03.14. The Message To Philadelphia

The Message To Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13)

Introduction

We have come now in our studies to this wonderful Assembly at Philadelphia to whom the Lord could address such commendatory words of approval. It is the Church of Sardis the Lord found practically nothing which He could commend them for; in the Assembly at Philadelphia there was nothing He needed to censure them about. In the message to the former we find no words of commendation to the Church as a whole; in the message to the latter we find no censure or blame, but words of greatest comfort and encouragement, because, though there was great weakness, all was pleasing to the eye and heart of the Lord. In Sardis there was the coldness of spiritual death, but in Philadelphia there is found the fervent warmth and glow of devotion to Christ. Christ Himself is all the glow and beauty in this Assembly, for He was everything to them. Sardis had a name to live, was occupied with her reputation in the world and a place among men. Philadelphia says nothing about herself, but sought to keep His Word and honour His Name. Therefore the Lord speaks for her and commends all that was so pleasing to His heart. Everything commendable in Philadelphia is connected with Christ.

Philadelphia means "brotherly love." This gives us a key to the lovely features and characteristics of this Assembly. Divine love was known and manifested. We shall speak more of this later. The Lord so ordered it that, at the time when the apostle John was given these messages to write to the seven Assemblies in Asia, there was actually in the city of Philadelphia an Assembly in this good spiritual condition which Christ speaks of with divine pleasure. This good state of things in the Assembly at Philadelphia was prophetical of a revival period in the history of the professing Church when the Lord recovered a remnant to the full truth of the Gospel and of the Church of God, and there was a return to the original, spiritual features of the Assembly. It stands for a broad and well-defined movement in the history of the Church that was characterized by moral suitability to Christ rather that ecclesiastical position. That is the prophetica1 aspect of the message to Philadelphia .

Looking at the Assembly in Philadelphia from the practical viewpoint, we can observe that which meets the Lord’s approval and notice the features which delight His heart and merit His commendation. The Philadelphian Church is a marvellous example of devotion and faithfulness to Christ for Christians at any time and in all ages. Its beautiful characteristics, as set forth with such joyful approbation by the Lord, must have always appealed to Christians. This Assembly represents a moral condition which in a remarkable way is suitable to Christ and merits His own approval. It does not set forth a mere ecclesiastical position, which would mark one out as a Philadelphian, but portrays for us those moral features of godliness and devoted obedience to His Word, etc., which draw out the Lord’s acknowledgement and praise.

All this should exercise every believer individually that we might measure up, at least in some degree, to what characterized the Assembly at Philadelphia . We need to test ourselves by these beautiful moral features presented here, and ask, Are we such as keep Christ’s word and do not deny His name, and also keep the word of His patience? We ought to strive to be Philadelphian overcomers, even in this age of Laodicean indifference and self-satisfaction. The Philadelphian Period As all of these seven Churches of Asia have their counterpart in successive stages or periods in the history of Christendom, we believe that the Philadelphian period has had its prophetic fulfilment in the revival period of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Following the time of cold, lifeless formalism that seemed to settle down over all Protestant Christendom, which we have seen set forth in the Sardis condition, God began to work afresh in mighty power. There were great awakenings all over northern Europe and the British Isles . Later the same mighty power of God wrought in America . Spirit-filled men of God went about calling on sinners to repent and saints to awaken from their lethargy. Finding the churches closed to them, men like the Wesleys and George Whitefield preached in the open air to audiences of ten to twenty thousand and led thousands in England and America out of moral darkness to Christ during the eighteenth century. In the early part of the nineteenth century, the Spirit of God wrought in a special way and many believers were aroused to a deeper sense of the value and all-sufficiency of the Scriptures for their complete guidance in all phases of life. As they gathered together in many places in simplicity to study the Word of God in dependence upon the Holy Spirit to teach them, they discovered that Christ Himself is the gathering centre for His people (Matthew 18:20; Psalms 50:5), and that there is but one body of true believers in Christ. There was recovered to these earnest seekers in the power of the Holy Spirit, not only the pure gospel in its fullness, but the precious truths of the true character, heavenly calling and hope of the Church of God, of the place and work of the Holy Spirit in the Church as the true vice-regent of Christ, and of the coming of the Lord as the Bridegroom for His bride, the Church, before His public manifestation as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Holy Spirit brought to light again the blessed truths found in the epistles of the apostle Paul, which set forth the characteristic features of Christianity and of the Church of the living God. These truths had been lost sight of and unknown to the Church since the days of the apostles, but were now recovered in this mighty movement of the Spirit of God and acted upon and enjoyed by multitudes. In obedience to the Word of God, thousands left all human systems and denominations of men and began to meet in simplicity around the person of Christ alone, as members of His body only, and in dependence upon the Spirit of God to guide and minister to them through whomsoever He would. This work of the Spirit spread to many countries and to many parts of the world.

These believers were but a feeble remnant amidst the masses in Christendom, but they enjoyed the Lord’s presence, power and blessing when Philadelphian features were realized and manifested. We do not claim for this movement that it alone represents Philadelphia, but that Philadelphian conditions were realized in the early days of this revival and recovery to the spiritual features of the apostolic Church. Along with the above characteristics, there was manifested an energetic missionary spirit of going forth into the world with the glorious Gospel of Christ and the blessed truths of His Church and His coming again.

