Title Philadelphia Church / Revelation 3:7-13
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia wrote a letter to the one who was holy and true, who had the key of David, who opened and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens, saying, Behold, I have put the door open before you, and no one can close it. I know your deeds, that you have kept my word, and have not betrayed my name, though you have little power. Behold, I have given you some of the synagogue of Satan, those who claim to be Jews and are not, but lie to them, and come to them and put your feet on it. I will make you bow before you, and you will know that I love you. Because you have kept my word of patience, I will also keep you from the hour of temptation, which is to come when I come into all the world to test those who dwell on the earth. I come quickly, and you Hold fast what you have, so that no one takes your crown. The one who overcomes will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go out again. I will give you the name of God, and the name of God's city, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God from heaven, and I A new name will be written on him. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Philadelphia Church is a border city 28 miles southeast of Sardis. It is a gateway to the East as well as a gateway for cultural transmission. It is a church built in the city of Philadelphia, which has the most fertile plain in the world.
The Philadelphia Church was a lowly church in the world, but it is a good church with the most sound faith among the seven churches that are not condemned in the eyes of the Lord.
It is not the sixth in order to record this church as the sixth, but "to keep the word of the Lord with holiness and truth, with little power, and not to betray his name" in the order of achieving salvation. It is the sixth recorded.
□ The appearance of the Lord
To the church in Philadelphia the Lord said, "The one who is holy and true and has the key of David, who opens the door and no one can shut, and shuts it and no one opens, said, "Behold, I have put a door open before you, and no one can close it." 7-8, the first half) appeared as the Lord.
"Holy" means to separate and separate them from each other.
The world is full of falsehoods that seem like truth but not truth; words of faith but not faith; love but not love; things that seem to benefit me but drive me to destruction.
In our reality, we usually focus on God or the world, our desires are the desires of the Holy Spirit, the desires of the flesh, whether the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of the world, whether our sermons are focused on the Word, the blessings of the world, interests, or emotions. Is love the love of God or human love? Is the life I live by faith, a life apart from faith, is it according to God’s will, is it God’s betrayal? Is fasting and prayer for cessation of human lust, the fulfillment of the desires of the human flesh? To distinguish whether it is for the sake of holiness comes from 'holiness'.
Although people are ignorant and weak, they discover God's will by distinguishing them according to their own strength, and the inevitable actions to keep God's will, the Word, come out.
If we forsake holiness, the person cannot strive to keep God's word, does not feel the need, and inevitably fails to keep it.
The devil's favorite and desired tactic is to keep people from seeking God's will, preventing them from realizing it, and mixing them in an indistinguishable way. There are many people and some people who are innately different in character and disposition. People with a low distinguishing disposition have the advantage of being at peace with other people, and those with many distinctions are at peace with others. There is one disadvantage that it should not be, "Pursue holiness and peace, without which you will not see the Lord." Holiness and peace seem to be polar opposites, but in fact, the beginning and the progress are two, but the end is one.
There are people who are naturally weak in holiness, strong people, rich people, and poor people. However, as long as we do our best to distinguish what God has created for us, the Lord will praise us and give us the attention. It is the ability to keep the word and not betray that name. The source of man's keeping of God's Word lies in 'holiness and truth'.
We must not let go of what sets us apart from our ordinary life, whether big or small. The world hates it, and people hate it too.
The truth is that 'be truthful' is to distinguish and separate, and to arrive at what is right and true, the will of one God.
The 'Key of David' is King David, the king of Israel who won 100 battles in battle. It refers to the power to win and occupy the battle struggle with the devil, sin, death, and the world.
In the saying, 'When you open, no one can shut, and when you close, no one can open', the word 'door' refers to the path to heaven that leads to heaven toward God. He allows you to prosper along the highway of Zion on the path to heaven, leading to God, so that no one can interfere, so that you can lead a life of success in faith and victory in faith.
When our saints have holiness and sincerity, the Lord can prosper in our faith path and receive the key of David that can open us to a life of faith success and victory.
For this reason, holiness and truth are the keys to the success of faith, and it can be said to be the success of faith. Holiness and truth are the most important things in our religious life. If we have holiness and truth, it becomes the key to open the path of faith and prosper, and we can live a life of success and victory in faith. Without holiness and truth, the path of faith is locked with a lock. You cannot live a victorious life.
□ The Lord's Praise
Verse 8, “I know your deeds, that although you have little power, you have kept my word and have not betrayed my name.”
The Lord praised the actions of the Philadelphia church.
