revelation 3:10 commentary

Ephesus does not, nor Smyrna, nor Pergamos: the only semblance of it is in threats of present judgment. Discipline your son and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart" ( Proverbs 29:15; Proverbs 29:17). Chillingworth said what ought to be true, though I am afraid that it is not "The Bible and the Bible alone is the religion of Protestants." There was no guard and once again Sardis fell because it was not upon the watch. "The things which are" present the prolonged condition set forth in the addresses to the seven churches. (i) It may be the door of missionary opportunity. Behold, I am standing at the decor and knocking. This seems conveyed in the peculiarity of the words: so careful is the Holy Ghost to watch over the glory of Christ even in that which told out the depths of His humiliation. We can hardly suppose that this name was given to it after it received the Christian religion, and that it was so called from that Christian affection that all believers have, and should have, one for another, as the children of one Father and the brethren of Christ; but rather that it was its ancient name, on account of the love and kindness which the citizens had and showed to each other as a civil fraternity. Those who keep God's word, shall themselves be kept from temptation. Take no notice of anything I say if it cannot be supported by the word of divine truth. In the pagan world devotees of certain gods often wrote the name of their god on their forehead (cf. Particular care is taken here to show it to us. Indeed, there is nothing more remarkable, especially when we bear in mind who the writer is, than the absence here of His proper relationship to the children of God. Through the lower town flowed the River Pactolus, which was said in the old days to have had gold-bearing waters from which much of the wealth of Sardis came. Habits grow upon him until he can no longer break them. the state of those that bore His own name was such that He was obliged to deal thus sternly with them. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown. PHILADELPHIA--The church with opportunity. The problem is that the words "because you have a little strength, and because you have kept my word, and have not denied my name," can go equally well with what precedes them or with what follows. First, it supplies us with an example. The sides of the ridge were smoothly precipitous; and only where the spur met the ridge of Mount Tmolus was there any possible approach into Sardis and even that was hard and steep. Isaiah 43:2-4; John 10:27-28; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 6:18-19). People in Philadelphia well knew what security lay in a promise that "they would go out no more. It was specially connected with a tunic called the trimita, so much so, indeed, that it was sometimes called Trimitaria. "The time is at hand." I do not doubt that all this is symbolically expressed. 3:7-13 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 man will shut, and shuts and no man opens. The new name of Christ, the Mediator, the Redeemer, the captain of our salvation; by this it will appear under whose banner this conquering believer had enlisted, under whose conduct he acted, by whose example he was encouraged, and under whose influence he fought the good fight, and came off victorious. When he came back to Antioch he told how God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles ( Acts 14:27). I am speaking not of individual clergymen at all, but of clericalism wherever found, Catholic or denominational, nationalist or dissenting. Then follows the last of these four churches. The problem of modern evangelism is not hostility to Christianity; it would be better if it were so. 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; this hour seems to refer not to any of the vials which will be poured out on the antichristian states, but to some affliction and distress which will befall the reformed churches, and will light upon the outward court worshippers among them It seems to be the last struggle of the beast of Rome, and to denote some violent and sharp persecution, such as what Daniel mentions, that never was before nor since; but it will be but short, but one hour, the twenty fourth part of a prophetical day or year, perhaps about a fortnight; yet it will be very extensive; it will reach all the world, the whole Roman empire, and all that dwell upon the earth, that are called by the name of Christians, and will try them, whether they are so or not; Christ will now have his fan in his hand, and purge his floor of all his formal professors and hypocrites; and it will be known who are his true churches, and pure members; and these he will keep close to himself, and preserve safe amidst all the distress and confusion the world will be in. More Resources: Revelation 1: Jesus is the Heart of Revelation Read Articles By Subject Spiritual Deceptions Prophecy Walking through Revelation Revelation 1 Commentary: The Revelation of Jesus Seven Churches See the album Less. Here is the picture of Christ searching for sinful men who did not want him. [46] Walvoord as quoted by Robert H. Mounce, op. I am joyous, glad, strong, happy if these doctrines be true. The real innovators were those who departed by slip or by will from the very words of the Spirit; and the arbitrariness now would be in maintaining what has not sufficient authority, against that which is as certain as can be. On the other hand, to be clothed in fine raiment was the greatest honour. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. If a doctrine be of God, if it has come out of the loving lips of the Lord Jesus, hold it fast, as for dear life. It was under his authority, and indeed by his call, that the famous council sat at Nicea, and the faith of the Trinity was publicly established. The lifelessness of the Church at Sardis had a strange effect. A new evil appears. (iii) We see human responsibility. Good men in the dark days of Popery found out the truth, but they only lived, perhaps, in some quiet village, or shut up in a monastery, and the most they could do was to write down what they knew and so keep it. Holman Hunt was right when in his famous picture The Light of the World he painted the door of the human heart with no handle on the outside, for it can be opened only from within. It would be the falsest possible deduction to suppose that Daniel and his three companions, possibly others also, were not personally as pleasant to the Lord as David was. (2.) A straggling few may reckon themselves to be the majority when they stand alone with God, for HE counts for more than all the myriads of the earth put together. "What thou seest, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. I do not speak of justification by faith; for even Luther, as I think, never got thoroughly clear as to the truth of it. This picture has been derived from two different sources. The prayers of the saints will be answered (6:9-11; Matt. Thirdly, This will, by the grace of Christ, soften the hearts of their enemies, and make them desirous to be admitted into communion with them. I have no intention to enter at any length on this way of looking at the churches as quite by-gone, and the prophecy as at once flowing on; but I mention it because it seems due to truth to name this as well as the other, according to which "what shall be after these" is when the church condition is no longer applicable at all. Believers on earth will meet the Lord in the air and thus escape the hour of trial . They are many and most would paint pictures which would be vivid and real to the people of Philadelphia. In the ancient world there were at least six cities called Laodicea and this one was called Laodicea on the Lycus to distinguish it from the others. The emphasis of his pulpit ministry is the careful study and verse-by-verse exposition of the Bible, with special attention devoted to the historical and grammatical background behind each passage. If I am a servant, I ought to behave like a servant. Gird up your loins and enter it. Hezekiah had a faithful steward called Eliakim, who was over all his house and who alone could admit to the presence of the king. "And from the seven Spirits which are before his throne." "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev 19:10) and a prophetic perspective promotes purpose. But nothing can be determined with certainty in regard to this. But there is much more here. He is seen upon His glorious throne with the Father in the Eternal Kingdom - the New Jerusalem. Thus have I explained what the Philadelphians did. I do not feel called of God as an evangelist to the Jewish people or to the Jewish nation. All is here limited to what he saw. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but will confess his name before my Father, and before his holy angels ( Revelation 3:5 ). Peter warns his people that they will give account for their deeds to him who comes to judge the living and the dead ( 1 Peter 4:5). "Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O Lord, and whom thou dost teach out of thy law" ( Psalms 94:12). Jesus doesn't care. They know what they believe and they have no desire to change" If a man does not believe the doctrines of grace, he comes to hear me once, and he says, "I am not going there any more." The time came when the narrow space on the top of the plateau was too small for the expanding city; and Sardis grew round the foot of the spur on which the citadel stood. "Behold, happy is the man whom God reproves; therefore, despise not the chastening of the Almighty" ( Job 5:17). Here we have to remark that Christ is seen in a judicial point of view. Revelation 3:1. Where was the labour of love? The reason is manifest, because the way in which we are called to walk is always according to the place and relations in which we stand. Where are they to be found? We can rely on his words for he is the Amen. They were a company of poor people with no man of means among them; and there are many such churches that are peculiarly precious to the heart of God, who cares nothing for gold, and everything for sincerity. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. God gives a revelation of Jesus; and Jesus passes it on to His angel, or rather by His angel to His servant John; and then John at last sends it to other servants. The reader is encouraged to "have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches", even down to our own day. The history of Sardis had its vivid examples of what happens to the garrison whose watch is slack. Many understand by the hour of temptation the persecution under Trajan, which was greater and more extensive than the preceding ones under Nero and Domitian. Jesus dictates letters to the remaining three of the Seven Churches of Asia. "He is the faithful witness, the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth;" the last displayed when He comes from heaven to earth, as He stands in resurrection the first-begotten of the dead. Thus whether it be the depraving of souls or the forming sects after an earthly mould among those who were heavenly according to Paul, or whether it be the taking them away from the life of Christ, and from walking as He walked and simply putting them under Jewish ordinances, the Fathers, I fear, as a class, fully earned the awful distinction here assigned by the Lord. The Lord sent the letter to the