The Church in Philadelphia

Good morning and welcome Eric. Welcome everyone to the all things field broadcast. This is William Bell and. We are going to be underway with another study on the 7 churches. Particularly the church in Philadelphia this morning, and we will be underway just shortly. Good morning to you. Gail always the light to have you all. To tune in with us, and we want to say to you, be sure and share. The link to the broadcast with your family and friends. And he says, is this the last 1 of the year? You know, I hadn't thought about that. Eric, I'll post a note at the end and and see. How things will turn out, but. I can't think that far in advance, but nevertheless, we're grateful for the opportunity to to be here. So, let's go ahead and get underway. The church in Philadelphia revelation chapter 3 verses 7 through 13. The church in Philadelphia is number 6 on the list of the 7 churches, of course, and of all the churches that received no rebuke or upgrading for unfaithfulness. It is an example of a church that was truly faithful in all the important areas that the Lord was conversing with them on and a little bit about. The city of Philadelphia, it was located on the Congress river. A tributary to the Hermas 28 miles Southeast. From started, so you can see that all these churches were relatively close to each other. The city was named after its founder, King Atlas, the 2nd. Philadelphia's Pergamon from 159 to 138. Who was also a great that is. And who was also a great admirer of his brother and predecessor the 2nd out of this affection the king named the city. Philadelphia, meaning brother loving or brother love. The city was founded primarily to spread the Greek civilization and culture Eastward and was therefore from its beginning a missionary center. The city was located on a main trade route from West to East. The vicinity about the city was especially conducive to grape growing, which made it famous for its fine wines opposition to the church. Stemmed from wealthy Jews who had a beautiful synagogue in the city and who seemed to have flourished there. There is no solid evidence that the saints were openly persecuted by the Jews, but they were opposed by them. In every possible way, so let's. Take a look at what the Lord had to say. To and about the church in Philadelphia. According to revelation chapter 3 verses 7 through 13. It says into the angel of the church in Philadelphia, right? These things says he who is holy. He who is true. He who has the key of David. He who opens and no 1 shuts and shuts and no 1 opens. This opening phrase. He who is holy. And he was true. In my judgment based on what I've been studying is that these are. Statements that are affirmations of the priesthood of Christ. Everything about the high priesthood was to be holiness to the Lord. We go back to Exodus chapter 28 and verse 36. It says you should also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it. Like the engraving of a signet holiness to the Lord. And you should put a blue cord. That it may be on the turbine. It shall be on the front of the turbine and that's Exodus 28. Verses 36 and also verse 37. But they were to have on this holiness to the Lord that. Sort of encompass what that entire office was all about. And so he says, so it should be on Aaron's forehead. That Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which are the. Which the children of Israel how old. And all their holy gifts, and it shall always be on his forehead. That they may be accepted before the Lord. You shall skillfully weave this tunic of fine linen thread. You shall make the turbine of fine linen and you shall make the sash of woven work. So this had to do with the attire of the. Priesthood, but again, that symbolized what that entire office was all about. And then you may recall at the time. I think this is numbers chapter 10 and. Verse 6. Or no, no, no. Leviticus chapter 6 and verse 3. When Nadab and Abihu had made the strange fire. The scripture says this is what the Lord spoke. Saying by those who come near to me, he must be. I must be regarded as holy and before all the people, I must be glorified. And so Aaron held his feet. So once again, because they disrespected that office. In failing to keep those things, which were regarded as holy. As such, God destroyed the 2 sons of Aaron. And then we have in Hebrews chapter 7. And the verse is 26 for such a high priest was fitting for us. Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from centers. And has become higher than the heavens. And the next statement we have. Is the word true. And so we learn, of course, from the scriptures that Christ is the truth. He spoke nothing but the truth. And from Malachi 2, 7, which we quoted a couple of times within the series of lessons. The Bible says for the lips of a priest should keep knowledge. And people should seek the law from his mouth. Well, he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. And of course, if he's speaking the word of God, he's going to be speaking what is true. And the text in Malachi 2, 8 says, but you have departed. So they're looking at what the priests were doing. As opposed to what they were supposed to be doing. And he says, you have departed from the way you have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 2 in verse 8. So what the Lord was doing was setting the stage. For the conversation that was going to follow. He was the one who was holy and separate from centers. But he also had the key of David. And that is a reference to the royal nature of the priesthood. Just like we read in 1 Peter chapter 2. It was a royal priesthood, a kingly priesthood. And in that he's affirming that he has the authority to sit on David's throne, which was also called the throne of God. And as we mentioned in Zechariah 6 in verse 12, he was to be a priest and a king on his throne. This takes us back, especially when he says he has the authority to sit on David's throne. Or the key to David's throne to Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18. Where the text says, and I also say unto you that you are Peter. And on this rock, I will build my church. