The faithful ones will be citizens of the city where there is always the presence of God. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. (ii) Sin is the death of the feelings. It would rather seem from this that the affliction was some form of persecution as adapted to test the fidelity of those who were affected by it. I am inclined to think that the hour of trial embraces the whole Apocalyptic period; that is, not merely the awful time when Satan in a rage is expelled from on high, and when the beast, energised by him, rises to his full head of power, but the previous period of trouble, seduction, and judgment. Habits grow upon him until he can no longer break them. Why, these are the treasures of men, and they shall pass away. Saul lost his place to David ( 1 Samuel 16:1, 1 Samuel 16:13). This was that in the new age, all nations would do humble homage to the Jews. That amount of gold would be equal to 15,000 silver drachmae. ], THE LETTER TO SARDIS ( Revelation 3:1-6 ). When in A.D. 17 a terrible earthquake devastated their city and Tiberius, the Emperor, dealt kindly with them, remitting taxation and making a generous gift to rebuild it, they in their gratitude, called the city Neocaesarea, the New City of Caesar, and later when Vespasian was kind to them, they called it Flavia, for that was the family name of Vespasian. . They have the awful ignominy of Judaizing the church of God. Do not imagine that there is anything like arbitrary innovation in this. 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." Hence all the fulness of divine light that had come out in Christ's person and work, as well as by the Spirit in the church of God, is necessary to be taken into account in order to give the Apocalypse its just bearing. The only possible way I can understand of exempting any from the time is by taking them out of the scene. And are you not to walk as He? And here we have for our instruction the fact, that the synagogue of Satan of those who say they are Jews, and are not revives. In Revelation 3:10 we are back again amidst beliefs which are characteristically Jewish. Writing to the Corinthians of the work which lies ahead of him, Paul says: "For a wide door for effective work has opened to me" ( 1 Corinthians 16:9). They had here relaxed, but not in their works. REV 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, 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. It is, in fact, God's final punishment to leave a man alone. But nay, this will not do for Christ. (b) It denotes the Spirit in his sevenfold operation. We may first note that the key is the symbol of authority. This seems conveyed in the peculiarity of the words: so careful is the Holy Ghost to watch over the glory of Christ even in that which told out the depths of His humiliation. "And he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.". Primarily, the meaning is the great persecution that was upon the point of breaking out against the church. The hour of trial What is the great trial which is coming upon the whole world? It was not merely the tendency of individuals. 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. Laodicea was so proud of the garments it produced that it never realized it was naked in the sight of God. In the time of judgment those who are written in the book will be delivered ( Daniel 12:1). This phrase, as it stands in English, is ambiguous. Here is your anchorage. 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. Jesus Christ will mark his faithful ones with his new name: what that name was we need not even speculate, for no man knows it ( Revelation 19:12), but in the time to come, when Christ has conquered all, his faithful ones will bear the badge which shows that they are his and share his triumph. What do the white robes signify? It was adapted by the church. "To you I say, the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not known this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. The meaning appears to be that, as "angel" is used in the sense of representative, whether an angelic being or not, so in reference to the assemblies the Lord here avails Himself of this general truth. ], Fifth, Jesus Christ will identify with His faithful people. We have seen how it was a border town, standing where the boundaries of Lydia, Mysia and Phrygia met, and founded to be a missionary of Greek language and culture to the barbarous peoples beyond. for thou hast a little strength ( Revelation 3:8 ). What is the meaning of this open door? Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, perfect one" (SS 5:2-6). Hence what judges Protestantism is this, that they have the testimony of God's word much more fully than those who had sunk into the mere ecclesiastical formalism of the middle ages. This prepares us for the true meaning of the remarkable chancre in the Apocalypse as compared with the rest of the New Testament. Philadelphia, The Open Door ( Revelation 3:7-13 Continued). If you beat him with the rod you will save his life from Sheol" ( Proverbs 23:13-14). The time came when the narrow space on the top of the plateau was too small for the expanding city; and Sardis grew round the foot of the spur on which the citadel stood. In the pagan world devotees of certain gods often wrote the name of their god on their forehead (cf. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. The Pastoral Epistles describe those who had drifted away from the true faith by saying that they had a form of godliness but denied its power ( 2 Timothy 3:5). Since the whole Philadelphia church was faithful (Revelation 3:8) Revelation 3:10 is probably not an inducement to remain faithful. III. In Revelation 3:10 in the Greek the phrase my command to endure is highly concentrated. The road from Ephesus to the east and to Syria was the most important in Asia. When another subject is about to open, the first voice which he heard as of a trumpet talking with him said "Come up hither;" there is no question then of a voice behind. And here He is loving the church in this sad condition. Revelation 3:10-11 New King James Version 10 Because you have kept [ a]My command to persevere,I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come uponthe whole world, to test those who dwellon the earth. We shall never grow stronger by leaving the eternal word. 