church in Philadelphia to praise the Christians for their faithfulness in spite of persecution and to encourage them to persevere. We need not make a choice between these various meanings; we may well believe that they are all included in the greatness of the promise. One cannot make good sense out of Revelation 3:10 otherwise. Or perhaps the text may mean that if the temptation shall come you shall be preserved from it. It is eternal and in them the Spirit still speaks to us. Second, it supplies us with an inspiration. And so too with our Lord Jesus, as we shall see. Laodicea had certain characteristics which have left their mark on the letter written to it. We must leave out "and unto." If you have been vacillating and shifty and tricky, and have believed everything and nothing, nobody will take any particular notice of what you say, except it be to shut the door against your uncertain prattle. However the grace of the Lord might act, however He might animate as well as warn, still the address is made directly to His servant John, and not to the church; and even where we have addresses, as we shall find afterwards in the second and third chapters, they are not immediately to the churches, but sent to their angels. Revelation 3:10-11 New King James Version 10 Because you have kept [ a]My command to persevere,I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come uponthe whole world, to test those who dwellon the earth. On one of these spurs, fifteen hundred feet up, stood the original Sardis. The beginning of the third chapter introduces the protestant state of things. And no doubt also it was intended in this sense that they had obeyed the word of God. What does Revelation 3:10 mean? In the beginning was the Word, that the word was with God, all things were made by Him. The Risen Christ tells them that he is coming quickly. Nobody ever respects him. The road from Ephesus to the east and to Syria was the most important in Asia. It is to be feared many are doing the same at this moment. Let us see how the idea of discipline runs through the Bible. ], "Probably the most debated verse in the whole discussion about the time of the Churchs rapture is Revelation 3:10." 71-72; Thomas R. Edgar, "An Exegesis of Rapture Passages," in Issues in Dispensationalism, pp. the Jews). God has a task for every man; but it may be that the man proves himself unfit for the task and it is given to another. It is remarkable that after the greatest persecutions, when Christendom and even Christians had been seduced into accepting the patronage of the world, up to that point there remained real faithfulness in refusing all efforts to deny the deity of Christ Under the same Constantine, who was the instrument of thus casting the world's shield over Christianity, was the battle fought and won against the Arian foe. Therefore let us hold it. Faith is the Koh-i-noor among jewels, the queen of the virtues. I do not mean of course for Christians, who needed no such bulwark as this, but for Christendom. John then, as it is said, "testified the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ." There might not be energy of faith for this, but at any rate fidelity to Christ was not lacking, and where this was "To him that overcometh," says the Lord, "I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which none knoweth save he that receiveth it." "To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? It is quite true that, in the literal sense, Jesus Christ did not come back to those who were so warned and exhorted. Revelation 2:17; Revelation 3:5). That it is here called "the hour" of trial does not mean that it will be over in an hour, or even in any relatively short time. Revelation 3:8-10King James Version. Oh, dear child of God, you may be very little in Israel; but if you love the word of God there is a something about you in which God takes delight. Loyalty has its sure reward. May we not presume that it is for the express purpose of graciously encouraging His servants as well as to anticipate the doubts and cavils of unbelief? But it is not at all wonderful as occurring here, where we do find what is extraordinary. At this stage in the Church's history baptism was adult baptism, and at baptism a man took his personal pledge to Jesus Christ. Those who still dared to live in the city were reckoned mad; they spent their time shoring up the shaking buildings and every now and then fleeing to the open spaces for safety. A Church with a positive message is bound to be one to which there will be opposition. Then history repeated itself. Our last point was to be A WORD OF PROMISE; for, according to the tenth verse, it is written, "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." II. . God freely acknowledges that life today is full of mysteries; but it will not always be so. The once great Sardians were soft, and twice they had lost their city because they were too lazy to watch. Holy is the description of God himself "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts," was the song of the seraphs which Isaiah heard ( Isaiah 6:3). The effect went on; the spring was gone. We eat our way into the word of God, we live upon what we learn, tunnelling through the truth with receptive minds. Behold, I will give you those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who call themselves Jews and who are not, but who lie. This is exactly as we would have it. The overcomers in Philadelphia were promised future positions with Christ which appear to be described by the meanings of the names given to these two pillars. It is very possible, when the epistles were sent out in the days of John, that no particular emphasis would be laid on "the things that are;" but inasmuch