Revelation 03 1700-1900

 To the Church in Philadelphia 1700-1900

3:7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors no one can shut, and shuts doors no one can open:

The Greek word for "philadelphia" is Φιλαδελφείᾳ (philadelphia), meaning brotherly love. The Philadelphia church was represented by the missionary church, which was mostly active from 1700-1900. This missionary church still exists and it will continue to exist until the Rapture of the church. During this time, many believers donated money and sent missionaries to ancient tribes and nations all over the world. The reason they could do this was because the Lord Jesus Christ had opened this door for them. 

Of the seven cities Philadelphia was he youngest. It was founded by colonists from Pergamum. A Pergamenian king, Attalus II (159-138 B.C.), founded it. The town received its name from his nickname, “Philadelphus” or “one who loves his brother.”  This king had a special devotion to his brother, Eumenes II. It was founded with the deliberate intention of being a missionary of Greek culture and language.  Ramsay says it was “the center for the diffusion of Greek language and Greek letters in a peaceful land and by peaceful means.” Philadelphia stood in a great volcanic plain making the land fertile. The city was the center of a great grape growing area – wine country.  

The Lord Jesus Christ was identified as the Holy God, because He is set apart from all of the other false gods of the mission fields. He is the one true God, different from the idols that the pagans believed in. Jesus held the keys of David, meaning that He could open the door to the pagan Gentiles who had never heard the gospel. It was Jesus who had opened the door to pagan missions. These missionaries were to teach that the Lord Jesus Christ alone is the holy God. He is the one true God. He has given these missionaries keys to open the doors of salvation to the Gentiles. 

The Philadelphia congregation represented the type a believer who is oriented to Bible doctrine.  They were positive to the Word of God. They were characterized by a revival of Bible study and by the recovery of prophetic truth which had not been restored during the Reformation era.

 

During this time period, there was a great surge in Christian service in order to fulfill the great commission.

Matthew 28:19-20a (NASB95) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; …

“During the period of 1700–1900 there was virtually no place where a missionary could not go. Every place was open to them. Today, more and more countries are closing their doors to missionaries. But during those two centuries there were virtually no limitations…”  (AF. Footsteps of the Messiah)

The Lord’s work prospered during this period…

The modern foreign missions movement began.

Bible Institutes and the Sunday school movement and so on.

This era prospered in the experience of believers, because they got back to something that was true back in apostolic times.  The dependence of believers upon God the Holy Spirit.

People through the study of the Word of God finally understood again that it is ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.  (Zechariah 4:6)

From the Church of Sardis, we received he Reformation church.

Now, post-Sardis or post-Reformation two basic lines of religious thought evolved. Afterwards, came the Laodicean CHurch, or the CHurch of Liberalism. The main point of Laodicean liberalism was to remove all concepts of the supernatural from the Bible. The virgin, birth, deity of Christ, inerrancy of Scripture, miracles, and many other fundamental beleifs would be attacked.

 

3:8 ‘I know your deeds. (Look! I have put in front of you an open door that no one can shut.) I know that you have little strength, but you have obeyed my word and have not denied my name.

 In the Greek Bible,  the word for "know" is οἶδα (oida), meaning a word for knowledge which is gained as the result of observation or something that one thinks through. It is not knowledge that is the result of some personal experience. This Greek word is referring to the divine omniscience of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is that full and complete knowledge that He has about the Philadelphia church and the people of that church that is in view here.This is the absolute knowledge which God alone possesses and consequently there is no mistake about what He knows. There is no error.  This word is in the perfect tense, but it has a present meaning.  It is a peculiar word in the Greek, because it has present meaning that indicates that this is something that the Lord Jesus knows about these people constantly.

 

The Greek word for "works" is  ἔργον (ĕrgŏn), The Philadelphia believers are viewed from a divine viewpoint perspective. God says I know your works,  I really know your works.The Lord says I know the real nature of your activities, because what the Lord knows includes the internal part of our works.  It includes our mental attitudes from which our external works show. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is well aware of the believer's secret thoughts.  He is well aware of one's personal attitudes and he knows fully all motivations for what one is doing in terms of Christian service.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ knows the works of the Philadelpia Church. He offers no condemnation to this church. Instead, He offers only commendations. Jesus has opened the door to the pagan Gentiles so that the Philadelphia Church could take the gospel to them. No one can shut this door, although many will try. The Church of Philadelphia was very weak from the viewpoint of the world, as they did not have enough strength in numbers, finances, or language skills to complete this task. However, since they had obeyed God's word and not denied His name, He would open doors to pagan missionaries that money and finances could not open. He would provide all of their needs. 

3:9 Listen! I am going to make those people from the synagogue of Satan – who say they are Jews yet are not, but are lying – Look, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 

A promise was made to the Philadelphia church. On their missionary trips, they would visit pagans who claimed that they were the chosen people of God. These pagans would belong to the synagogue of Satan. However, God would use these Philadelphia missionaries to open their eyes so that they could understand and believe the gospel. These pagans would respond with positive volition. They would bow down at the feet of these Philadelphia missionaries and acknowledge that the true God loved them. 

It is interesting to note that Jewish missions began to form during this time period. As a result, many Jews came to know their Messiah. There was a large revival of messianic Jews in Eastern Europe, especially in England and Germany. There were many rabbi who came to know the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. Many of them led their entire synagogues to Jesus. There were many messianic synagogues in Eastern Europe, but they were destroyed by the Germans. The messianic Jews were a great threat to Satan and his kingdom. Nazism was created to wipe out these messianic Jewish synagogues. Leon Cohen was a messianic Jew during this time period who founded the American Jewish organization. It was this organization which led Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum to Christ.

3:10 Because you have kept my admonition to endure steadfastly, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

The Greek for "from the hour of testing" is ἐκ τῆς ὥρας τοῦ πειρασμοῦ 

These Philadelphia missionary churches will exist until the Rapture. They will be kept out of the Great Tribulation. The Jezebel church, which is the Catholic Church, will enter into the Great Tribulation, because they are a church of unbelievers. The Laodician Church will miss the Rapture as well, because of their liberalism. During the Great Tribulation, the Catholic and Laodician Church will join together and bow down to the Antichrist. Therefore, the Philadelphia church will be the last true church on earth. 

3:11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one can take away your crown.

Christ promised the Philadelphia church that He would return soon, meaning imminent and at any time. The Philadelphia church was encouraged to continue  taking the gospel to the mission fields. If they did this, then they would not lose their crown. Crowns are not given for eternal life. They will be given to believers who follow the divine will of Christ.

3:12 The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God), and my new name as well.

 Those who conquer are those who continue to take the gospel to the mission fields. God will make the Philadelphia church a key pillar in His own temple, which is a spiritual temple. The pillars hold up the rest of the building, which is the body of Christ. The name of God will be embedded permanently into those who continue this work. The New Jerusalem will be written on them as well, as they will become citizens of this new city which will come down out of heaven.  

3:13 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

 Only those who are called and sealed by God can understand the spiritual significance of this message. This was a message that the Holy Spirit sent to Philadelphia, but it was meant to be read and studied by all of the circular churches.