Rev 3:7-13

Philadelphia-The Church Of Brotherly Love

Published on June 20, 2007 By KFC Kickin For Christ In Religion

Now here in the message to the sixth of seven churches we find no condemnation but only commendation. It's the church of brotherly love; Philadelphia. Here's the text surrounding it.

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9“Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. 13“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The City of Philadelphia in Asia Minor was founded in 180 BC by two brothers who had great love for each other. This city was one of many earthquakes, tremors and rumblings. Many lived outside the city in huts in fear. Along with the earthquakes a fine silt was produced that covered the valley making it fertile for the grapes and wine production was premium.

This city was set on a series of roads to connect east with west. The Greeks did this intentionally as to spread the Greek language far and wide. Philadelphia was called a gateway to the East. It was situated where the borders of Mysia, Lydia and Phrygia met. It was founded with the deliberate intention that it might be a missionary of Greeek culture and language to Lydia and Phrygia. It did so well that by 19 AD the Lydians had forgotten their own language and were all but Greeks.

So we see at the start of the letter Jesus is called Holy (absolute perfection). In the OT only God was called Holy. In the gospels even the demons would cry out "Holy One of God" to Jesus in recognition of his holiness. He's also called True. He is the genuine one in a culture which worshipped many gods. This is a reminder that he is the authentic one. We still worship many gods today without realizing it. Some worship the god of pleasure, some wealth and some the god of work to just name a few. We still live in a multigod society. There is nothing new under the sun.

Jesus is seen here holding the key of David. Christ, of course, came thru the Kingly line of David thru Mary and Joseph. Both came directly from the line of David. Joseph thru Solomon, David's son and successor to the throne and Mary thru Nathan, Solomon's brother.

Key to what? He's claiming absolute control and authority to the kingdom. He alone opens and shuts. Only he has the power to open the door to heaven. Look at Rev 4:1. It says:

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.

He is the door. He alone has absolute divinity, power and authority. Has the door shut yet? We see he's holding the door open for them in v8. What door is this? The door that leads to Missionary work. Philadelphia had three centuries before been given an open door to spread Greek ideas in the lands beyond and now there has come to it another great missionary opportunity, to carry to men who never knew it the message of Christ. This door is the door of oportunity to tell them who is the Holy One, who is the True One and who alone holds the key to eternity.

I believe the door here in New England is almost shut. I also believe the door is fast closing in alot of places. It certainly looks that way as we get closer and closer to the end times. Here locally we had a graduation and a local Pastor didn't even mention God in his prayer. Paul said this in 1 Cor 16:8-9

8But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 9For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries

Monday night we met with a good friend visiting us from the Ukraine. He's living in Kiev. Before he went there he pastored here for over 25 years in the same church. He's 67 years old and is now a missionary to Kiev. The door is wide open there he told us. The people are coming to Christ in droves. It's not like here. Many come weeping on their knees. The very next day we got a letter from John McArthur. He wrote about Kiev having gone there years ago. He spoke of the opportunities there and how awesome it was to see people come to Christ on their knees in sorrow over their sin. He said the same thing as our missionary friend and much more. More than a coincidence? We don't think so.

Here we see a reference to the synagogue of Satan. It doesn't necessarily mean those involved are outright worshipping Satan but only doing the work of Satan so they might as well have been. At this time, the Jews were severely persecuting the new Christians. And this claim of Jesus that the Jews would be bowing at the feet of the Christian would be a complete reversal of all the Jews had expected. They were promised and had expected that all nations would bow before them in humble submission. But Jesus is saying these that are opposing the Christians are not the true Jews. Paul mentioned many tiimes that the mystery had been revealed in Christ that both Jew and Gentile would be joint heirs in Christ when he came back. It was there in the OT after all but had been hidden and now revealed in Christ. The Gentiles were now included in the redemptive plan of God.

As a church we need to look for opportunities because the days are growing shorter and the door may be shutting anyday now. We don't know how much longer the door will stay open. There are qualities of the Faithful Church spelled out here.