Brotherly Love The Basis

We have already stated that Philadelphia means "brotherly love," and that this gives us a key to the spiritual features of this period. We believe that what is involved in the words "brotherly love" formed the basis of the fellowship that found expression among believers in the Philadelphian period and gave character to all that followed. Divine love in all its aspects is a holy love and intolerant of evil. God is love, therefore brotherly love must partake of the character of its source, which is God Himself. God is also light, therefore the love that flows from God will be characterized by obedience and separation from iniquity. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments" (1John 5:2). Thus as believers acted upon the Word of God and manifested real love toward God by obeying His commandments, they found themselves knit together in the bonds of brotherly love.

One is reminded of the words of the Lord in Matthew 12:47-50. When one came to Him and said, "Thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee," His reply was, "Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." This is true brotherhood in Christ wherein divine brotherly love can be enjoyed. Those who are disciples of the Lord and do the will of the Father are manifested as Christ’s brethren and prove themselves to be members of His body, which is the "Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven" (Ephesians 1:22-23; Hebrews 12:23). In the Philadelphian period there was a return to the true basis of fellowship according to Scripture. Believers discovered from the Bible that those who are truly saved by living faith in Christ, and manifest reality by fruit of the Spirit in their life and walk (even though in imperfection and feebleness), are members of the body of Christ and brethren in the Lord whom we are to own and love. This they saw from the Scriptures to be the divine basis and ground of practical, Christian fellowship. Membership in denominational bodies of men they saw to be unscriptural and a denial in practice of the great Biblical truth of Christians all being members of the one body of Christ. In the Thyatiran system of the evils of heathenism and the forms of Judaism combined under a cloak of Christianity; people are received who submit to its dogmas. In the State and National Churches of the Sardis condition of Protestantism, individuals were, and are, enrolled upon profession of faith in the National creeds and catechisms. Thus saved and unsaved, true Christians and mere professors, were mingled together in that which was but a dead profession. Such was the basis of the membership and communion together in these systems of men. But in Philadelphia we have a return to the Scriptural ground of fellowship in the Lord as brethren in Christ in the communion of the Holy Spirit. The Presentation Of Christ

"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 shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth" (Revelation 3:7). The Lord presents Himself to this Assembly in a way that is quite different to His approach to all the other Churches of Asia. To Ephesus He comes as the One that holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; to Smyrna He speaks as "the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive"; to Pergamos He appears as "he which hath the sharp sword with two edges"; to Thyatira He speaks as "the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass" and to Sardis He presents Himself as the One "that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars." In these presentations it is what the Lord has that is pre-eminent, but in His presentation to Philadelphia it is what He is in His own blessed Person that is foremost and outstanding "he that is holy, he that is true." What He is in Himself is ever greater and more precious than what He has.

Thus at the very outset of this tender message to Philadelphia we have the wonderful Person of Christ brought before us. We will notice that the whole message centres around Christ and shall point out ten things in connection with Himself. Here we have the first one, THE PERSON OF CHRIST, what He is intrinsically and essentially in His glorious Person. The Lord could present Himself in this intimate and personal way to the Assembly at Philadelphia because there was an appreciation of Himself in this Church and moral suitability to His holy character. In the period in the history of Christendom, which Philadelphia prophetically points to, there was a return to Christ and His Word, not just to His Word, but to Christ Himself as the centre of everything. So we find that there was a deeper appreciation and knowledge of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ during this era than perhaps since the days of the apostles. One has only to read some of the wonderful ministry which the Spirit of God gave in that period of the nineteenth century, which is preserved for us in printed form, to see therein the spirit of deep, reverent and heart-felt appreciation of the adorable Person of Christ and the wonderful revelation of Himself which the Spirit of God gave to these Philadelphian believers. We may mention here two outstanding books, written during this time, and still available today, which give a unique and exquisite presentation of the marvellous Person of Christ, and are a prominent example of how Christ revealed Himself to these separated believers. They are "The Moral Glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ" and "The Son of God" by J. G. Bellett. The highest and most important truth in Scripture is that of the Person of Jesus Christ. It is the foundation of all truth and is the highest ministry in the Word of God. Believers in the Philadelphian period valued Christ and His Word and separated from all that was contrary to His will and rallied around His blessed Person. In response to this obedience and devotion to Himself, Christ revealed to them in this special way what He is personally and intrinsically. Wonderful recompense indeed! Where is there such an appreciation of Christ as the Holy and True One today? May it be found in the heart of the writer and each reader of these lines. The Lord wants our hearts, so He presents Himself personally to stir up and draw out our affections towards His Person. This is the only way we can be made an adequate witness for Himself in a time of ruin, for when we see the Lord, and what He is personally before our souls, there is strength to serve Him with gladness and respond to His holy character. In Hosea 11:9 we read of "the Holy One in the midst of thee," and in 1 John 2:20 we are told we "have an unction from the Holy One." Mary was told "that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35 ). In 1 John 5:20 we read of "him that is true," and "This is the true God." The Lord Jesus Christ is the embodiment in His Person of holiness and truth, but more than that, He has the moral glory of being The Holy One and The True One. These words are really divine titles of Christ and not just divine attributes. No created being can claim this essential moral glory. What a glorious Person for our heart’s affections to be engaged with! But we can only appreciate and enjoy this ineffable Holy and True One when there is separation from evil and a walk in holiness and truth. A divine principle is set before us in the words of Isaiah 1:16-17, "cease to do evil; learn to do well." We cannot learn of the Lord if we continue in what we know is wrong and evil according to the Word of God and our own conscience. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you" (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). Beloved saints of God in the Philadelphian period, at great cost and pain to themselves, separated from that which they found was not according to Scriptures, because they valued the Word of God and the Person of Christ and sought to please Him. Thus they ceased to do evil and learned more of Christ and His holiness. So every believer must do if he would know the Lord better. When walking thus, the Lord is free to reveal Himself to such obedient ones, and walking with Him we take character from Christ and are formed by Him in holiness and truth.