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. Both Puritan Dispensationalists and Partial Rapturists agree that in order to be raptured, one must be faithful. God is holy because he is different from men; he has that quality of being which belongs to him alone. Revelation 3:8-10King James Version. 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. (2.) Here is something to make us think: (i) The one attitude which the Risen Christ unsparingly condemns is indifference. 149. 11 [ b]Behold,I am coming quickly!Hold fast what you have, that no one may takeyour crown. "He that loveth his son will continue to lay stripes upon him, that he may have joy of him in the end. Strabo describes the scene. Those who still dared to live in the city were reckoned mad; they spent their time shoring up the shaking buildings and every now and then fleeing to the open spaces for safety. THE LETTER TO LAODICEA ( Revelation 3:14-22 ). In chapter one, He was known as the faithful and the true witness. Have we not heard of it? And too many souls overall miss the wonder, inspiration, and comfort gained by those who would endeavor toward . Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy ( Revelation 3:4 ). We have seen this just before. God means to use you. [2.] Toggle navigation SharedBookshelves. The armies of Caesar travelled that road; the caravans of the merchant-men travelled it; and now it was beckoning the missionaries of Christ. Seven hundred years before this letter was written Sardis had been one of the greatest cities in the world. The words of the Risen Christ arise directly from the prosperity and the skill in which Laodicea took so much pride and which had in the minds of its citizens, and even of its Church, eliminated the need for God. Every letter finishes with the words: "Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches." Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found your works (complete) before God ( Revelation 3:2 ). Some would get a few copies of the New Testament, and go about and sell them in their baskets; and so they kept the truth. Two other roads passed through the gates of Laodicea, that from Pergamum and the Hermus Valley to Pisidia and Pamphylia and the coast at Perga and that from eastern Caria to central and west Phrygia. But the Lord will compel the recognition of His own testimony. [Note: Chitwood, p. 101. After the death of Alexander there were many claimants for the power. (a) We see the pleading of Christ. Pharaoh honoured Joseph by clothing him in vestures of fine linen ( Genesis 41:42). There was failure in this respect. Here again it is all comprehensive. Chillingworth said what ought to be true, though I am afraid that it is not "The Bible and the Bible alone is the religion of Protestants." To those who have been true the promise is that they will walk with God. He puts His voucher on the book from the beginning. They might be hurt by the first, they would not be by that which follows and is final. (b) We see the offer of Christ. [Note: Swete, p. Here is the picture of Jesus Christ as the one who has the final authority which no one can question. Christ is to be acknowledged as the author of all the liberty and opportunity his churches enjoy. There were a few futile attempts at rebellion; but Cyrus followed a deliberate policy. Whatever discovery may be made by the wise men of the age, let Christ be wisdom unto you. to be of no esteem in the world? They appreciated it: they fed upon it. A Church which is so lethargic as to fail to produce a heresy is mentally dead; and a Church which is so negative as to fail to produce opposition is dead in its witness to Christ. This was a pity; but as it was their misfortune and not their fault, they were not blamed for it. Did He thus walk? This is not at all the way in which His coming is spoken of for His own. (2.) 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. 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. Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom. These are the men that Christ shall stoop from his throne to honour: they that have trifled with his word shall be lightly esteemed: they that have wilfully broken one of the least of his commandments, and have taught men so, shall be least in the kingdom of heaven. He will be as much marked by power in the day of glory, as by contented weakness in the present scene of grace. 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. [4.] We must therefore look for another explanation. You will sing as we did just now, and as I sang very heartily, "Let all the forms that men devise Assault my soul with treacherous art I'll call them vanity and lies, And bind the gospel to my heart.". When they reached the top they found the battlements completely unguarded. The names of Paul's fellow-labourers for God are written in the book of life ( Php_4:3 ). Too many of us are Christian one moment and unchristian the next. Warriors guard kings, and crowns, and thrones; but the living truth of the living God is infinitely more worthy of our watch. I have the key of David. But before the Spirit of God could fitly launch him into the visions of the future, there must be a retrospective glance. We long to know Your truth. Of all things indifference is the hardest to combat. The stars stand for the Churches and their angels. 453-55. [1.] Learn here, (1.) In Paul's last address to the elders of Ephesus he warns them that grievous wolves will invade the flock from outside and from inside men will arise to speak perverse things. (a) This may be a promise of security. The Philadelphian saints, like the limpet, which has but little strength, stuck firmly to the rock, and they are commended for it. Directly opposite Laodicea, on the other bank of the Lycus, and in full view, stood Hierapolis, famous for its hot mineral springs. 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. ], Fourth, God promised that He will not just honor overcomers by erecting a pillar in their name in heaven, as was the custom in Philadelphia. God's thoughts are as high above ours as the heavens are above the earth; dare we drag them down and sit in judgment on them? 4. We are not now speaking of anything conventional. It is the fruit of the patience of God to a sinful world; it sets before men the exemplary patience of Christ in all his sufferings for men; it calls those that receive it to the exercise of patience in conformity to Christ. 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