The Message to Philadelphia

The Message to Philadelphia

Revelation Chapter 3 Verses 7 through 13

Philadelphia which means "brotherly love" was also one of those seven cities that the Lord Jesus speaks to us about.

Today, this city lies in present day Turkey and has the name Allahshehr as the Muslim have renamed this city, but even today it still has a large Christian presence with as many as 25 churches of various sizes with 5 of those considered to be large churches.

It is also called Katakekaumene which means "burnt region" because of its volcanic character.

It lies only 28 miles from Sardis.

Maybe the greatest trait of the church in Philadelphia was patience!

The church at Philadelphia was one of those churches that when you walked in, you could feel the love from those brothers and sisters in Christ.

This church gave a new meaning to the term "brotherly love"!

Every ministry was bound together in the name of Jesus Christ.

Every activity was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ.

These brothers and sisters had given their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ and had no regrets in doing so!

This church at Philadelphia gives as the complete idea, on a small scale, of what the Lord Jesus expects from all His churches.

This church was only 28 miles from the church at Sardis but untold miles in Christian behavior form that church.

Listen to what Jesus actually says, as again Jesus speaks to the Pastor of this church.

*****Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

There is no truth in this world greater than our Lord Jesus Christ!

We get nothing but truth from the Word of God!

We get very little truth from the world. We receive a lot of deception, and deceptive practices!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the "Holy One of God"! Even the Devil and his demons know this is true!

Mar 1:24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

The Lord Jesus Christ is true, and He is the emblem of truth of our Holy God!

Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Act 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

Act 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

1Jn 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

It is Jesus who holds the "Key of David"!

Isa 22:22 And 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.

We know when doors are locked, then we need a key. We also know that when doors are left open then again, we still need a key to lock that door for safety.

Jesus holds all the keys to all the closed doors of His ministry.

Jesus holds all the keys to all the open doors of His ministry.

Jesus holds the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus also holds the keys to hell.

Jesus holds all the keys of death.

Mat_16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Rev_1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

As the holder of the keys, then Jesus is the Holder of power in Heaven and upon Earth!

Mat_28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

The world can deny these things, but it does not make these things any less true!

This Pastor needed to understand these things just as we need to understand these things today.

Nothing upon this earth can compare to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ!

There can be no ministry, unless the Lord Jesus opens the door to that ministry.

It is by these things that the Holy Spirit keeps us headed in the right direction!

Again all things that go on in every church are known to Him.

Remember the church is the saints that are inside the building and not the building itself.

*****Rev 3:8 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.

We should understand if the Lord gives a message to the Pastor of any church, He expects that message to be shared with the people of that church. The Lord does not have secrets when it comes to His church!

In fact the Lord Jesus has no secrets at all that are not revealed in the Scriptures.

This church knew exactly what it meant to be a "mission minded church".

The Apostle Paul had written many times about open doors for the ministry to the Gentiles.

Act 14:27 And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.

1Co 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

2Co 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,

2Co 2:13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.

Col 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

Col 4:4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

Col 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Col 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

This church also knew what it was to live in insecure surroundings because this area was a place of many earthquakes.

This church knew what it was to have hope.

This church knew of that yearning for a Heavenly Temple that was eternal.

This church knew the reality of the Gospel offered to the overcomer!

Yes, Jesus Christ is the One who is True!

There is no excuse for any of us not to be alive and faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ all our days.

Even in these days of this Corona Virus, we are wrong not to place "all" our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jesus will never do things to cause harm to His church and He expects His Church to rise up to meet the obstacles in its path head on!

Where is our faith now?

Is it in the governments that seek someone to blame?

Is it in our systems that fails to prepare for these things even though the Lord said they were coming?

Is it in riches?

Is it in our own selves?

A loss of faith is a denial of the power of our Lord and Savior!

He will take us home soon enough! It is never a time to quit on the Lord!

Even today as this virus goes worldwide, it is not time to quit on the Lord, it is time to be as busy as we can without being foolish.

How does God see all those who reject Him?

*****Rev 3:9 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.

It is our Holy God, who holds all the power in this world!

He did not cause this virus, but He could have and He could stop it with one Word! When all this thing has gone its way we may not ever see where the mistake of some man or some government was made, but we can be sure something went wrong and in the end we will see that it was intended unless governments cover it up saying its best for the people not to know these things.

I am ashamed to ask our Savior to put an end to this thing for people who do not accept that there is a God who cares, but if we do not pray, we to are being disobedient and no better than they.

This church at Philadelphia was located in the right place no matter what we think!

It is important where we locate the church buildings. I know from what our Pastor, preacher Sam has said, that our Church is located where God intended it to be located.

All those who travel this highway cannot miss our church. We are right on the side of the road in full view. We cannot hide who we are on the outside, but we can hide who we are on the inside!

I know by personal experience and a study of the Word of God that we get the truth in my church. My Pastor preaches a sound doctrine!