Christ is the True One, "the faithful and true witness" (Revelation 3:14). "Whatever He presents Himself as being or doing or saying, Godward or manward, that He is in the fullest and most genuine sense. He is the true Light, the true Bread, the true Vine, the true God, the true Witness." Thus another has well written. We can rely and fully depend on the Lord. Philadelphia depended upon Him as their only stay and support and they proved Him to be the faithful and true One. So also will everyone that trusts Him fully.

"He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth." We have seen what the Lord is, now we come to what He hath . In these two thoughts, what the Lord is and what He has, we have two wonderful themes wherewith to occupy our hearts. The hymn writer has expressed it beautifully thus:

"All Thou hast done, and all Thou art
Are now the portion of my heart." and "All that Thou hast Thou hast for me.
All my fresh springs are hid in Thee." The Lord thus goes on to present Himself as the One that has the key of David, that opens and shuts, and no man can shut what He has opened, or open what He has shut. Here we have THE POWER OF CHRIST, our second point in the series. The key of David speaks of the power of administration and of government. All things are in His hand; Christ has the key to everything. All power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18) and is at the disposal of those who depend fully upon Jesus the Lord. What an encouragement to the feeble remnant of Philadelphia is found in this presentation of the Lord, and also to all who trust fully in Him for everything in any age. The Assembly here had but a little strength, but their confidence was in the Lord and He encourages their trusting hearts by presenting Himself to them as the One who has the key of government and all administration and as the master of every situation. The Church of the Sardis period looked to secular governments and powers for protection and help, but the weak remnant of the Philadelphia era looked to the Lord for strength, help and opened doors, and He answered their faith in this cheering way. Having no human influence or support, and no human organization to promote success, the Lord alone was counted upon, and He manifests Himself to such as the One who has the key to all the treasures and can unlock each door, or close it, and act in all finality. In the key of David there is an allusion to Isaiah 22:20-24, where under the figure of Shebna and Eliakim is set forth God’s rejec tion of man after the flesh, and His causing all the glory of the Father’s house to hang upon Christ. "The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place. ... And they shall hang upon Him all the glory of his father’s house." This implies administrative authority in connection with royalty in Judah in the coming day, when Christ will come in Messianic glory and be established as a nail in a sure place that will uphold all the glory and the vessels of His Father’s house. He has complete sovereignty and undisputed right to enter and exercise all needful authority. He is, however, not yet exercising this power in worldly government, but having been exalted in the heavens as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:33-36), He now uses His lordship on behalf of feeble believers who trust in Him and He removes obstacles out of their way. He is indeed "as a nail in a sure place," upon whom we can fully rely and, as it were, hang all our confidence upon.

While on the subject of Christ and the key, we would add that Christ is also the key to all the Scriptures. Perhaps we may say that He is "the key of knowledge" (Luke 11:52 ). Seeing Him as the theme and subject of all the Bible is the key that unlocks its treasures to us, especially the Old Testament. Believers in the Philadelphia period discovered this and the Scriptures were marvellously unfolded to them. The Commendation

I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name" (Revelation 3:8). What a comforting message of approval from the Lord for the weak, but faithful, Assembly at Philadelphia, and for the feeble remnant testimony in the prophetical period to which this Church points! He whose holy eye sees, knows and rightly evaluates everything, says, "I know thy works, I have set before thee an open door." The works of obedience to His Word and faithfulness to His Name were so pleasing and de lightful to the heart of Christ that He cleared the way for these believers to go right ahead in service and testimony for Himself. He set before them an open door that no man could shut. Though they were so weak they could not push the door open, they looked to the Lord in dependence and obedience to Him, and He gave them a wide open door that no one could close. The door was opened to Philadelphia for testimony to Christ and for all that was for His glory. The way was opened for them to separate from all that was contrary to His Word and Name and to gather in simplicity to His Name alone. The apostle Paul spoke of a great and effectual door that was opened to him at Ephesus and also of a door that was opened to him at Troas to preach Christ’s gospel (1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12). So also today, He opens doors for those who obey His Word and go forth in dependence and in devotion to His Name. An open door characterized the nineteenth century in a special way. God so ordered everything, even the governments, that the greatest liberty was granted Christians by the authorities to assemble together for worship and service. Great missionary movements took place during this time as believers realized afresh the hope of the Lord’s coming for His Church and the imminence of it. Christians went forth to distant lands to preach the Gospel and "all the counsel of God," trusting in the Lord alone for support, and doors were opened to them everywhere.

