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Psalms 94:14-23 For the LORD
will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. But judgment
will return to righteousness, And all the upright in heart will follow it. Who
will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the
workers of iniquity? Unless the LORD had
been my help, My soul would soon have settled in silence. If I say,
"My foot slips," Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up. In the
multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul. Shall the
throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You? They
gather together against the life of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood.
But the LORD has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge. He has
brought on them their own iniquity, And shall cut them off in their own
wickedness; The LORD our God shall cut them off.
Father God we thank you for giving your Son Jesus to die
for us. We celebrate His resurrection this weekend and give Him all the Glory
for defeating Satan for us. Something we cannot do on our own. In Jesus name I
pray. Amen!
Revelation 3:7-13 NKJV
This
week’s lesson is on the church of Philadelphia. Philadelphia means, “Brotherly Love”,
a city of Lydia in Asia Minor, about 25 miles south-east of Sardis. Philadelphia
was founded by the citizens of Pergamum. It was one of the “seven churches”. The
city was destroyed by an earthquake in 17 A.D. when Tiberius reigned and almost
several times thereafter. It came into the possession of the Turks in 1392 A.D.
Philadelphia and Smyrna, are the only two churches that received unadulterated
praise from Jesus. To Smyrna the promise is, "the synagogue of Satan"
should not prevail against her faithful ones; to Philadelphia, she should even
win over some of "the synagogue of Satan," meaning a missionary church. This church represents a Missionary
era in the Church Age timeline, which began around the late 1700 – 1800’s.
The
community was built in a frontier area as a gateway to the central plateau of
Asia Minor. It stood upon a terrace 650 ft. above the sea, and to one side of
the city were volcanic cliffs to which the Turks have given the name of Devitt,
or “inkwells”; on the other side of the city the land is exceedingly fertile. Philadelphia's residents kept barbarians out
of the region and brought in Greek culture and language. As in most Asia Minor
cities, many Jews lived there, and they possessed a synagogue.
It had
many names and Philadelphia was given in honor of Attalus II, because of his
loyalty to his elder brother, Eumenes II, king of Lydia. Still another name of
the city was Decapolis, because it was considered as one of the ten cities of
the plain. A third name which it bore during the 1st century. AD was
Neo-kaisaria; it appeared upon the coins during that period. During the reign
of Vespasian, it was called Flavia. Its modern name, Ala-shehir,
is considered by some to be a altered form of the Turkish words Allah-shehir,
“the city of God,” but more likely it is a name given from the reddish color of
the soil. In addition to all of these names it sometimes bore the title of
“Little Athens” because of the magnificence of the temples and other public
buildings which adorned it.
7 "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":
He who is holy, He who is true; “He”, of course is referring to Jesus and He is holy. He
is declared holy even before he was conceived. Luke 1:35 And the
angel answered and said to her, "The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow
you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of
God. There is no
other that has walked this earth that was, is, or will be more Holy or True. He
is righteous and white as new fallen snow. His character is God, and He is a
separate person. Anyone believing there has been anyone else that has walked
this earth that is holy and true and without sin is believing in manmade
doctrine. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God.
HE WHO HAS THE KEY OF DAVID, HE WHO OPENS AND NO ONE SHUTS, AND
SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS; This
phrase of this verse is taken from Isaiah
22:22 The key of the house of David
I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he
shall shut, and no one shall open. Jesus
has the key and is the authority over all things, including Satan. Jesus
bruised the head of Satan at the Cross. Genesis 3:15 And I will
put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He
shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." God has given this authority to His
Son Jesus and it is Jesus we will stand in front of come judgment day. He opens
and closes all doors in our life and it all balances on keeping our faith fixed
on the Cross of Christ.
Of
the house which David built for his royal residence; that is, of the palace.
This house was on Mount Zion; and to have the key of that house was to have the
chief authority at court, or to be prime minister. To be put in possession of
that key, therefore, was the mark of office, or was a sign that he was
entrusted with the chief authority in the government. (Barnes)
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.
I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no
one can shut it; The Church of
Philadelphia was doing many things for Jesus and all for the right reasons.
They were works out of love for Jesus and not works that a person would do
thinking they were suppose to or that they would gain merit with God. Because
they were doing these things from the heart Jesus is telling them that He has set
an open door in front of them and no one can close it not even Satan. What are
these works? They are works to promote the Gospel; to bring people to Christ.
Paul talks about these open doors that were open to him. Colossians 4:3 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. Act 14:27;
1 Corinthians 16:9; 2Corinthians 2:12
There is a lesson to be
learned here that we can apply to our present day lives. As human beings many
times we get ideas of doing something for God and we lower our shoulder and
blast our way right through the door and then find out we have really messed
things up or think we had the wrong message. Chances are the message was
correct, but as a human being we take the matter into our own hands instead of
patiently waiting and praying for God to open the door in His time frame.
For instance two or three
years ago I had a message to start a church in Streator based on the book of
Acts. I expressed this thought with other close Christians, but just blew the
thought away. This thought has kept coming to the fore front of my mind from
time to time, but my thinking was no way I could do this, what did I know about
starting a church. Well since the beginning of the year some doors have been
opened for, and to me, and this thought is coming to birth, so it seems. Not
that I’m doing this, but I’m helping two brothers in Christ with this and very
much involved. Presently I’m taking one day at a time and listening intently to
the Holy Spirit for guidance, because I want this to be for God’s Kingdom and
not my pride. Jesus is opening these doors, but if I’d have blast forward the
first time I was given this thought it would have failed. We have to be in
prayer and wait on God. It is His timeline not ours. So my advice is prayer
when thoughts of such come out of nowhere, wait on the Lord, and submit your
all to Jesus. I accept all prayers for this to succeed!
