[2.] If the Lord chastens you, be thankful you are His child and He loves you. . "I am the Alpha and Omega, saith the Lord God, that is, and that was, and that is to come, the Almighty." The people of Philadelphia knew all about taking a new name. Yet Smyrna was poor and Philadelphia was small. According to Ezekiel the name of the re-created city of God was to be The Lord is there ( Ezekiel 48:35). But there is more also. The voice of this mighty angel is also similar to that of the strong angel who asked Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? Jesus himself tells of the wicked servant, who took advantage of his master's absence to conduct himself evilly and to whom the master made a sudden return that brought judgment. "There is no promise in Revelation that God's people shall escape suffering and death, but there is the promise that no harm can come to their souls."[48]. The rebuke of God is not so much punishment as illumination. It is not what I think; it is not what some greater man may think; it is not what may be the consensus of all the enlightened minds of the period; the decision lies with what the Lord has spoken. By his teaching we are not only nineteen centuries behind the present age, but we come in at the back of all the ages of human history. It would seem that Archippus was somehow failing in his duty. "These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest." And why so? Behold, I will make of them the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee ( Revelation 3:9 ). Holy is the description of God himself "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts," was the song of the seraphs which Isaiah heard ( Isaiah 6:3). By whom this letter was signed; even by the same Jesus who is alone the universal head of all the churches; and here observe by what title he chooses to represent himself to this church: He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, c. You have his personal character: He that is holy and he that is true, holy in his nature, and therefore he cannot but be true to his word, for he hath spoken in his holiness and you have also his political character: He hath the key of David, he openeth, and no man shutteth; he hath the key of the house of David, the key of government and authority in and over the church. On this pillar shall be recorded all the services the believer did to the church of God, how he asserted her rights, enlarged her borders, maintained her purity and honour; this will be a greater name than Asiaticus, or Africanus; a soldier under God in the wars of the church. But that situation had its perils, and these perils had left their mark more deeply on Philadelphia than on any other city. Another strong angel = sends us back to Revelation 5:2. Laodicea prided itself on three things; and each is taken in turn and shown at its true value. "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. It sometimes happens that a man is given a task to do and goes towards it with the highest hopes; but it begins to be seen that he is too small for the task and he is removed from the task and it is given to someone else. The Risen Christ tells them that he is coming quickly. Saul lost his place to David ( 1 Samuel 16:1, 1 Samuel 16:13). Do you not in this merely sink to the world's level? But it is another thing when we hear of the angel of this or that assembly. Christ is no longer the loved and only object of the heart; nor is there the sense of the blessedness of His coming, which leads into waiting for Him; still less is there a glorying in weakness that the power of Christ may rest on them. "And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him" ( Genesis 5:24). However the future repentance of Israel at Messiahs second coming that will result in the Jews respectful treatment of Gentile believers seems to be in view here (cf. Literally, it is the word of my endurance. Another thing is observable, when one looks into what is said here. . A Jew in God's sense of the term was not one who could claim racial descent from Abraham but one of any nation who had made the same venture of faith as he had ( Romans 9:6-9). Why espouse a book that you can't trust or is not true? In Revelation 3:12 we come to the promises of the Risen Christ to those who are faithful. He didn't want to become one with the Gentile. It is all a mistake, therefore, to suppose that this is a singular distinction, It amounts to this that the Lord will hold, after all, to His own truth, spite of unfaithfulness. The truth is too great for us ever to absorb it all, but daily and hourly we live upon it. Every word of Christ's presentation of Himself differs from the view of Him given inRevelation 1:1-20; Revelation 1:1-20. 149. The Lord sets before us an open door of opportunity and no man can shut it. He did originally, as for instance in the ten words, though afterwards in this very particular intervention came in. I trust that many of us can say that the doctrines of grace are our jewels, our estate, yes, our very life. When the children of Israel had hopelessly betrayed the Lord when their departure was complete before His eyes not only in the first rent-off portion, the ten tribes of Israel, but even the remaining two, when there was a stay and a lengthening of the tranquillity, when not only Judah, but even the house of David, the anointed king, the last regular link between God and His people, failed, then we find that God addressed not His people, but an only chosen faithful servant as His witness. He took counsel of the famous oracle at Delphi and was told: "If you cross the River Halys, you will destroy a great empire. But the point of interest here is, that succession and ordinances became defined as a system about this very time. I believe that is something that God is going to do. To get rid of him, Christian said to Hopeful, "Now we will talk a little about experimental godliness and when they began to speak about what they had tasted and handled of divine truth, Mr. Chatterbox dropped behind. One says to me, "Are you not perplexed about the prevalence of modern thought the new phase of divinity that has come up of late, and the general progress that is being made towards a new theology? You are a vessel fit for the Master's use, and there never was a vessel fit for his use that he did not use one day or other. In all probability they were, like most of the churches of that day, possessed of very little pecuniary strength. Yet the Lord owns whatever is good. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name ( Revelation 3:11-12 ). [1.] The Protestant reads the Bible more at liberty, which is a real good and precious boon; but for this very reason, the Protestant incurs no light responsibility. ], Furthermore, it is not just the testing God promised to deliver them from but the "hour" of testing, the time in history during which these trials will come (cf. The Apocalypse looks on things after the Holy Ghost had taken His place in the Christian and in the church on earth above all, after the Son had appeared, manifested God the Father, and accomplished redemption here below. I have not found your works completed before my God. Does it not strike you as being reasonable that, if God has spoken, his creatures ought to believe what he has spoken that after he has laid down the law there should remain no room for questioning? It was the deipnon ( G1173) that Christ would share with the man who answered his knock, no hurried meal, but that where people lingered in fellowship. In this life even the best of us is sometimes bad. This church is commended: Thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name,Revelation 3:8; Revelation 3:8. (i) He is he who has the seven Spirits of God. Revelation 3:10 is part of the Letter to the Church of Philadelphia (Rev 3:7-13). We are not now speaking of anything conventional. In Jesus' name, Amen. If you will now begin to talk to others about that which you love so well, you will be astonished to find how gladly they will receive it from you. It is a formed and known party of the highest possible pretensions. That is the way in which the Church at Laodicea affected the Risen Christ. The problem is that the words "because you have a little strength, and because you have kept my word, and have not denied my name," can go equally well with what precedes them or with what follows. 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. 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. They had abated in their first love. I am not now speaking of what was done out of superstition, either to Mary or the church, when each was made a sort of bona Dea, but of the fruit of looking to Christ however simply. This has been always the case. The ground of such a thought lies in the fact that the introduction to Sardis indicates the Lord beginning again a new state of things. Jezebel therefore is the appropriate symbol now, as Balaam was just before. Through the lower town flowed the River Pactolus, which was said in the old days to have had gold-bearing waters from which much of the wealth of Sardis came. But if a man has a faith tried and refined in the crucible of experience, there is nothing which he cannot face; and he is rich indeed. "Be watchful, stand firm in your faith," he urges ( 1 Corinthians 16:13). He shuts the door. [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. There is an open door before you which no man can shut. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" ( Matthew 5:8). In the three previous churches it may be noticed, the call to hear is first, because the Lord is still dealing with the general conscience of the church. (b) There may be a reference to the old story of Enoch. He promised to keep them from the hour of testing. If therefore we look at the abstract nature of the angel of the church, what is implied by the term? These went on diligently, as we learn here. And so the fullness of the Spirit as it dwelt in Jesus, Isaiah the eleventh chapter. Every letter finishes with the words: "Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches." The reader is encouraged to "have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches", even down to our own day. First he sees a huge angel towering over land and sea, and holding a small scroll in his hand. Let them cry "Lo here, or lo there," but believe them not. True grace, though weak, has the divine approbation; but, though Christ accepts a little strength, yet believers should not rest satisfied in a little, but should strive to grow in grace, to be strong in faith, giving glory to God. But here He has the seven Spirits of God. 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. They are waiting for Him expectantly without such an idea as His thief-like surprise. In the ancient world to be stripped naked was the worst humiliation. It is amazingly easy to go through a door when it is wide open, and it will be very easy to you much easier than you think, now that you have been schooled by God's Spirit into steadfastness of character, just to say in God's name, dependent upon God's strength, what he has taught you. (ii) He is he who is true. Much of the revelation concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit to those saved in the tribulation is based on inference, but a continued ministry of the Holy Spirit to believers in this period, though somewhat restricted, is evident. That in itself would have been enough to make Laodicea one of the great commercial and strategic centres of the ancient world. 1-888-672-6657. Learn here, (1.) The faithful will share Christ's power at His coming, and be associated with Himself in His kingdom. Read full chapter Footnotes There are seven Churches, yet in each of them the Spirit operates with all his presence and power. The Laodicean picture is, in my judgment, the result of dislike and contempt for the testimony that the Lord had previously raised up. Discipline your son and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart" ( Proverbs 29:15; Proverbs 29:17). [Note: See Stanton, pp. [Note: Ibid., p. Obedience, fidelity, and a free confession of the name of Christ, are the fruits of true grace, and are pleasing to Christ as such. "I became dead (records John), and, behold, I am alive unto the ages of the ages." "Thou hast patience, and didst bear for my name, and hast not wearied. This indifference can be broken down only by the actual demonstration that Christianity is a power to make life strong and a grace to make life beautiful. [5.] Gaping cracks appeared in the walls of the houses. For justification this is manifest; for a rule of life it is not so apparent, but it is just as real a denial of the gospel. the state of those that bore His own name was such that He was obliged to deal thus sternly with them. Revelation 3:1. Revelation 3:3 So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. This promise is a reversal of all that the Jews had expected; they had expected that all nations would kneel before them; but the day was to come when they with all nations would kneel before Christ. The first epistle, the message to the angel of the church in Ephesus, looks at the state of the Christian testimony on the earth in its most comprehensive form, and, as I suppose, from the days of the apostle John himself. The sheep which grazed round Laodicea were famous for their soft, violet-black, glossy wool. That is a work that God is going to do in bringing the knowledge to