Open doors for testimony and opportunities for service should not be our primary concern, however. Sometimes believers stay in places where they disobey Scriptural principles because they think they have greater opportunities for service and a wider sphere of activity there. They reason that if they separate from what they know to be wrong they will be restricted in their activities and have a narrow sphere of service. This is false and unscriptural reasoning. Our primary concern should be that our personal state and associations are such that the Lord can approve of and use us in testimony and service. When we walk in obedience to His revealed will and Word, the Lord will open doors for us to enter into and give us more opportunities for service to Himself than we will be able to avail ourselves of. God’s Word instructs us, that if we separate ourselves from vessels to dishonour, we shall be "a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work" (2 Timothy 2:20-21). The Lord wants clean and sanctified vessels that are separated from what is defiling and dishonourable. Such vessels are suitable for the Master’s use and ready for every good work.

We may call this assurance of the Lord setting an open door before the Church of Philadelphia THE COMFORT OF CHRIST, the third point in our series. Surely it is a divine comfort to know that He gives open doors which no one can close. In the Lord’s commendation of Philadelphia there are three features which He mentions that delighted His heart.

(1) "Thou hast a little strength," or "power,"

(2) "hast kept my word,"

(3) "hast not denied my name."

There was no pretension to great power or energy, as was displayed in the Church in Pentecostal days. As we think of the Philadelphian period, how becoming was this feature of a little strength when the whole professing Church was in ruin and Philadelphian believers were but a feeble remnant amidst that which was characterized by abhorrent Thyatira and Sardis conditions. To make an outward show and claim great power would be a virtual denial of the ruin and corruption of Christendom. A little power and the absence of outward display and pretentious claims is what should ever characterize Christians who seek to please the Lord in the present chaotic state of the professing Church. Those who walk in obedience and humility will be granted a measure of spiritual power, which will be manifested as it is employed for the Lord. The second feature of keeping the Lord’s Word is what truly imparts strength and power to the soul. The apostle John wrote, "I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one" (1 John 2:14 ). The Word of God in the heart as a governing and controlling force in the life is what makes one a strong Christian. The Lord said, "If any one love me, he will keep my word" (John 14:23, N.Tn). Thus our love to the Lord is shown by obedience. As another has well written: "Keeping His Word means treasuring it up in the heart so that it moulds, governs, and produces obedience. The term ’word,’ moreover, is very comprehensive; it includes the sum and substance of all the Lord’s communications to His people. When therefore He says to Philadelphia, ’Thou hast kept my word,’ He signifies that this assembly prized it as their greatest treasure, and that they were corporately, and individually governed by, and in subjection to it; and that consequently He had His rightful place of supremacy in their hearts and in their midst. Happy assembly! Would that there were more collective purpose of heart to win the same blessing and the same approval!" (Edward Dennett) In this Philadelphian era Christians became exercised about "what saith the scripture?" as to all phases of their lives, personally, and collectively as to Church order and fellowship. They desired a "Thus saith the Lord" for all that they believed and practised, and whatever did not have the sanction of the Word of God was given up as mere tradition and the teaching of man without divine authority. Thus they acted upon the Word of Christ and obeyed it, oftentimes at great cost, forfeiting social and civil distinctions and giving up positions in the professing Church and in the world. Such actions manifested how highly they regarded the Holy Scriptures and how much they valued Christ and His Word. The Lord sees all such sacrificial obedience and devotion and His deep appreciation is expressed in this warm commendation to Philadelphia, which believers in every age can find comfort in if such is their case.

Having considered the fourth point in the Lord’s message, which is THE WORD OF CHRIST that Philadelphia prized and kept, we shall now notice the fifth feature, THE NAME OF CHRIST that He said they had not denied. A name is the expression of what a person is. Thus Christ’s Name expresses explicitly what He is and who He is. The Name "Christ" is the Greek form of the Hebrew "Messiah" and speaks of Him as the One anointed of God to be a three-fold Deliverer: a Prophet to bring out of error; a Priest to open the way to God; a King to govern for God. The wonderful Name of Jesus means "Jehovah is salvation." "Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Thus His precious Name of Jesus Christ is a remarkable declaration of the truth of His Person, His work and His authority, and is committed to His people to hold fast and maintain in the midst of a world that has rejected Him. We are to confess and not deny His magnificent Name before men. To confess His Name means to own His absolute deity, His perfect humanity, His salvation of His people, and to acknowledge Him as our Saviour, Teacher, Lord, Advocate, High Priest and King. The believer’s whole standing and walk is connected with His marvellous Name. Our sins are forgiven for His Name’s sake (1 John 2:12); we are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:11); our prayers are to be presented in His Name (John 16:23); our every word and work are all to be done in His Name (Colossians 3:17); and our gathering together as Christians is to be in His Name only (Matthew 18:20; 1 Corinthians 5:4). Our Shepherd leads us in "paths of righteousness for his name’s sake" (Psalms 23:3), so in order to not deny His Name we must walk in holiness and righteousness. We believe the foregoing are some of the moral features which were found in Philadelphia and indicated in the Lord’s words of commendation that they had not denied His Name. The inspired writer James speaks of "that worthy name by the which ye are called" (James 2:7), and Peter writes of being "reproached for the name of Christ" and of one suffering as a Christian (1 Peter 4:14; 1 Peter 4:16). The name "Christian" indicates one who belongs to Christ and is "that worthy name" by which a believer in Christ is properly called. Disciples of Christ ought to delight in that name and to refuse all other names than that blessed name of "Christian," or such names as "disciples," "brethren" and "saints" which are used by the Spirit of God in Scripture relative to all believers (Acts 9:10; Acts 9:25; Acts 11:1; Acts 11:26; Acts 11:29; Acts 16:40; Acts 20:7; Acts 28:15; Ephesians 1:1). For a Christian to call himself by any of the numerous, current names of man’s sects or denominations is sectarianism and to virtually deny the precious Name of Christ as the One to whom he belongs and to whom he owes everything. The Church is the bride of Christ, and He has called her by His Name. For her to call herself by any other name would be denying His wonderful Name, just as a wife would if she took someone else’s name than her husband’s and called herself by it. If Christians gather to other names than the blessed Name of Jesus Christ and uphold such names, they are surely denying His matchless Name. Philadelphia owned the Name of Jesus Christ in every way; may we also do so.

"Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole habitable world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (v.10, N.Tn). Here we have another beautiful moral feature which the Lord could commend in the Assembly of Philadelphia. They had kept the word of His patience. This brings us to the sixth point in our series, THE PATIENCE OF CHRIST.

Revelation 1:9 will give us some light on the meaning of the "word of my patience." John there speaks of himself as "your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ." The Lord is the rightful king, but the only kingdom He now has is the kingdom of patience. His own people rejected Him and said, "We will not have this man to reign over us"; "Let him be crucified" (Luke 19:14; Matthew 27:22). So Christ was given the cross of rejection by the world, but the Father raised Him from the dead and highly exalted Him in heaven. The promise to Him, as stated in prophetic language of old in Psalms 110:1, is "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool," and again, "Ask of me, and I will give thee nations for an inheritance, and for thy possession the ends of the earth" (Psalms 2:8, N.Tn). The Lord is patiently waiting for this time when the Father will put His enemies under Him and give His beloved Son His inheritance, possession, kingdom, and above all, His heavenly bride, the Church. Thus the whole of this present period of grace since the cross is the time of Christ’s patience, "the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ." The Church of Philadelphia entered into the thoughts of the Lord and had fellowship with Him in keeping the word of His patience. They waited with Christ in patience for His return. They did not look for a place in this world, for Christ their beloved One has no place here. Their Lord was patiently waiting the Father’s time for the kingdom of power and glory on earth, so they would wait with Him in patience amidst evil and man’s ambitions and exaltations. This is a blessed state of soul and pleases the Lord and merits His approval. May we as believers in this present day also know what it is to keep the word of Christ’s patience. We will then be separated from this present evil world and all the ambitions of religious man and patiently wait for the coming of our Lord and Saviour to receive us unto Himself, and then to reign with Him. Saints thus characterized will not want to reign now where Christ is despised and rejected. They leave the politics of the world to those who are of it and walk as strangers and pilgrims here, waiting for the "King of kings, and Lord of lords" and His kingdom of righteousness. So Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ" or "into the patience of the Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5, N.Tn). May the Spirit of God truly be allowed to lead our hearts into this blessedness.

We have previously spoken of the recovery during this Philadelphian period of the blessed truth of the Lord’s coming for the Church before His public appearing on earth as Judge and King. This blessed hope had been lost since the Pergamos period when it was thought that the kingdom of Christ had come in the form of Constantine ’s empire as thousands outwardly embraced Christianity. But now the Lord by the Holy Spirit awakened His people again to the discovery of the hope of His coming to the air to rapture His blood-bought Church unto Himself and bring His bride into the Father’s house (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). As in the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, there was the sounding of the midnight cry at this time by the Holy Spirit, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." Christ’s slumbering Church was awakened and lamps were trimmed and hearts of at least a remnant went out in expectation to the Lord as the coming Bridegroom. Like the early Church at Thessalonica, they waited for God’s Son from heaven and had "patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:10). In a very real way there was a practical manifestation of keeping the word of Christ’s patience. The Promise Of Christ As an encouragement and incentive to perseverance in the struggles and conflicts of Philadelphia in keeping the word of His patience, the Lord gives them and His Church the blessed promise of being kept out of the hour of trial which is to come upon the whole habitable world. "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial." The hour of trial, which is to come upon the whole habitable world, would seem to be a period of testing and trial preliminary to the time of "great tribulation," spoken of by the Lord in Matthew 24:21, a time "such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Besides this time of great tribulation, when the woes, misery and awful evil of man under Satan reaches its dreadful climax, there will be preliminary troubles, called by the Lord, "the beginning of sorrows," when "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (Matthew 24:7-8). This time will be marked by a special energy of Satan and his evil agents, preparing the hearts of men for the great culmination of wickedness when Satan, the beast and the antichrist will be worshipped. Undoubtedly the events of Revelation 6:1-17; Revelation 7:1-17; Revelation 8:1-13; Revelation 9:1-21; Revelation 10:1-11; Revelation 11:1-19; Revelation 12:1-17 will take place during this hour of trial upon the whole habitable earth. The object of this hour of trial is stated in the Lord’s words, "to try them that dwell upon the earth." Here a special class is singled out by the phrase "them that dwell upon the earth." This expression is found repeatedly in Revelation and marks out those who are morally characterized as having definitely chosen earth instead of heaven, those who have settled down on earth and have their thoughts, affections and desires confined to this present world (see Revelation 6:10; Revelation 11:10; Revelation 13:8; Revelation 14:6; Revelation 17:8). Undoubtedly this class of people have their origin in those whom the apostle Paul speaks of in Php 3:18-19 : "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." They are a religious people with a walk of the profession of Christianity, but in reality they are enemies of the cross of Christ. Having refused God’s testimony in the Gospel of Christ, they mind earthly things and become earth-dwellers. The Lord will try all this empty profession of Christianity in this hour of trial, and it would appear from Revelation 14:6-7 that even the truth of God as Creator of all will be given up by apostate Christendom during this time. But the blessed promise to those that keep the word of Christ’s patience and look for His coming is that they shall be kept out of this awful hour of trial and the great tribulation that shall follow. The Lord will come for His true Church before this dreadful hour begins and thus deliver them from its woes and horrors. We do not read of the true Church being on earth after Revelation 3:1-22. In the beginning of Revelation 4:1-11 a door is opened in heaven and the apostle John was told to come up hither. The rapture of the Church undoubtedly fits in here as to point of time in the Revelation, and then will follow the hour of trial and great tribulation. The Lord does not promise Philadelphia that He will keep them through this hour of trial, but that He will keep them out of it. This is the precious hope of the Church. Believing our Lord’s cheering promise, we do not look to go through any or all of the hour of trial and great tribulation, but wait for His coming beforehand to take us to Himself in the Father’s house. "God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). The tribulation period will be the time of His wrath poured out upon apostate Christendom. True believers are not appointed unto this, but unto the obtaining of that full salvation in Christ which shall be fully ours at His coming and deliverance from the very presence of sin in this world. We do not look for the appearance of the antichrist, but for the coming of the Christ, our Bridegroom.