Are we a perfect church? No and that answer will always be no.

Was the church at Philadelphia a perfect church? That answer is also No!

In the end, all those of the synagogue of Satan will come to worship before the Church.

Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Joh 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

There is no greater feeling than to know that you are loved!

There is so much hope given to us by the Word of our Heavenly Father, we would be foolish not to believe what He says!

God does not say these things just to make us feel good. He gives us the truth!

Today there are still those Jews who say they follow the true God, but they are of the synagogue of Satan because they do not.

They are liars just like there are many so-called Christians who do the same thing.

You cannot be a Christian and support abortion.

You cannot be a Christian and support queers and lesbians.

You cannot be a Christian and allow your child to pick to be a girl if he is a boy nor pick to be a boy if she is a girl.

Neither can you be a true Jew if you support these things! A true Jew follows the Word of God even if they do not follow the New Testament and the Old Testament condemns all these things.

The synagogue of Satan and the church of Satan exist today as the Luciferians and others who say they are atheist and all those who reject the truth of God and the truth of the Gospel.

This little church of Philadelphia was a bright and shining light in a dark world, and we need more churches like this church today!

Rom 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Rom 4:9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

Rom 4:10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Rom 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

Rom 4:12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

The Lord makes some precious promises to all those who stick to the truth!

*****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.

We do not keep the word of our patience we are to keep the Word of the Lord's "patience"!

How patient is our Lord?

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

When will the Lord's patience run out? We can say for sure we are closer to that day then we have ever been!

When it is time to keep His Church from the hour of temptation as written in this Scripture!

There is an hour of temptation coming to all this earth, which I believe to be the first three and one half years of the seven years of tribulation.

Satan will have free reign upon this earth, and he will take advantage of it by using his deceptive character to win over to his side all those who remain upon this earth after the Lord has removed His Church, as He promised.

I'm not saying anything, but I just have this thought that keeps going through my head that if the world locks down every person into their homes. The Lord Jesus could come as a thief and collect His Church and the world would blame all those missing on the virus.

Just a thought as I said but this is how easily the "Rapture" could take place without most of the world being aware of it.

The Anti-Christ could then step out with the cure to all the sickness and the world would accept him!

The Antichrist could then step out with his plan to put everyone back to work and solve all the world’s problems, and he would be accepted.

These are just my thoughts, only the Lord knows but He could return at any time!

Those seven years of Tribulation are real, and those days will affect everyone who dwells upon the whole earth, yet the Lord says He will keep the Church away from those days and the only answer is to not be here upon this earth when these things begin.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Every believer will experience a great deliverance such as we can only imagine, and it will be according to the written truth of the Word of God.

We cannot afford to listen to some man or some government when we already have the written, unchangeable, undeniable, truth of Jehovah God!

The Lord will always deliver His Church!

When the Lord decides to come, it will not take days or even hours, it will take only a blink of the eye!

*****Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Rev 3:12 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.

What are we to do? Hold fast!

We must not miss the fact that Jesus did not find anything wrong with the way this church was operating.

The Pastor was doing his job and the people were listening and being obedient to the Word of God.

We are to hold fast!

We are to be overcomers!

A pillar is a special support that holds up an important part of a building to keep people safe from disaster.

Jdg 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

Jdg 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

A pillar can be a memorial for our children to remember us by.

Gen 35:20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.

A pillar can be a trophy received for a victory.

2Sa 18:17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.

2Sa 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.

A pillar can also be a stone set up by the Lord Jesus Christ.

1) An example.

Jos 24:26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.

2) The truth.

1Pe_2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Jesus says, "I will make you a pillar" in the Temple of God.

What a precious gift!

Jesus said, "I will give you a new name".

When the Lord calls us into a personal relationship, and we are "Born Again" then He will give us a new name.

For example, look in the Old Testament.

Abram was his family name but with Jehovah, Abram became Abraham.

Sarai was her family name but after she became the mother of Isaac, Sarai became Sarah.

Jacob was his families name but once he gave into the Lord God Jehovah, Jacob became Israel.

It was at the time of Circumcision the names were given in the New Testament.

Luk 1:59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

But the Lord said His name would be John,

Luk 1:60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

Because he would pave the way for the Lord.

Luk 1:76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

Luk 1:77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

Luk 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

Luk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Every Christian will have a new name.

First the name of Jehovah God.

Second the city of New Jerusalem.

Third a new name.

As in my name Bobby, of New Jerusalem, child of Jehovah God

As in:

Joh_19:38 And after this "Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus", but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

We may have an address as we live upon this earth, but our home is in Heaven and our New Address will be our name, belonging to God the Father living in New Jerusalem.

Listen to the Holy Spirit.

*****Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Again the Holy Spirit tells the Pastor of the Church at Philadelphia to listen to what He has to say.

Our God says to listen to what He has to say:

Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Amen

Let's Pray!