these people. Revelation (Life Application Bible Commentary) by Bruce B Barton at AbeBooks.co.uk - ISBN 10: 0842328742 - ISBN 13: 9780842328746 - Tyndale House Publishers - 2000 - Softcover International delivery varies by country, please see the Wordery store help page for details. A man did not go home for it; it was simply a picnic snack eaten by the side of the pavement, or in some colonnade, or in the city square. The word that cometh out of Christ's mouth is the daily manna of our heavenly life, and it behoves every Christian, however feeble or however strong, to keep the word of God with all his might against all comers, since it is his life. Applying this to the present time, and our own circumstances, is it not most grave? They had little strength, but they kept God's word, and they did not deny his name. When thus tried, they tried and found wanting those who set up to be apostles. It is another and a remarkable difference. Christ has opened the door for these Gentile Christians, and no Jew is able to close it. Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord is our righteousness. "What I say to you, I say to all: watch" ( Matthew 24:42-43; Mark 13:37). Tell them that this or that is to be found in the Bible, and they look amazed. Our Lord called upon them to be watchful against their enemies, and to be active and earnest in their duties; and to endeavour, in dependence on the grace of the Holy Spirit, to revive and strengthen the faith and spiritual affections of those yet alive to God, though in a declining state. 293. (b) The things a man must do lie to his hand. If you only influence one child, who can tell what that child may be? Isaiah 43:2-4; John 10:27-28; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 6:18-19). Nothing can more demonstrate. "I have not found your works perfect," says the Risen Christ, "in the sight of my God." But before the Spirit of God could fitly launch him into the visions of the future, there must be a retrospective glance. Churches with few men of learning or eloquence in them may yet be greatly approved of the Lord, who cares more for grace than learning, more for faith than talent. "He that overcometh, he shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, and will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (i) Sin is the death of the will. And here, it has been well observed, a notable change takes place. But here we have visions visions of God's judicial ways visions of what would call for judgment in the ever growing iniquity of man. There was no guard and once again Sardis fell because it was not upon the watch. Observe, First, The greatest honour and happiness any church can enjoy consist in the peculiar love and favour of Christ. The early fathers thus Judaized; and the leaven has gone on working ever since. Primarily, the meaning is the great persecution that was upon the point of breaking out against the church. This effect of placing the faithful in Philadelphia (and hence, the faithful in all the churches; cf. "And he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.". In the early Greek manuscripts there was no punctuation at all. [Note: Swete, p. It is the beginning of the changed condition. The Risen Christ urges it to buy white raiment from him. "Pretrib Rapture" - Revelation 3:10. "The sons of those who oppressed you shall come bending low to you; and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet" ( Isaiah 60:14). When the Turks and Mohammedanism flooded across Asia Minor and every other town had fallen, Philadelphia stood erect. It is said of the faithful that they "have not soiled their garments." Your book matters, let's make it your way! Here is something to make us think: (i) The one attitude which the Risen Christ unsparingly condemns is indifference. 54. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. If that light was ineffectual, if there was evil mixed with it, the state of the assembly would partake of it. (i) In the heathen world no worshipper was allowed to approach a temple of the gods with soiled clothes. Revelation 10 Commentary Interval before the seventh trumpet (10:1-11) During the lengthy interval before the blowing of the final trumpet, John has several other visions. There were a few futile attempts at rebellion; but Cyrus followed a deliberate policy. There can be few of us who have not experienced the power of some habit into which we have fallen. Here observe, [1.] People do not care about knocking their heads against brick walls, or fighting against pillars of iron; and when they see that you are firm and unmoved, they will say, "We must let him have his own way." In short He is carefully regarded as man on earth, as the sent One who lives on account of the Father in the gospel as a man on earth, in the revelation as a man most truly wherever He may be seen, whether in heaven or on earth. Now one part of the city was in ruins, now another. One cannot make good sense out of Revelation 3:10 otherwise. Exodus 28:36). Thus, either to dislocate the New absolutely from the Old, or to see no more than a repetition of the Old in the New, is an almost equal error. It is the second meaning which is intended here. 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. There might not be energy of faith for this, but at any rate fidelity to Christ was not lacking, and where this was "To him that overcometh," says the Lord, "I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which none knoweth save he that receiveth it." Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." "Write therefore [which is undoubtedly genuine] the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and what shall be hereafter." 1. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and will have my meal with him, and he with me. I. On that point he is a regular Puritan; there is no moving him." In the sentence, "You have kept my word, and have not denied my name," both the verbs are in the aorist tense, which describes one definite act in past time; and the implication is that there had been some time of trial out of which the Philadelphian Church had emerged triumphantly true. Is not this a very serious fact? It was rich and had acquired wealth and had need of nothing--so it thought. There was deipnon ( G1173) ; this was the evening meal; the main meal of the day; people lingered over it, for the day's work was done. We just went through one, the celebration of Christmas on December 25th. "What shall be after these" must be owned as the true translation of the words. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens ( Revelation 3:7 ); Now he is borrowing a description not out of chapter one in this.
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