"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" (Revelation 3:9). We were last considering verse 10 where we have one of the commendable features of Philadelphia and the Lord’s promise of keeping them from the hour of trial. In Revelation 3:9 we have another of the Lord’s promises to this faithful Assembly. The intimation here is that there were those who opposed these faithful believers who sought to honour the Lord and obey His Word. These opposers claimed to be Jews and were not; they took Jewish ground in their sacerdotal orders, robes, rites, ceremonies and sacred buildings, and made an ecclesiastical pretension to a successional God-established religion. In their religious pride and pretensions, they scorned and despised the Lord’s devoted Assembly, but Christ here promises that He would display to their adversaries how much He loved them. He would make them come and worship before their feet and to know that those whom they despised and maligned were the objects of the Lord’s love and affections.

Thus does the Lord minister comfort to His true-hearted and afflicted people. In the coming day of manifestation and glory all will be changed. Those now despised and ridiculed for Christ will be exalted, and those who have exalted themselves in their claims and pretensions will then be debased and forced to own the true believers who honoured the Lord and His Word in the day of His rejection. The Lord will ever vindicate in His own time those whose hearts are set on pleasing Him. The reader will remember that we noted in our study of the Church of Smyrna a similar class to those whom the Lord speaks of here in connection with Philadelphia . There he spoke of "the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 2:9). They are really of the same character as those before us here in Philadelphia . We have fully discussed this class of religious pretenders, based on authority derived from tradition and ordinances of man’s devising, in our meditations on Smyrna and would refer the reader to the remarks there given. This system of earthly religious pretensions developed itself first in the Smyrna era of heathen persecution, and now when the Spirit of God wrought a recovery to the first principles of the Church and a return to the Word of God in the Philadelphia period, it came up again as the enemy’s counterfeit, the real antagonist of the Lord’s testimony. With this system Philadelphia struggled and the Lord termed it as "of the synagogue of Satan," that which is morally under Satan’s power.

We may also remark that this church-party of traditional, successional order and position of pretended ecclesiastical superiority is present and active in our own day as Satan’s counterfeit and antagonist of the Lord’s true believers. So the encouraging words of the Saviour to Philadelphia are of comfort and value to us also.

"Behold, I Come Quickly"

After commending Philadelphia for all that pleased His heart and giving them the blessed promises we have considered, the Lord further encourages His faithful ones in their struggles and conflicts with these blessed words of His coming quickly for them. "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Revelation 3:11). He knows and sees the stress of the conflict and the difficulties of His own in keeping His Word and not denying His Name. In beholding it all, He would cheer His faithful ones on in the maintenance of the struggle by the prospect of His soon coming. It is as if one saw a person desperately hanging on to a limb over a precipice, and cried, "Hold on, I am coming!" He is coming to rescue us from all that is trying and distressing down here and to bring us to Himself in the Father’s house on high. Precious hope! Here we have THE COMING OF CHRIST as the eighth feature in our series.

We have previously noted that the hope of the Lord’s coming was first mentioned to the faithful remnant in Thyatira when there was no hope of recovery of the whole Church. To cold and dead Sardis, prophetical of formal Protestantism, the Lord warned that He would come upon them as a thief. Here in the message to Philadelphia there is an advance in the matter of His coming. For the first time Christ says that He is coming " quickly ." It is a sign of how the time of His patience is coming to an end. His coming is near at hand.

It may be asked how the promise of the Lord’s coming quickly can be reconciled with the delay of nearly nineteen hundred years since He spoke these words to Philadelphia ? To the Lord, who counts not time as we do, it is ever "quickly" - ever near to His affections, and He would have it to always be likewise "quickly" to the affections of His saints. To those who ask, "Where is the promise of his coming?" the apostle Peter’s words give a divine answer: "Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:4, 2 Peter 3:8-9). "For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Hebrews 10:37).

