been persecuting. And the word translated as cause or make, didomi, it has a root meaning of to give as in the LSB translation. So what it's talking about here is the former persecutors will be given and be humbled before the church. When will that happen? Well, when all Israel is saved, in Romans 11, 26. There will be one-third of the Jews left at the end of the tribulation, and all of them are going to be humbled to repent and place their faith in the Messiah, and they will enter His kingdom. But that is after the church age. That's a separate group of those who are sanctified and people of God, but the church is a separate group within all of God's people. We've already taken out. They will be humbled before the church. They will recognize what God has done for the Gentiles as well. And that's regardless of ethnic heritage. God loves people. Now Jesus' second assessment of them is in the first part of verse 10. They had endurance. Because you've kept the word of my perseverance. Now this refers to them being steadfast to follow Jesus' example, persevering in the midst of persecution. Hebrews 12, 1-3 actually specifically points out that that is a motivation for us, right? that we are to lay aside the sin and run with endurance the race that is set before us, not becoming weary and losing heart. Why? Because we're fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, the one who endured the cross for the joy set before him and endured the hostility of sinners. That's our example. They were following that. They had kept the word of his perseverance. They were following that example. And because of that, He gives them a promise. I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. A lot of debate on that passage. The specific meaning of it really is not that difficult if you will simply take words to their normal meaning in the context in which they're said. Sometimes I'm amazed how easy the Bible is to understand if you'll do just that simple thing. There's a lot of stuff in there that's difficult. But how often theologians tie themselves up in knots trying to get the scriptures to say what they would like it to say to get it to fit in their theological cubbyholes rather than like, well, what does it say? So what does it say? Well, There's an hour, there's a time period that is soon to come and it's soon to come upon the whole world with a specific purpose that is going to test those who dwell on the earth. Well, who are those who dwell on the earth? Well, it occurs in Revelation 3.10, 6.10, 8.13, 11.10, 13.8, and 14, and 17.2, and 8. I think from that we can get a pretty good idea of who he's talking about. Every single case of the use of this phrase refers to those who are the object of God's wrath because of their rebellion against Him. That's the purpose of the testing. It's for those people. The test is either going to cause them to repent or it will bring punishment upon them for failing to repent. And the whole earth is the whole world. It's all the world and not just a little portion of it. The hour is a specific time period. It is one that is soon to come about which the apocalypse, the book of Revelation, has been written. So it concerns those things which will take place after these things, as stated in chapter one, verse 19, and then detailed in Revelations chapters four through 19, right? That's the starting point. This is its purpose. This is who it concerns. This is when it's coming. Now with that in mind, it's fairly easy to see that first, the promise here concerns more than just those in Philadelphia. Second, the testing specifically concerns the unrighteous, not Christians who are made righteous by faith in Christ. And third, Jesus is going to keep them from this testing. The word keep here, terao, carries the sense of preserve, protect, guard. Jesus will protect his followers from this coming hour of testing. The preposition used here, translated as from, is ech. It means to move out from a previous position. The combination means to protect by moving out from danger. That's how you're going to protect it. The context here then is an exemption from the hour of testing the unrighteous, which is about to come. Now there's a lot of arguing about that, but it's very simple. If Jesus had meant this was protecting them within the tribulation, within the hour of testing, he could have used one of two other prepositions. He could have used en, which means within, within the hour of testing, or he could have used dia, which means through. He could have protected them through the hour of testing. He didn't use either of those prepositions. It would have been so simple to make that clear. But he used ak. out from this hour of testing. So a promise that included going through the coming hour of testing would have been very little comfort to those in Philadelphia. Because as you read through, and we will eventually get to it, chapters 4 through 19, a lot of bad things happen. A lot of bad things happen to those who place their faith in Christ during that period too. severe persecution and martyrdom becomes normal. Most of those who are going to become believers in the tribulation period will do so at the cost of their lives. Chapter six, nine through 11 and chapter seven, nine through 14 are very descriptive of it. So if you're going to interpret this as protecting you through or within it, what is the promise? Well, it's actually flipped on its head. The reward that you have for being faithful in the persecution you're currently undergoing is this. You get more persecution. Aren't you happy? No, this was a comfort to them. It was meant to be an encouragement. Yes, you've been faithful. You've endured a lot. You're not part of this. You're not part of the unrighteous. It's not