1. Little Strength-small in numbers so they were not a powerful force in Philadelphia. It doesn't depend on how big we are. We can be powerful with only one or two with God. God plus only one is a majority. God does the most with the least. They are not dependent on their strength but on his. This church unlike the others can track their roots to the late 1900's I was told.

2. Kept My Word-They obeyed it. They read it. They knew it. They applied it. Jesus said if you love me you'll obey me.

3. Not Denied My Name-There are various ways to deny him. It doesn't have to be just verbally. Our actions can show we don't really believe. We may say we believe in God but our actions don't match up. They are only fooling themselves. God knows. Everything we do should be in the name of Jesus. This church was all about this.

4. Kept My Name-Perseverence is a characteristic of every Christian. Christ said, And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22

5. Hold Fast-A Christian will stand firm and will not give in to what the world is telling them to do. As the world moves further away from God, the gap between Christian and non Christian should grow greater as well.

Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit. Faithfulness cannot be quickly proved but it can be proved. Many come to the faith or so it seems but then fall away never to return. Some come with a vengeance and quickly die out. Paul pointed out a few that had walked away from the ministry. It dosn't matter how one starts a race, it matters if they finish or not.

The dictionary describes faithfulness as "adhering firmly to, a loyalty or a devotion to a person, cause or idea." Marriage is an example of what what faithfulness is all about. How many times can you be unfaithful to your spouse to be considered unfaithful? How much unfaithfulness will you allow in your life? How faithful is faithful? How many Christians are dating the world? How much unfaithfulness do you have to have to be unfaithful?

37% of a local congregation go to church faithfully. What about the other 63%? Is going to church on Christmas and Easter showing faithfulness? A recent survey was done and it showed only 9% had a biblical world view. That means 91% do not live lives according to the bible. Yet 54% say they are committed to the Christian faith and 44% admit they are uncommitted Christians. What is God going to do with our lack of faithfulness to him and his word? What would we do personally if our husbands and wives had this same lack of faithfulness to the marriage bed? Can we pick and choose what he says and still be considered faithful?

His command was to follow him. His command was to deny ourselves and live for others. Can you imagine what a different place we'd be living in if we we were obedient to this command? The world tells us otherwise. It's all about ME. We push and shove and do whatever it takes to put ME at the top. This isn't from God. This is not what he wants for us. We have become unfaithful as a society. We need to examine ourselves. We are fast becoming a totally unfaithful generation. The children always pay the price for unfaithfulness. How can we encourage our kids to be faithful when we are not? It's going to get worse.

In v10 he says he will keep us from the test that will come over the whole world. The word "dwell" means all those that abide or call earth their home. They are called earth dwellers. For Christians our home is not earth but heaven. We are strangers here or are supposed to be. If we are too comfortable here, we may be in for a problem later.

There are some that think we are going thru the world wide tribulation and somehow God will protect us thru it. Then there are others like me who believe that God will take us out of it. Enoch in the OT is a picture of the rapture. We need to look at the wording here. The word "Keep" is "Tereo ek" and means "to keep from or keep away from."

We see that our faithfulness will be rewarded. As overcomers we are victors. We see at least six rewards here.

1. Bow down before you-The enemies of Christ will recognize us with Christ and they that once persecuted us will be made to bow down before us...this comes from Isaiah 45:14
2. A crown of faithfulness will be given to you
3. Pillar-you will be strong, secure unlike the city they lived in at this time that was so shaky and unreliable
4. Name of God-you will have the name of God on you as you will be claimed by him
5. Name of God's City-this denotes citizenship
6. Name of Jesus-his character will be our character as well

Consider Your Faithfulness
1. Your heart, your mind and your soul
2. Examine Yourself
3. Encourage others
4. Look for open doors

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, Col 4:2-3

Comments (Page 3)

KFC Kickin For Christ

on Jun 27, 2007

NO Lula. It hasn't and anyone worth their salt in Eschatology will tell you this. Jerusalem was destroyed many times. 70AD was a biggie but not the only time. No, the 70th week HAS to be future because we are still here. He's coming back at the END of the 70th week. That's what Daniel is telling us.

