Max's Weekly Musings
Vol. 9, No. 32, for the week of September 2 - 16
Revelation 3- Philadelphia
I apologize for not sending a Musings last week. I was given the opportunity of sharing in the funeral services last Thursday afternoon for a family friend in Boone, IA. He was 100 years old and had a great testimony of God's faithfulness. It was a joyous occasion and a celebration of God's love. Then, last Friday evening, I had the privilege of sharing with a group in Boone a brief history of the biblical and historical roots of the present conflict in the Middle East. It was a wonderful time of sharing and fellowship. I look forward to being with that group again in the near future. Finally, last Saturday we had a celebration-open house for Marlys' Mother on the occasion of her 85th birthday. It really was a special time. So, it was a busy weekend...but full of God's blessings.
It has been an interesting week. Minnesota held primary elections this past Tuesday. From the results of the primaries, it looks as if Minnesota will be the first state in the nation to send a practicing Muslim to the United States Congress next year. You might ask if that concerns me, and I would say that it does. For, from what I have been reading, the loyalty of the Muslims is first and foremost to their religious beliefs. And, the religious beliefs of Islam are contradictory to the beliefs of the American Founding Fathers. So, yes, I am concerned. But I think this will only be the first of many in the next few years. I think it is just another sign that the Lord's coming is near at hand. I can hardly wait.
We open our study this week with the sixth church to receive a letter from God through the pen of the Apostle John. The message to the Church at Philadelphia (in Asia Minor, not the one in Pennsylvania) is found in Revelation 3:7-13. It is the second of two churches about which God has nothing negative to say - you might remember that the first one was found in Smyrna.
I. Philadelphia: A description of the city
A. Physical description
1. Located thirty miles east of Sardis
2. City called "the gateway to the East"
3. Was an agricultural community; soil was fertile, especially for growing grapes
4. This was the youngest of the seven communities to receive a letter
a. It was a border town, built with one purpose in mind - to spread the Greek culture into the kingdom of Lydia
b. They did their work well, for in a few decades, the Lydians had lost their language and culture to the Greeks
5. Only danger in this community was that of earthquakes - the town set on a fault line; it was continuously subjected to tremors; most of the people lived outside the walls of the town because of fear.
B. Spiritual description
1. Town was called "Little Athens" because of its many temples
2. This little church did not have a lot to boast about, but its boast was in Christ. Friends, "it is not the size or strength of a church that demonstrates its success, but its faithfulness to God."
II. Strengths of the Church
A. Adherents of the truth - verse 7
1. Christ portrays Himself as being "true" which meant "real and genuine" - John 14:6; 1 John 5:20
2. Unlike the church at Thyatira that said it made no difference what you believed as long as you believed something, this church said that the only truth was in Christ. They stood securely upon the promises of God alone! It was not God's Word and tradition, or God's Word and something else. It was just God's Word!
3. Verse 8 tells us that they kept God's Word - they fully obeyed it.
B. Adherents to holiness - verse 7
1. Christ portrays Himself as "holy" to this congregation because they practiced holiness. You cannot practice something you don't believe in. You cannot believe in something you don't know anything about. They practiced holiness because they believed in God's Word.
2. You have to work at being holy - it doesn't come automatically.
3. They lived lives consistent with the message they proclaimed.
C. Adherents to God's Authority - verse 7
Phrase, "keys of David" - here was a Church that submitted itself to Christ's authority
D. Adherents to an "open door policy" - verse 8
1. What was this? - Acts 14:27; 1 Corinthians 16:8-9; Colossians 4:3
2. An "open door" is an opportunity for ministry. These people we always looking for opportunities to share Christ.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell, a selfless servant of God and medical pioneer in Labrador, in later life attended a dinner in his honor. A lady seated beside him asked, "Is it true you are a missionary?" "Is it true you are not?" he replied.
3. Why do we miss "open doors" of ministry?
a. Because of fears: fears of the unknown, fears of rejection; fears of failure
b. Because of unbelief - we really have a lack of trust in God
c. Because of delay - procrastination
III. Promise to the Church - verse 10
A. Christ promises to protect this church because it had endured patiently.
B. What does this mean?
1. What is "the hour of trial (testing)?"
a. I believe it is a time to test whether a person's spiritual allegiance is to God or to Satan - we call it "the tribulation"
b. It is a time of deceit and delusion - 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
c. It is a time of worldwide Satan worship - Revelation 13:5-8
2. What is "I will keep you from?"
a. Does it mean "protection during that hour" or "prevention from entering that hour?"
b. Greek verb and preposition seem to be better understood if the later is held. The most natural way to understand "to be kept from" is to be kept from being present when it happens.
c. So, I believe we have here the promise of the rapture of the Church.
Thoughts to Ponder: The Church at Philadelphia was a church that moved quickly through the doors that God had opened for them. Although not a mighty church, they were able to accomplish much in the strength of the Lord. Their witness was one of patience, and yet of taking advantages of the opportunities which God had given to them. Church historians have labeled this church as being one that represents those churches committed to a vision of missions and outreach. How God delights with a church who has a heart for the lost. May God grant that we have a Philadelphian spirit.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: God's standard for missions: The man of God, with the Word of God, in the Spirit of God, for the glory of God. (T. J. Bach)
