Philadelphia
Philadelphia
· 7. 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 none shall shut, and that shutteth and none
openeth:
Holy and True are attributes of God. (Holy means sepa-rate. True means real.) Many New Age gods
are popular today, but He is the only real God.
The key of David - this takes us back to the Old Testa-ment. The priest Eliakim held the office of
Keyholder in King David's palace. His office gave him full authority to act on behalf of the king. If he
unlocked a door, it re-mained unlocked. If he locked it, it remained locked. But Jesus is the ultimate
keyholder.
"he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth:"
· 8 I know thy works (behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut), that thou
hast a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name.
This church was closer to what the church should be than any of the other Revelation churches. It was
a working, evangelistic, Bible-believing church.
We see here that Jesus is the one who opens and closes doors. We are completely dependent upon
him. He says, "thou hast little power". They were not a 'strong' church, but He was all they needed. All
any church needs is for Jesus to be behind it.
Look at what He can do through the church - even one with little strength:
In the mid 1800's, people began to be converted at the rate of 10,000 a week in New York City. (The
days of Charles Finney) The movement spread throughout New England. Church bells would bring
people to prayer at eight in the morning, 12 noon, and six in the evening. The revival con-tinued to
spread. Baptists had so many people to baptize, they couldn't get them into their churches. They went
down to the river, cut a big square in the ice, and baptized them in cold water. In one year (1857), more
than one million people were converted. The revival crossed the Atlantic, broke out in Northern Ireland
and Scotland and Wales and England, South Africa, South India - anywhere there was an evangelical
cause, there was revival - and its effect was felt for 40 years.
When the Soviet Union was founded, it closed its doors to missionaries and destroyed the church.
Then, the USSR collapsed overnight, and missionaries were again allowed to go in and preach the
gospel.
When the Communists took over China, the same thing happened - they moved to dispel the church.
But there is evidence that the church is growing underground. You can't stop God.
· 9 Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they 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.
Jesus assured the church at Philadelphia that the pretend-ers would pay for their misdeeds. He said
they would be forced to bow down and worship at their feet acknowledg-ing that Jesus is the Lord of the
church.
This prophecy was fulfilled in Philadelphia when the Ro-mans tried to wipe out the Jews. However, most
scholars also believe it is a prophecy that will be fulfilled during the Tribulation Period. Then, the
Antichrist will turn against the Jews. Many will be killed, and a remnant will flee into the wilderness before
they realized that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
We must realize that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is.
Mt 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
· 10 Because thou didst keep the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial,
that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
He promised to keep these believers from the hour of trial that would come in the future to test
everyone. He will not permit this church or any who follow in their footsteps to go through the Tribulation
Period.
We have a hint here of the pre-tribulation Rapture that we believe will take place. John Hagee says:
The Rapture is the literal, physical 'snatching away' of those who have place their faith in Jesus Christ.
The Rapture could come at any moment, and it will occur without any warning. Every single member of
the corporate body of Christ, the genuine believers, will be taken alive to meet him in the air (1 Thess
4:17). Those who have suffered physical death will be res-urrected with incorruptible, supernatural
bodies.
I might add, there are no conditions or preliminary events associated with the Rapture in scripture.
We're outta here!
· 7. 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 none shall shut, and that shutteth and none
openeth:
Holy and True are attributes of God. (Holy means sepa-rate. True means real.) Many New Age gods
are popular today, but He is the only real God.
The key of David - this takes us back to the Old Testa-ment. The priest Eliakim held the office of
Keyholder in King David's palace. His office gave him full authority to act on behalf of the king. If he
unlocked a door, it re-mained unlocked. If he locked it, it remained locked. But Jesus is the ultimate
keyholder.
"he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth:"
· 8 I know thy works (behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut), that thou
hast a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name.
This church was closer to what the church should be than any of the other Revelation churches. It was
a working, evangelistic, Bible-believing church.
We see here that Jesus is the one who opens and closes doors. We are completely dependent upon
him. He says, "thou hast little power". They were not a 'strong' church, but He was all they needed. All
any church needs is for Jesus to be behind it.
Look at what He can do through the church - even one with little strength:
In the mid 1800's, people began to be converted at the rate of 10,000 a week in New York City. (The
days of Charles Finney) The movement spread throughout New England. Church bells would bring
people to prayer at eight in the morning, 12 noon, and six in the evening. The revival con-tinued to
spread. Baptists had so many people to baptize, they couldn't get them into their churches. They went
down to the river, cut a big square in the ice, and baptized them in cold water. In one year (1857), more
than one million people were converted. The revival crossed the Atlantic, broke out in Northern Ireland
and Scotland and Wales and England, South Africa, South India - anywhere there was an evangelical
cause, there was revival - and its effect was felt for 40 years.
When the Soviet Union was founded, it closed its doors to missionaries and destroyed the church.
Then, the USSR collapsed overnight, and missionaries were again allowed to go in and preach the
gospel.
When the Communists took over China, the same thing happened - they moved to dispel the church.
But there is evidence that the church is growing underground. You can't stop God.
· 9 Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they 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.
Jesus assured the church at Philadelphia that the pretend-ers would pay for their misdeeds. He said
they would be forced to bow down and worship at their feet acknowledg-ing that Jesus is the Lord of the
church.
This prophecy was fulfilled in Philadelphia when the Ro-mans tried to wipe out the Jews. However, most
scholars also believe it is a prophecy that will be fulfilled during the Tribulation Period. Then, the
Antichrist will turn against the Jews. Many will be killed, and a remnant will flee into the wilderness before
they realized that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
We must realize that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is.
Mt 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
· 10 Because thou didst keep the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial,
that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
He promised to keep these believers from the hour of trial that would come in the future to test
everyone. He will not permit this church or any who follow in their footsteps to go through the Tribulation
Period.
We have a hint here of the pre-tribulation Rapture that we believe will take place. John Hagee says:
The Rapture is the literal, physical 'snatching away' of those who have place their faith in Jesus Christ.
The Rapture could come at any moment, and it will occur without any warning. Every single member of
the corporate body of Christ, the genuine believers, will be taken alive to meet him in the air (1 Thess
4:17). Those who have suffered physical death will be res-urrected with incorruptible, supernatural
bodies.
I might add, there are no conditions or preliminary events associated with the Rapture in scripture.
We're outta here!