This has already happened. Christ did come in the clouds (as He was there in Heaven at His Ascencion when He pronounced judgment upon Isreal at the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Christ judged Isreal from Heaven in 70AD.

In all my years of reading, I've never ever heard this. It has a ring tho of 7th Day Adventism where they believe the second coming came up in the clouds after he didn't come like they had predicted way back in the early 20th Century. He came back and did something.....had to say that to save face for his non return as predicted.

So you place the second half of Daniel's vision, his 70th week, in the future, but this is an impossible time line. What do you do with Jesus on the eve of His Crucifixion, telling the Sanhedrin that they would see evidence of the coming of the Son of man as predicted in Daniel 7:13?

Why is it impossible?

Daniel was in exile in about the year 550BC. He had been reading Jeremiah's prophecy which said that after a 70 year captivity period, God would permit the Jews to return to Jerusalem (Jer 25:11, 29:10). As Daniel studied those words he began to pray confessing his sins and the sins of Israel.. 9:24-26 is the result of this prayer.

In answer to the prayer Daniel is told in effect: Yes, God will accomplish 70 years in the captivity but now He is showing you that the whole history of the Jews will be consummated in a period of seventy sevens of years.

In other words God says to Daniel that he would continue to deal with Israel for another 490 years before beginning in everlasting righteousness. This is how it works in detail.

1. The 490 yrs was to be divided into two sections. The first would cover 483 yrs (69 weeks) and the second one would span seven years (one week).

2. This 490 year period was to begin at the rebuilding of Jersualems's walls. The first two chapters of Nehemiah informs us that this occurred during the 20th year of Artaxerxes accession. The Encylopedia Britannica sets this date on March 14, 445 BC and the experts are all in agreement on this date. It's pretty cut and dry.

3. Sir Robert Anderson, British scholar and Bible student came up with a formula and you can read all about this online in "The Coming Prince." He reduced the first period of 483 years into its amount of days. This he did by multiplying 360 days (Jewish Biblical Year) by 483. The total number of days then in this first period is 173,880. He then suggests that if one begins counting on March 14, 445 BC and goes forward these days owuld run out on April 6, 32 AD. This was the very day that Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Luke 19:41-42.

Daniel some 550 years prior correctly predicted right down to the very day the cutting off of Israel's Messiah.

Now notice in Daniel 9:26 we see the cutting off of the Messiah (crucifixion) and then we see that they shall come and destroy the city right after that. That would be the 70AD you keep referring to. THEN in v27 we see a covenant that will be confiirmed. This is the 70th Week...it's after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. Can you see this? Look at it carefully.

Certain important events were to happen AFTER the total of 69 weeks: the crucifixion of Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans who are the people of the prince that shall come. Because these events were to occur AFTER the 69 years had run their course and before the 70th week began, there must be a space of time between the conclusion of the 69th week and the beginning of the 70th.

For us who believe this...we are watching for a treaty or covenant between the Jews and the Arabs. In 2000 President Clinton had the two leaders on his front lawn of the White House shake hands and sign the Peace Treaty...for many of us we were watching with baited breath...but it didn't take. But notice in 9:27 it says "confirm" the covenant. So I'm thinking it's already in place with Clinton as the go-between, now it just needs to "take." That will be the beginning of the 70th week. Lately there's been more "peace" talk in the wind so once again, we'll sit and wait to see if this will finally happen. If it does, then it may quite possibly be the beginning of Daniel's 70th week.

But, I think as I go deeper into Revelation this will come up in bits and pieces as we continue.

KFC Kickin For Christ

on Jun 27, 2007

We are told no one but the Father knows the hour or the day of Christ's coming again. No one. So, this can't possibly be.

How can we know the hour? Of course not, but he also said to watch for the signs...just like you know by looking at the budding tree he said you know that summer is nigh. He also likened it to birth pangs. Just like you know the birth is imminent by the pains you know your time is close. Of course you can't know the exact timing your baby will be born, but you have an idea within reason. That's how it'll be.