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth should be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16 and verse 19. So in this, there's an allusion to the priesthood from my understanding. There is also a reference to the kingdom of God. And then he says, he who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. Christ here is referring to the time of the wedding. For those prepared, they will have an invitation to enter. And those who are unprepared, the door will be shut. Again, this is a kingdom terminology. And when we read from Matthew 25 10 in the parable of the virgins. In verse 10, it says, and while they went to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut. So there's an example of the shutting of the door. And then he says, afterward, other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you. And therefore, they were to watch a view of the Lord's coming. It was the time that the unbelieving Jews would be shut out of the kingdom. Luke 13 25 goes along with Matthew 25. It says, when once the master of the house has risen up and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door saying, Lord, Lord, open for us. And he will answer and say to you, I do not know you where you're from. So you can see the similarity of that language in Luke chapter 13. And he says, then you will begin to say we ate and drink in your presence. And you taught in our streets. So that's clearly a reference to the Jews in the first century. Christ ate among them. He taught among them. He walked among them through their streets. And there's no other generation of people that that could be said relative to the activity of Christ during that time of the first century. And once again, he says, but I will say, I tell you, I do not know where you're from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and yourselves thrust out. So this language about the key of David is about the authority to enter the kingdom. The Lord opens. No one shuts. He shuts and no one opens. And those are the players involved in the text in Revelation, chapter three, verses seven and following. And so from that, they come from the east and the west, from the north and the south to sit down in the kingdom of God. The next thing he says in the context is that he knew their works. Of course, that was a statement that he repeated pretty much to all of the seven churches that we find in the book of Revelation. And in this case, because he knew their works, he set before them an open door. They had unobstructed access into the everlasting kingdom of God. No one could shut the door, which gave them confidence about their service, about their work and about what was going on around them. He also says that they had a little strength and they had not denied his name. They had kept his word. And this word kept is a pretty significant word where it indicates that they had guarded it. They were very conscientious about serving God, about adhering to the word and not deviating from it. And that's reflected in the fact that he didn't have any rebuke for them. They were very constant in not contradicting, not disavowing or rejecting or abnegating the word of God, as we saw in some of the other churches. Once again, we have this common thread running through the churches that really links this church up with the church in Smyrna for the most part in terms of what was being said of it, because it says in verse 9 of Revelation 3, 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. Now, when you look once again from the statement that Christ made that he was holy and that he was true, that also is a contrast with those that he's speaking of now, because when he speaks about them, he calls them the synagogue of Satan. Well, that would be the epitome of unholiness and unrighteousness. But also, he says that they say they are Jews and not, and they lie. So here are some people whose declarations are not true compared to those of Christ who were true. And that's also, in my judgment, a reference or reflection on the priesthood that they were following because it had become corrupt and they were lying. They lied on him in order to charge him with committing a crime or insurrection. But they also lie during the time of the trial. And we see also during the time that the apostles, they also said things that were that were not true and did things that were unholy and unrighteous. So here again, we can see that the language that Christ is using is related to the context of what he had been telling them. So they were of the synagogue of Satan, and they were therefore held in contrast to the church at Philadelphia and to Christ himself in terms of their behavior. And then he says to them that he will make them to come and worship before your feet. Now, that is, I would say, war terminology, because what he's saying to them is that they were going to be subjugated. They were going to be subdued and they would come and worship before their feet and to know that I have loved you. That's the language or the idea of victory, the idea of subjugation of an enemy of war. And these were considered as the enemies of Christ. If you are familiar with Philippians, when we turn to Philippians chapter three and notice in verse 17 and following, he says, brethren, join in following my example and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern where 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 set their mind on earthly things. Jesus had a conversation with the Jews in John chapter seven, particularly in John