For you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not
denied My name; This
phrase could mean individual strength or little strength in numbers. We have no
strength on our own to overcome the wiles of this life to do the works of Jesus.
So what this represents, is when one is Born Again we gain great strength,
spiritual strength when the Holy Spirit takes up residence within our heart. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you
not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? It is with this strength we are able
to do the works mention at the beginning of this verse. Without this strength
we would not even think about doing God’s works, but the Holy Spirit gives us
the strength we need to carry out His will. Without this spiritual strength we
cannot function in a Christ like manner. 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said
to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My
strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will
rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
The rest of this verse is
what greatly pleases God Almighty. When we keep his word and not deny His name,
He magnifies His strength within us, and He opens doors for His children. This
church was functioning according to God’s word and being directed by the Holy
Spirit and Jesus was well please with these actions. This also holds true in
our life. If we believe all the Bible teaches, stay true to Jesus Holy Words,
stand up and not deny His name, and place our faith exclusively in what and why
Jesus died on the Cross, then He will bless us and open doors.
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.
Indeed I will make those
of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie; Jesus makes mention here again, of
the Jews that proclaim to be God’s children because they are a Jew and they
practice their customs and religion, but in reality belong to Satan. Many
living today make this same claim that they are God’s children because they
grew up in a Christian home and belong to a specific religious denomination.
Whether Jew or modern day Gentile, if ones faith is in their heritage and
religion, they are not one of God’s children based on Bible facts. These Jews
and modern day Christians are liars and deceive themselves. 1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and
walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to
know that I have loved you;
This phrase is referring to the Kingdom Age which is right after the second coming
of Christ, Armageddon. All of the Born Again Saints will rule and reign with
Jesus Christ over the entirety of the Earth. With Israel restored they will
then bow at the feet of Christ, whom the Gentiles accepted.
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.
This verse is a very
controversial verse pertaining to the Rapture. Jesus is telling the church,
meaning God’s children by Spiritual Birth, will be spared from the hour of
tribulation that will take place here on earth in the near future. I believe we
will see some of these tribulations before the Rapture happens, but not to the
extent that will happen during the seven years. Statistics show there is an
increase in earthquakes, tsunamis, drought, floods, severe storms, tornadoes,
hurricanes, etc. compared to 50 years ago, not to mention the world
governmental turmoil and economical situations. Base on what Jesus states in
this verse, “I also will keep you from
the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world,” I believe the
Rapture will happen at the beginning of the seven year tribulation. The key
words here are, “I will keep you”. The church is the bride of Jesus; the church
is part of Jesus body (Romans
12:5 so we, being
many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.); He is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also
Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.); we are one in Christ when we become
a true believer (1
Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members
individually.); if you believe
this then why would one think Jesus would allow us to suffer any part of the
tribulation. Another verse in the OT also refers to God’s righteous people
being removed to avoid tribulation here on earth. Isaiah 57:1 The
righteous perishes, And no man takes it
to heart; Merciful men are
taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil. If Jesus allowed his body, bride,
church to be subjected to the trials during the Tribulation, then wouldn’t He
also endure the suffering? Jesus will remove His people from this earth so they
will not have to endure the trials that will be placed on unbelievers. He will
protect us like He protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the flames of
the fiery furnace. Didn’t Jesus also protect Daniel in the lion’s den? Then why
would one not believe that Jesus won’t protect His people from the Tribulation?
There are many other times listed in the Bible where Jesus protected His
faithful servants and the Rapture will be another.
Another reason why I
believe in Pre-Tribulation Rapture is because as we go through the rest of this
book, the Church is not mentioned in Chapter 4–19 which describes what will
take place during the Tribulation.
11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no
one may take your crown.
I am coming quickly refers
to the Rapture and as believers we must cling tight to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. We must place our faith in the Cross of Christ. If we don’t stay
focused someone will come along and seduce us into believing in something other
than the works of the Cross and steal our crown. When one has a Spiritual Birth
they receive a crown from God.
12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of
My God, and he shall go out no more. 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.
What a magnificent
statement Jesus says here. As someone that becomes a Born Again Christian and
can keep their faith focused on Jesus, they will be rewarded greatly. They will
be a pillar in God’s kingdom, meaning they will never have to leave. They will
be stamped with a new name of Jesus Father, the New Jerusalem, and Jesus name.
They will be sealed with Holiness. It will be paradise for eternity with our
Creator.
13 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches."
As a person, take heed and
be ready, fore you know not the hour! If you’re a pastor of a Philadelphia
church, watch closely and keep the foxes out of the hen house. Be on guard and
listen to what the faithful ones around you are saying. Submit your life to the
leading of the Holy Spirit and listen intently for His voice. All things are possible with God!
Romans 1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is
the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…...
Romans
3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John
3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say
to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill
Wiesbrock
Last
Week’s Trivia: Who
was Ahira?
Answer: Ahira was a son if Enan, the man
selected to represent the tribe of Naphtali when Moses asked for leaders to
help him conduct a census of those accompanying him in the wilderness. Numbers 1:15; 2:29; 7:78; 10:27.
This
week’s Trivia: Who
was Ahisamach?