While he wanted us to be watchful and ready he didn't want us to be just sitting here waiting either. He wants us to keep busy, not just dwelling on end time events but living lives worthy of Him.

lulapilgrim

on Jun 28, 2007

KFC POSTS IN #13

In Matt I would say that v4-14 are speaking to the first half of the coming tribulation with v15-28 speaking of the second half.

St. Matt. 4-14 concerns the time between then when He spoke and the end of the world....it's the Church age and also the end times. We are presently in 'the end times'. The Gospel is going to be preached to everyone and the Chruch will experience all kinds of wars, disease, famines, earthquakes but these are not the signs of the end of the world.

V. 15-20 concern the destruction of Jerusalem including the prophecy in Daniel

v. 21-28 concerns signs of the Second Coming of Christ and the Final Judgment.

LULA posts:

that before a generation had time to pass from the scene

what is the meaning of generation here? To you? Is it talking of that generation then....or is it talking about the generation in the end times?

Refering to St.Matt. 24: 32-35 "truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place."

Both becasue in this discourse Jesus had with His disciples He's telling them about events amd the 3 prophecies are interwoven--the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70AD, the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ.

In my reading, I've found out that the destruction of Jerusalem came to "symbolize" the end of the world. It was the end of biblical Judaism and the end of the world of the Temple sacrifices as the Jews were into dispersion. So very really it was the end of the world in that concept. But for the early Christians, it was the beginning because now they were unencumbered by that confusion and able to work establishing the new kingdom in the covenant of grace.

"this generation" refers to the people alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem (which in an of itself is a symbol). Since the destruction of Jer. is symbolic of the end of the world, we can say that it is also the generation of the believers distinguished not only by time but also by its mode of worship and practice. Psalm 24:6 (Check that number it may be 1 digit off in the KJV).

This generation was accused and condemned by Jesus. It is the generation contemporary with Jesus. The unbelieving men to whom GOd's unique offer offer of the Messias was made but rejected.

The timing and the way people will be at the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment can be found in St.Matt. 24: 36-51.
It doesn't read to me as though we are going to be in a trubilation turmoil. It's going to be rather peaceful and people going about their regular business when He decides it's time to call in our ticket to life.

lulapilgrim

on Jun 28, 2007

LLULA POSTS:

Daniel's 70th week has already happened. Daniel's 70th week was the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. Daniel's coming of the Son of Man in the clouds and judgment shouldn't be confused with the Second Advent of Christ at the final eschaton.

KFC POSTS:

NO Lula. It hasn't and anyone worth their salt in Eschatology will tell you this. Jerusalem was destroyed many times. 70AD was a biggie but not the only time. No, the 70th week HAS to be future because we are still here. He's coming back at the END of the 70th week. That's what Daniel is telling us.

Even from a historical understanding, Daniel’s overall message has been fulfilled. Namely, that God’s spiritual kingdom was established when the Messiah was born during the ancient Roman Empire. Daniel's 70 weeks ended in 67 to 70 AD, by which time the blessings bestowed on Christ’s Church were evident in the world. Christ’s birth, death, Resurrection, and founding of the Church and the judgment of those who rejected Him and His new kingdom are the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies.

What do you mean when you say, "No, the 70th week HAS to be future because we are still here"?

It's true is it not that Jesus said that Daniel's Son of man would come in judgment during the Sanhedrin's generation. The coming of the Son of man in Daniel 7 and St.Matt 26 occurred before the close of the first century AD. So, unless Jesus was untruthful or mistaken, this prophecy has already been fulfilled. Jesus judged Jerusalem with the Roman army in 70 AD. He predicted that event in StLuke 19:42-44. After His Ascension, while Jesus was in Heaven, He fulfilled Daniel's Son of Man prophecy.

I'm sorry if I seem so dense, but I don't understand what you mean that Daniel's 70th week has to be future because we are still here. As you said at the end of #31, if this is something that you want to wait until we get more into the Book of Rev., then that's fine with me.

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