Exhortation To Hold Fast

Connected with the promise of the Lord’s coming quickly is the exhortation to "hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." We may call this THE EXHORTATION OF CHRIST, and the ninth in our series. Amidst the conflict, struggles and opposition of the adversaries, there is ever the danger of giving up and becoming weary of the battle for truth and the maintenance of what is due the Lord. The Lord could commend Philadelphia for keeping His Word, not denying His Name and keeping the word of His patience, and He had given them much light and understanding of His Person and His Word. All this must be maintained unflinchingly to the end, to His coming.

Sardis had lost much of what she had received in the days of the Reformation and was exhorted to remember how she had heard, received and to hold fast and repent. In the Philadelphian period there was the fullest recovery of all the truth of God. We believe that the Lord’s words to Philadelphia, that He is coming quickly and they were to hold fast what they had, indicates that no new truth was to be revealed or recovered beyond that which the Spirit of God so fully brought to light during the era which this sixth Assembly prophetically speaks of. We should not look for new revelations and so-called "new truths" or "new light," but see that we hold fast to what has been fully revealed and act upon it. In seeking to get something "new," souls usually end up losing what they did have. Therefore the importance of holding fast what we have from God and His Word. The great danger for Philadelphians and for all believers is to lose what we have received. We know that in natural life also it is one thing to gain something and quite another matter to preserve and retain it. It is very easy to lose precious things. In the spiritual realm the same thing is true. It is one thing to have received spiritual blessings, light on the Scriptures and understanding of the truths of God. The important thing is to hold fast to the truth day by day and to have it all as living truth in our souls and as a governing power in our lives. Then we shall not lose what we have, but come into greater enjoyment of it all. We are not only to hold fast to Christ as the Saviour and to maintain the truth of the Gospel, but we need to hold tenaciously to the truths of the Assembly of Christ and maintain "all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27 ). The Lord warns us to hold fast, "that no man take thy crown." If we do not hold fast, we will lose our crown. Another has written: "The ’crown’ is the distinction and glory which saints have as cherishing Christ and His thoughts of the Assembly. There is an unremitting effort to take it, and it is needful to ’hold fast.’" (CAC). From the pen of Walter Scott we read these stirring words: "It is not the start, but the end which determines the fitness to wear the crown. A true Philadelphian is one who continues to struggle on to the end. How needful, therefore, the admonitory words to one and all, to leaders and followers alike: ’Hold fast what thou hast, that no man take thy crown.’ Let go the truth and you lose the crown. What an irreparable loss!

It is important that we notice the exhortation to hold fast what we have and the warning as to losing our crown is all connected with the promise of Christ’s coming quickly. It is only as we are looking for His coming as a present thing that we can hold fast and not lose our crown. In this connection JN Darby has aptly written: "If the devil could take away the hope of the Lord’s coming as a present thing, this would be taking away our hope and crown. No man or devil can take away anything from us, if we have but that clear sense of faith which connects us with the coming of the Lord as a present thing. To lose this is to lose spiritual power; and anything that robs us of spiritual power in our association with Christ, is to rob us of present blessing, and of that which is the path towards our crown."

Promises To The Overcomer

"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" (Revelation 3:12). In each of the messages to the churches we have noticed cheering promises to the overcomer. God is always looking for overcomers in each changing period of the Church’s history. He looks for those who will overcome the various conditions of displeasure or evil and holds out to them precious encouragements. Here we have THE REWARD OF CHRIST, the tenth feature in our series in the message to Philadelphia . It would seem that to this Assembly the Lord has given a most wonderful cluster of promises, perhaps the greatest of any given to the seven Churches. Why is this? Because I believe Philadelphia has the most to contend for. The fullest revelations were given in this period, truths about the Lord Himself, His Name, the word of His patience, the hope of His coming, etc.

Therefore the greatest encouragements and future reward are promised to those who hold fast to what they have received and overcome. But it may be said that each Church has had things which the Lord condemned, which the overcomer had to contend against and be victorious over, and that in the Assembly of Philadelphia there is nothing which the Lord censures or blames them for. What then is there for the overcomer to overcome in this Church or period? That which the true Philadelphian ever needs to overcome is the great tendency to give up the truth and thus lose what we have, as we pointed out in our last meditation. Any slackening in ardent devotion to Christ or loyalty to His Name and Word must be overcome if one would be a Philadelphian overcomer. The apostle wrote to the Hebrews that "we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip," or "slip away from them," as it may be more correctly rendered (Hebrews 2:1). To let anything slip away or to slip away from something is a gradual, gentle process and is often unnoticed. We must overcome all such tendencies to slip away from the power of the truth of God in our souls and lives and not let the precious truths of Christ’s Person and Word and the bright hope of His coming quickly slip away from us. Philadelphian light without the power of the Holy Spirit will soon lead to a Laodicean condition of luke-warmness and indifference which is very serious. As the ruin increases in the professing Church, greater effort has to be put forth to remain true to the Lord and the divine precepts. Accordingly, great and surpassing promises of reward are held out to the overcomer in Philadelphia, and of such a nature that should touch the innermost recesses of the soul and stimulate one on to renewed devotedness to Christ.