meant for you. You're exempt from it. That would have been encouraging. Now the condition which is the basis for the... charge that Jesus gives in verse 11 backs up this promise of exemption from the hour of testing of, because it's about the unbelieving world that's about to come. Verse 11, I am coming quickly, hold fast what you have so that no one will take your crown. Now if this coming quickly was referring to the second advent of Jesus which occurs at the end of the tribulation period, that's when he physically descends, his feet will touch down on the Mount of Olives, it's gonna be split in two, it would be a coming That really isn't all that quickly, because it's going to be at least seven years if the tribulation period started that very day. I don't know about you, but seven years in the future isn't very quick. As it is to you? No. John? Is it quick to you, even though you have so many years behind you? No. Seven years from now, you're like, I hope I'm still moving. Right? But if this is referring, as I believe it does, to the Jesus returning on the clouds, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4, 15 through 17, to catch up the saints, those who have already died and those remaining, to catch them up in the air, that's where we get the word rapture from, to join him in the clouds and be ever with him, then this is eminent because that can happen any time. There's nothing that must happen before Jesus comes and takes his church out. Nothing. Many things could happen, nothing must happen. That's what we mean by eminence. I might not get through this sermon. That's eminence. Okay? I might expect to. I've prepared for it. I've got another page of notes. So hang on. But if Jesus doesn't let me, are you okay with that? That's eminence. Okay? That's the expectation I have to have at any point. Jesus didn't take me home. The doctrine of the imminent return of Christ provides a protection from the hour of testing which is about to come. The testing does not concern the church, and so the church will not be present for it. Now the charge itself is an encouragement for them to continue to remain faithful as they already had been. Hold fast. Don't become weary. Don't let go. Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15. Don't let anybody take away from you your crown of victory. And that's what's being referred to here. This crown which is a victory which is reward for holding fast. Now verse 12 contains the promises given to all who overcome. He who overcomes, I'll make him a pillar in the temple of my God. And he will go out from it, will not go out from it anymore. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God and the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God and my new name. The overcomer, once again, the true Christian who is here, one that is going to hold fast to what he has because true saints persevere. The rewards are all related to an assurance of belonging to God and being in heaven with Him for eternity. The pillar of a temple is a symbol of strength. Even in ancient times, the pillars were, you have an earthquake, the pillars are what's still standing even after the roof collapses in. The pillars are still around. So there's a symbol of strength, but more importantly here, this is a pillar in the temple of God, and they will never be moved away from it. That temple is eternal. There will never again be a departure from the temple. There will never again be a separation from God. None. You're in the place of where worship occurs to Him. The writing of the name of God, the new Jerusalem, and Jesus' new name on the overcomer, they're all signs of ownership. When you purchase something, do you ever put your name on it? Put something on it that says, this is mine. Right? That's exactly what's going on here. God places his name on us. The idea that New Jerusalem is written on us means we belong there. Jesus' new name, we belong with him in eternity when everything has changed. The overcomer has an absolute assurance to whom he belongs and where he will be in eternity. The letter ends as do the previous ones, a call to all. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. That applies the principles given in the letter to every Christian and every church in every place throughout time. There are a lot of Christians and churches like that in Philadelphia. They remain faithful to Christ. They will not deny Him regardless of circumstances. That's the example for us to follow. You need to set that example for others to follow as well. No compromise no matter what you face. I'm grateful that the principles that are taught in these letters do still apply in our own time because there's a lot of encouragement with the assurances that are given in them. My eternal salvation assured, and it's assured for all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even the many warnings and corrections are a blessing because it tells me what needs to change that I might walk with God in a proper path. It gets me back where I need to go. And as we get into the details, the terrible things that are gonna happen in the seven years of tribulation, it's gonna be encouraging to know that the time of testing is for those who dwell on the earth, and that does include the church. We won't be dwelling on the earth by then, we'll be dwelling in heaven. It's not for the church, we won't be there. I hope that's an encouragement to you. Father, thank you for the blessings you've given to us in your word. Father, for the truths of what is written here in this letter. And Father, oh that we may be a church like that in Philadelphia, never compromising, always true, always faithful, both as a church as a whole and as each Christian individually. In Jesus' name, amen.