as these things have been going on from that day to the present, we can see the immense force such a phrase thereby acquires. He stands at the door of the human heart and knocks. If that is the picture here, this phrase contains a warning and tells men to have a care, for Jesus Christ the Judge and King is at the door. Whenever we are off our watch, we lose ground. In vain men try to escape! He crossed the Halys, engaged in battle and was routed. What does this mean? 211-17; Thomas, Revelation 1-7, pp. God has promised all Christians deliverance from that outpouring of His wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10). [Note: Showers, p. Christ is to be acknowledged as the author of all the liberty and opportunity his churches enjoy. Greatest of the Sardian kings was Croesus, whose name is still commemorated in the proverb, "As rich as Croesus." Take time by the forelock and honour your God. To try them That is, such persecutions will be the means of trying and proving those who profess Christianity, and showing who were sound and thorough Christians and who were not. But that cannot happen if every day a man lives in the presence of Christ; he who walks hand-in-hand with Christ cannot be taken unawares by his coming. There is an old Latin saying that "the gods walk on feet that are wrapped in wool." God's thoughts are as high above ours as the heavens are above the earth; dare we drag them down and sit in judgment on them? He who is the first and the last, comprehending all in communicating His mind, which includes everything that can be given to man He it is who here speaks the Lord God, the Eternal. It is not known to what trial the speaker refers. At the Persian court the king's most trusted favourites were given the privilege of walking in the royal gardens with the king and were called "The Companions of the Garden." . Does it not trouble you?" I do not believe it. James spoke with respect and admiration of the man who kept himself "unstained from the world" ( James 1:27). It was precisely because He did that Daniel received so exceptional an honour. Furthermore, in addition to the inner possession and the hearty belief of the truth, we must be ready to adhere to it at all times. Such is Protestantism. And it was then that he uttered his famous saying to Croesus: "Call no man happy until he is dead." And so "to him that loveth us" (for this is the true rendering, and not merely that loved us) "To him that loveth us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be the glory and the might unto the ages of the ages." Remember, then, how you received and heard the gospel, and keep it, and repent. [2.] They had here relaxed, but not in their works. "Because this period of tribulation will immediately precede the coming of the Lord to earth in power and great glory (cf. 3:10 + is correct [that the church will be guarded and preserved during God's testing of earth-dwellers during the Tribulation], then one is left with the colossal problem of reconciling the fact that multitudes of believers will die under the fierce persecution of Antichrist during the Tribulation and yet God supposedly will preserve His people physically through the Tribulation."Keith H. Essex, "The Rapture and the Book of Revelation," in . "Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I am coming to thee quickly, and will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou shalt repent." When this earthquake devastated it, Tiberius was as generous to Philadelphia as he had been to Sardis. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. We have yet the last epistle to the angel of the church in Laodicea. (ii) It was a great centre of clothing manufacture. 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; 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 . The origin of the passage is much more likely to be in Solomon's Song when the lover stands at the door of his beloved and pleads with her to open. Scripture does not reveal Jesus Christs new name elsewhere. Only this nearness of the Lords coming to reward the faithful provides an effective motive to be tenacious (Alford; Moffatt)." The threat to Egypt is that Assyria will lead her people naked and barefoot ( Isaiah 20:4). It is Christ coming in judgment. What is taught in Holy Scripture is sure truth to us, and every other statement must bow to it. In Revelation 3:20 we have one of the most famous pictures of Jesus in the whole New Testament. To some it might appear a small thing not to deny Christ's name, but nothing is more precious to the Lord. Next, we may be sure that they loved the word of God. What it guarantees is protection away from the scene of the hour of trial while that hour is in progress. Many a time men act as if the Church belonged to them, but it belongs to Jesus Christ and all in it are his servants. May God grant to us that whatever form of temptation may come upon the face of the earth, we may stand fast for his truth, so that none of us may perish like Judas, the son of perdition. It was so wealthy that it did not even need God. This is the reason why they were golden. The subject-matter of this epistle, where. The Lord does not blame us for having little strength, but for having little love, little faith, little zeal, little consecration. Possibly you have not much strength as to influence: your sphere may be very narrow, and your power in it very slight. It is rather to be imputed to the encroaching spirit of infidelity, where there is not also a truckling to superstition. Not all the clothes in the world will beautify a person whose nature is twisted and whose character is ugly. Cold is psuchros ( G5593) ; and it can mean cold to the point of freezing. Toggle