"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God." A pillar suggests strength, support and steadfastness, and being in the temple of God would speak of the sanctuary where the mind of God is known and where there is worship. The overcomer is thus going to be marked out before the whole redeemed host as one that stood as a pillar for God down here, as one who was steadfast and gave support to the whole truth of Christ, His Person and His Word, held it up before men, knew the mind of God in the sanctuary and was a worshipper. He was characterized by weakness here, had a little strength, was despised by the religious world, but found his strength in God and shall be established as a pillar in the eternal sanctuary of God. In Solomon’s temple there were two vast brazen pillars set up in the porch. They were named "Jachin," meaning "establish," and "Boaz," "strength" (1 Kings 7:21 ). There is undoubtedly an allusion to these pillars in this promise, yet also a contrast, for these pillars were removed when the temple was destroyed, but the promise to the overcomer here is "and he shall go no more out." It is a fixed and eternal position. The Church should be "the pillar and ground of the truth" of Christ and of God in the world (1 Timothy 3:15-16). Our Lord is looking for pillars who will be steadfast, strong, unmoveable and hold up the truth of what real Christianity and the true Church is. But it would seem that some Christians are looking for a pillow to have ease and comfort in their sleepy condition. Others may need a pill because they are spiritually ill. May we be true overcomers, real pillars for Christ who display in a living way to the world the truth of God.

"And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem . and I will write upon him my new name." All this denotes special approval and most intimate association with Christ. The word "My" occurs five times in this Revelation 3:12, showing how our Lord loves to connect us with Himself in these rewards. The overcomer will be made a pillar in "the temple of my God," Christ will write upon him "the name of my God," and also the "name of the city of my God," which comes out of heaven "from my God." He also promises to write upon him " my new name." We notice also that the term "my God" is spoken of three times here by the Lord. He, of course, knew His God in a most intimate way and will bring the overcomer into this intimate fellowship with Himself.

"The name of my God" is the expression of all that God is as revealed in the Son and made known to us in His Word. This is the first line of the divine writing and is primary and fundamental. The second line of writing, as it were, is "the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem." This concerns the Assembly where God’s glory is disp1ayed in the Church in her glorified state, the new Jerusalem. It is the heavenly city which faith ever looks for. This heavenly citizenship will be stamped upon the overcomer publicly. The glory of the city of God will be seen upon him in a distinctive way. All this is in contrast to man’s corrupt, religious city, "that great city Babylon " (Revelation 18:1-24), which is marked by the glory of man. The third line of writing is Christ’s "new name." It is not the old name of Messiah, known to the prophets and the Jews according to the flesh, but His wondrous "new name" taken in death, resurrection and heavenly glory in connection with what is entirely new and eternal, the new Jerusalem, the new creation, the new heaven and earth. The precious name of Jesus is connected with all this and at that name every knee must bow in the universe. The overcomer will have His new name written upon him so that it can be read in him in a distinctive way.

All this precious, promised writing upon the overcomer indicates in a distinct way the Lord’s heartfelt approval and appreciation of such a faithful disciple. It denotes close identification, for when we write our name upon anything we indicate thereby that we approve of it and are not ashamed to be identified with this particular thing or person. The Lord says, as it were, "I am going to put upon the faithful overcomer all that is precious to My heart; I will bring to the front and into prominence him that was shoved in the background down here and despised of men because of obedience to Me." Wonderful encouragement indeed which should energize us on in devotion to Christ and cause us to be true in heart and practice to every bit of truth we have learned, to be unmoveable in this slippery day of apostasy and man’s rights which claim a broader path, and to seek the Lord’s approval and not man’s thoughts or applause. The Call To Hear

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:13). Thus closes the Lord’s tender message to Philadelphia . As in all the communications to the previous Assemblies, the call is given to the individual with an exercised and hearing ear to heed what the Spirit has to say to the churches. May we have ears and hearts to hear the soul-stirring message that would call us to true Philadelphianism, to the moral features that please the Lord and delight His heart. The period in Church history which Philadelphia represents is passed and gone forever. The time when there was a broad, well marked and manifest movement of the Spirit of God in Christendom, characterized by the features of the Church at Philadelphia, and when companies of the Lord’s people were practically manifest as such throughout the world and united in the bonds of brotherly love and devotion to Christ, is no longer here. That era is passed and the Laodicean period, which we shall consider in our next studies, is here.

But, as the Lord exhorted Philadelphia to hold fast that which they had until He comes (Revelation 3:11), we believe it is thus indicated there will be a remnant Philadelphian testimony of true overcomers continuing until the Lord’s coming. The Lord knows every such individual who is truly Philadelphian in heart and life, who struggles on, holding fast that which he has and is an overcomer. No mere ecclesiastical position will make one such; it is a moral position and state of soul pleasing to the Lord. May every believer today heed the call of the Spirit to hear what He has to say to us and endeavour to be true Philadelphian overcomers.

We close our meditations on Philadelphia with the following quotation from W. Kelly: "I do not believe that Philadelphia is gone. I believe that Laodicea is come, but that Philadelphia is not gone, and will never go until the Lord Jesus comes; and that what He has set forth as a testimony, by revelation of His person, will never be rendered void. I do not believe that Philadelphia will go, but that the souls that fall short of attachment to Christ there revealing Himself, will go, and that grace will bring others to fill up more worthily their place. ... If the worldly-minded slip into Laodicea, God is working to bring out of it also, and into Philadelphia, just as those who become more simply set for Christ must do."