chapter eight, when he told them that I am from above, you are from beneath. And that is the context of Philippians chapter three, when he says, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet at that time they would be subdued. They would come and worship before his feet. Now we have a text similar to that in Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 14 that says, thus says the Lord, the labor of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and of the civilians, men of stature shall come over to you and they shall be yours. They shall walk behind you. They shall come over in chains and they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you saying, surely God is in you and there is no other. There is no other God. And notice the language here. It says they would come and worship before your feet and to know that I have loved you. Now we do have a group out there, the Hebrew Israelites that will take this text and they use it in a futurist perspective to claim that at some point in time, people are going to come bow down and worship them. Totally taken out of context, totally unrelated to the events that were going on in that particular time and transposing it. And of course they've even had people go to the extreme of bowing down and kissing their toe out in public. And it's really kind of a shame to see, but that behavior and that conduct has nothing to do with what these passages are talking about. This is the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. More specifically, we also have the text in Isaiah chapter 60 and the verses 14, where it says also the sons of those who afflicted you. So these were those who were persecuting them at the time. And of course, that's well established to be the Jews. And as they persecuted Christ, he said, I'm going to send you wise men and scribes. And some of them you're going to kill and crucify. Some of them you're going to persecute from city to city. And you're going to scourge them in your synagogues. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barakai, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. All these things will come upon this generation. And then he says, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather you as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you were not willing. And therefore, we find that this is a reference to them. And so when he says, and the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bowing down to you and all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet and they shall call you the city of the Lord Zion, the Holy One of Israel. It's very interesting also in this very context that there is the reference to the New Jerusalem to the city of God. And so this is where this text is taken from. It is not a reference to anything that is going on today in terms of fulfilling prophecy as it relates, as I said, to Hebrew Israelites or to any other group that is trying to use it for that particular purpose. This was all about that victory and subjugation of the Jews in acknowledging who the true Israel was. And of course, Christ himself is true Israel and all of his believers that follow him through the spirit who are the true sons of Abraham. And of course, that is what is being said. Then it says that he would keep them from the hour of trial. They had kept his word. Verse 10, because you have kept my command to persevere. And again, the word kept here is the same word that we see when it says that they had kept his word. So he reiterates that and says, because you have kept my command to persevere, I will also excuse me, keep you from the hour of trial, which will come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. And I'll comment on that in just a moment. But when he says that he or that they had kept his command to persevere, this is taking us back to Matthew 24 and verse 13, which says, blessed is he who endures to the end, they would be saved. And of course, this was going through the time of persecution, just as he said in Acts 14, that through much tribulation, they had to enter into the kingdom of God. We can see that also in second Thessalonians chapter one, where they were suffering on behalf of the kingdom of God, many tribulations. And therefore, God would come and bring retribution to those who troubled them and therefore, really bring them relief from the persecutions they were enduring. And this is when the gospel had to go into all the inhabited earth. And it's very important because the words used here are very, very specific. He doesn't say to all the physical world from that perspective, but he's talking about all the all the Roman empire. He says this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. And of course, it's documented that the gospel had gone to all the inhabited earth to all the land to all the cosmos during that first century timeframe prior to the destruction of the temple, as is evident from passages like Romans one, eight, Romans 10, and verse 18, Romans chapter 16, verses 25 and 26, Colossians chapter one, verses five and six, and also verse 23. So there's no question that those terms and conditions have been met for the gospel to have gone to all the inhabited earth at that time. And they had persevered all the way to the end. And this was very important that they do so because they were going to face a time such as had been in no other generation in terms of God dealing with the people in the covenant at that time. As the text says in Matthew 25, you read further from verse 14, he says, therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, you know, it's amazing. You know, I had conversation with some gentlemen earlier this week, and we were talking about John chapter 14 and looking in that context. And of course, they wanted to talk about how it was something that was prophesied for the future. And in the attempt to do so, they went to Matthew 24 to talk about the time of the great tribulation and the abomination of desolation as if those things were future. They ignore the statement in Matthew 24 and verse 34 that says, assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Yet they extract them and extrapolate them from the context and try to project them in the future. But as you read the text, he says, therefore, when you see he's still addressing the same audience in Matthew 24, the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him understand and therefore showing you that he's drawing from Daniel in presenting these things. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house and let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days and pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath or then there will be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no nor ever shall be. So Jesus linked all of that, the preaching of the gospel to all the world, the abomination of desolation, the flight from the city in the area of Judea, and also the great tribulation in that generation. And we cannot take it beyond that. And so all of that had to do with the destruction of the temple. So the hour of trial that was going to come upon them was the hour of trial that he was speaking of in that context and saying that if he had not shortened those days, there would no flesh be saved. And so I will also keep you from the hour of trial, which is about to come. He uses the word mellow in the text, which is about to come upon the whole or the whole inhabited earth. Same word used in Matthew 24 and verse 14. And therefore, to test those who dwell on the earth. Now, the word earth should be understood, particularly in the book of Revelation should be understood as Palestine. And so he's talking about those who dwell in the land. And we should see that from that locale, particularly because all of the Jews were coming out of every nation under heaven to keep the Passover and to observe those feasts during that particular time. And because these things were about to take place, once again, emphasizing the eminence of these events, he says, behold, I am coming quickly. And that is stated several times. It's in Revelation chapter 21, chapter 22, excuse me, and verse seven. And also, I believe in the latter verse of that text. But it's spoken in connection with Matthew chapter 16, verses 27 and 28, because it's a quote from Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 10 and 11 and also Isaiah 62, 11 and 12, where the Lord talked about coming. And in the 16th chapter of Matthew, we have the quote that we often cite that people again try to take out of that first century context. And it's a text that is so emphatically clear in terms of what is stated. And then some of them try to have it fulfilled, of course, before the event that relates to the coming of the kingdom of God and the time of judgment. But here's what the Lord said in that context. He says, when the son of man comes in the glory of his father with his angels, and actually, he used the word mellow in that text as well, for the son of man is about to come in the glory of his father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his work. So there's the time of judgment. This is exactly what he's speaking of in Revelation chapter 22, when he says, behold, I am coming quickly, and you'll see the blessings of judgment that are mentioned in the verses in just a moment. But he says, he was about to come in the glory of his father with his angels, and then he will reward each according to his work. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not die, who will not taste death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom. And Mark's gospel actually uses the perfect tense and says, they will not die till they have seen Christ coming in his kingdom, meaning that after the event, they would look back on it as a historical fulfilled event, and demonstrating once again that this was to take place in their lifetime, and not all of them would die. Some of those who stood with Christ would yet be alive when this occurred. And so the message that he would come quickly. And again, this is telling you that not only would he come quickly, but those things that were attended to his coming would also arrive quickly. Notice, behold, I'm coming quickly. Hold fast what you have that no man may take your crown. Now, when we talked about the church in Thyatira, we talked about those who had their, and I, what was it? Was that church of Thyatira? Was that the church in Pertinus? At any rate, he spoke. No, it was a church in Sardis. Excuse me. It was a church in Sardis. Those who had their garments. And he said, he tells them to keep their garments. And that some of them among the church at Sardis had these garments that had not been defiled. In other words, they were already in possession of them. And like that, he says a similar thing to the church in Philadelphia, because he says, hold fast what you have that no one may take your crown. Obviously, this was about to be consummated. And we know just as Paul said, he would receive the crown of righteousness at the coming of the Lord. But you can see they're already beginning to participate in the possession of that crown. And therefore, they would hold fast that no one would take it. Verse 12, he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Now, this suggests to us that the temple of which he's referring is not a physical temple, because he refers to individuals as pillars in the temple of God. In Galatians chapter two, verse nine, when Paul went to meet with them in Jerusalem, it says, and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, received the grace that had been given to me, they gave me in Barnabas, the right hand of fellowship that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision. So he's referring to individuals as pillars. We're not talking about the pillars and sockets of a physical temple that they had to build in the wilderness when they were coming out of Egypt, nor of those that were in the temple that Solomon built. These were individuals who have become pillars in the temple of God. Just as first Peter says, you are living stones being built up a holy priesthood that you may offer up spiritual sacrifices in the name of Jesus Christ. And so therefore, we're talking about these living stones. We're talking about these living pillars that make up the house not made with hands, that make up the true house of God, the temple of God, and that's what he's referring to. And then he says, he would write on them. He says, they shall go no more out. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem. So Christ was about to come. He was going to keep them from the hour of trial that was about to come on all the world. And then for those who overcame that period, who endured through that period, he was going to write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. And I will write on him my new name. So that tells you that the new Jerusalem was about to come as well, that it was imminent. So we're not waiting on it to come today. I understand the objections that people try to make when they read Revelation 21. But what this is telling us is that Revelation 21 was about to be fulfilled when he says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth that passed away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God prepared as a bride for husband. Now, that also is a contrast. Just like Jesus said, I am holy and true. We're all we're talking about the priesthood. We're talking about the holy city, the new Jerusalem. Well, that compares to the harlot city that was about to be destroyed. So everything that he's pointing to in the context is referring to his priesthood, the righteousness, the holiness of that. Now, I looked and I searched to find where there was anything in scripture related to writing the name of my God and writing on him the name of the new Jerusalem, et cetera. And the only thing I could and the word right. In the context is the word for grade, like to engrave. And as I look for that, what I came up with, and I'm not sure if anybody else can find anything else. And if you do, please drop me a note. But what I was able to find was the engraving that related to once again, the priesthood. So all through we're dealing with priesthood typology and terminology to write or to engrave on them is to acknowledge them as priests, as a type of high priests, because they enter into the most holy place as a result. And it says, then you shall take two onyx stones. This is Exodus chapter 28 and verse nine and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel or write on them six of their names on one stone and six names on the other in order of their birth with the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet. You shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall set them in settings of gold. Once again, that's not the physical temple. And then, and the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel 12, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name. They should be according to the 12 tribes. You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave or write on it, like the engraving of a signet holiness to the Lord. And then when we look in chapter 21 and verse 14, it says, now the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the land. They have been engraved on them. And so, as we look at the church in Philadelphia and we see this writing of this new Jerusalem, that is God engraving on them, the holy city engraving on them, the designation that they are the true Israel compared to those who were in the texts that lie and were of the synagogue of Satan. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. Well, that's our message this morning. I want to thank you for listening. Let's go back and see who joined us. I know I didn't have time to call everybody names from the beginning, but we did speak to Eric and Gail. Good morning to you. To Elias Mello. And let me see. I need to translate that. Good morning. All right. To Beatrice and to Steve Hefferington. Good morning to Carol. William Sanders Bala. Good morning, Ron. Of course, Kazort. Always appreciate you. Good morning to Dale as well. Looking forward to seeing you shortly. Claudio Sequeira from Brazil. Welcome, Benita. Always welcome to see you. To Nicholas and to Omar Gilherme. I hope I said that correctly. Jack Owen. Thank you, Jack. We appreciate you. And I saw Sabrina here as well. Don't want to miss you. So good morning to you as well. Once again, everybody, please take a moment to share the message with others. And leave any comments that you have. Anything that you want to add to the message that I overlooked. Feel free to talk about that because I'll go back and research and look it up. And I certainly would appreciate you helping me out as we go through these messages. And with that, I hope that this has been a blessing to you. May God bless you and keep you. And you have a wonderful day. Be safe through the holidays and take care of yourselves. And we look forward to seeing you. I'll put a note on Facebook relative to the question I think that Eric asked me earlier in terms of whether or not this is the last message of the year. I may take a little time off. I need it. I'm overcoming. Thank you for your prayers, too, because I'm doing much better. Only cough one time through the lesson, I think. And so I'm doing much better on that. But with that, once again, thank you. And may God bless you all. We'll see you in the next broadcast.