'Even though you have little ability': It refers to being faithful with all the resources you have received from the Lord, leaving nothing behind. With all that he has, (Luke 10:25) With all his body, with all his heart, with all his mind, with all his soul, with all his soul, he leaves nothing behind. What is there is to do it any number of times.
God does not care whether it is large or small, many or few, and judges based on whether he does all of it or does not do all of it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Because it is God who has entrusted you. (Mark 12:41-44) also greatly valued the wealth of the poor widow's two leptons and praised it.
'Keep my word' It refers to keeping God's laws published in the Old and New Testaments.
'Not betraying my name' refers to not taking away the merits of the blood of life and death atonement, which God set for him through infinite sacrifice through great hardship.
'The name of the Lord' refers to who the Lord is and what He has done.
To not acknowledge that the Lord created all beings in order to save oneself is to betray the Lord, and to forget that I belong to the Lord whom the Lord bought me for is also betraying the Lord. We need to know who the Lord is and what He has done, so we need to be thankful.
Verse 9: “Behold, I will give you some of the synagogue of Satan, those who claim to be Jews and are not, but lie, that they will come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you.”
'Behold' is an emphasis on the following record, using it as a reference as evidence, and not to be tempted or threatened by what they do, but to be bold.
what kind of people are they? The synagogue of Satan = self-proclaimed Jews = liars.
'I say that I am a Jew, but I am not': When there are two lines in the church, it is incomplete, but among them, which side belongs to the Lord, it is a matter of life, death, happiness, and prosperity, so it is a cold-hearted criticism, free from emotions, temporary understanding, or stubbornness should be judged as
The Lord's 'mark of those who love' is, "I will make you know that I love you, and I will give you some of those who tell lies, that they will bow down at your feet." When you have the power to keep my words and live without betraying my name, the enemy's shells are self-proclaimed Jews, their core is Satan, and God directly strikes down and breaks some of the liars who obstruct salvation. It is a sign that I love you, and that I hate the self-proclaimed Jew by making you bow down at your feet.
When God, who is omniscient and omnipotent, with absolute sovereignty, and provides holiness and sincerity with little power, keeps my word, and does not betray my name, gives the saints who live despite Satan's interference, the message of God's love for the church. It's a sign, a sign of comfort, a compliment.
What excuses do we make?
“I have no faith, I have little faith, I have no money, I am ignorant, I am in a difficult situation, I have a lot of obstacles, I am not feeling well” I give reasons and excuses. But there is no reason for the Lord, He tells you to do what you have.
“I will make a few bow down before your feet.” can you do it can't you? Did you let the person you love know that you love them? didn't you?
Protected by the Almighty, the Almighty, and the Sovereign of Love? don't you? If yes, to what extent? Make sure there is no shortage. Who said where? In Psalm 23, God promised to do so.
Verse 10, “Because I have kept the word of perseverance, I will keep you from the hour of temptation, which is to come upon all the world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
If you keep the word of perseverance, I will protect you and get you out of the time of temptation. If you keep the conditions, He will fulfill the promise.
'I have kept the word of perseverance' When can I keep the word? Can you keep it in the past, can you keep it in the present, can you keep it in the future? When can we keep the word? You can only keep it in the present.
In our battle of faith, the most important thing is not to worry about what we will do tomorrow, let go of what we did in the past, and do not break the word in the present and keep it. What we should strive for is to live according to the word of God in the present, and put all our energy into it.
How much should I tilt?
It says that you should not leave it alone because you have a lot, do not give it away, do not be discouraged, grumble, or groan because you have little or lack of it, do not care whether it is more or less, and give only what you have. Keep the Word, but do all you have to do.
It says "Do your best".
If we live according to God's conditions, God will fulfill His promises. It is a promise that I will deal with everything you wished for as much as you treated me.
① "I will also protect you"
God protects you. Protection of the Almighty Protection of the Almighty You will be protected by the Sovereign Providence. Jehovah, the Shepherd, protects you, so you do not lack anything.
Who is behind the saints?
What is the God behind you doing?
you keep me do you believe Do you have anything to fear, to be afraid of, to be worried about or to be concerned about? isn't there?
② “I will set you free from the time of temptation”
Saying 'I will exempt you from the exam' does not mean that you did not pass the exam, but because you usually passed everything, the exam will not be passed and you will not need to take the exam.
Even if it is a high mountain, climbing to the top of a high mountain is not difficult for a person who normally only needs to climb one step at a time and jump to the top of the mountain.
This means that you will be trained while keeping the word of perseverance so that you will develop skills to overcome the most painful and difficult times.
This test will come upon everyone on earth in the future, but God gives you the ability to escape the time of temptation by doing your best in the present and keeping the word of the Lord.