navigation SharedBookshelves. Though others fall, you shall not; though you may be afflicted with others, yet you shall have grace to sustain you. It is not only, be it observed, that they will not be in the place, but they will be kept out of the hour, of that coming temptation. There was faithfulness, and this very particularly in dealing with the wickedness which Satan sought to bring in at that time. Thus, besides what the apostle had in his ordinary relation with Christians, and his already lengthened tenure in the service of Christ, he receives now a new character of word and testimony. You shall be offensive to them, or they to you, and you shall soon part company." This is given up now. Eventually they would have to admit their error, at the judgment of unbelievers (the great white throne judgment) if not earlier (Isaiah 45:23; Isaiah 60:14; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10-11). I value more a solid confidence in the word of God than even the knowledge that comes out of it; for that faith is a saving habit, a sanctifying habit, in every way a strengthening and confirming and preserving habit. Nothing can more demonstrate. Yet the Lord owns whatever is good. Now there are many today who are not watching for the return of Jesus Christ. But for all that the voice of the Christian is at once heard and so much the more remarkably, because it is one of the few exceptional ripples which cross the ordinary current of the book at the end as well as at the beginning. This phrase says to every one of us: "All these things are meant for you.". [Note: See Renald E. Showers, Maranatha: Our Lord, Come! There "a strong angel" is associated with the large scroll. Let it be seen that you do not go to be stirred in those vital points, till your friends say of you, "Oh, you can twist William anywhere, but not in his religion. recurring minor shocks drive them to sheer panic. "And I gave her space that she should repent; and she will not repent of her fornication. "Why not?" Read commentary on this popular Bible verse and understand the real meaning behind God's Word using John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. There will be that day that will come that the Jews will recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. We grow very vexed if anybody denies them; but if there is no controversy over them we forget them. The church is dead. Jesus Christ gave no rebuke to this church, as was true of the church in Smyrna. If you only influence one child, who can tell what that child may be? They have never embraced it, and to them no blessing can came through it. Truth is the jewel for which all believers must be ready to die. Reading Revelation in Context brings together an international team of over 20 New Testament experts including Jamie Davies, David A. deSilva, Michael J. Gorman, Dana M. Harris, Ronald Herms, Edith M. Humphrey, Jonathan A. Moo, Elizabeth E. Shively, Cynthia Long Westfall, Archie T. Wright, and more. Another thing is observable, when one looks into what is said here. So, Jesus is here laying claim to that prophecy of the Messiah in Isaiah 22:22 . In the old story of the kings, Abijah alone of all the sons of Jeroboam was spared because in him was found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel ( 1 Kings 14:13). Go out of the place saying, "I believe it." THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TRIBULATION THE CHURCH WILL EXPERIENCE, AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION. The world had got in, as it still remains, and alas! This flagrant church-world corruption was now a settled institution. This characterises the gospel, because it distinctively is the revelation of grace and truth in Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son. Sardis gives the rise of the new state of things, not strictly ecclesiastical the Lord acting in the way of testimony, and not so much in ecclesiastical order. Isaiah heard God say of this faithful Eliakim: "and I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open" ( Isaiah 22:22). The reason is as solemn as it is instructive. The sheep which grazed round Laodicea were famous for their soft, violet-black, glossy wool. It was picked up by the Protestants. Does it mean what we commonly call an angelic being? (c) It is just possible that we have an Old Testament picture. There may be individual reality even where the associations are miserably untoward. The word of my patience The doctrine which has exposed you to so much trouble and persecution, and required so much patience and magnanimity to bear up under its attendant trials. Writing to the Corinthians of the work which lies ahead of him, Paul says: "For a wide door for effective work has opened to me" ( 1 Corinthians 16:9). "Withhold not correction from the child; for, if you beat him with a rod he will not die. Not only will the Lord thus vindicate what is of Himself, but, as we know, there is an awful time coming on this world an hour, as it is said here, not simply of tribulation, but of temptation or trial. In fact, the principal burden of the great prophecies about to be unveiled was that of strengthening and encouraging the church against that very event. The Irvingites used to talk about the Lord having a little Zoar. All through the Old Testament God is the Holy One; and now that title is given to the Risen Christ. CHRISTS MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH IN PHILADELPHIA 3:7-13 (The church using her opportunities). Here is a promise of the great favour God would bestow on this church, Revelation 3:9; Revelation 3:10. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 1-7, p.

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