7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and 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 from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Comment: Did you notice something very different about this letter? In His self introduction Jesus says nothing about His ability to punish. Jesus doesn’t say that the Philadelphians are perfect, but He does note their faithfulness in the face of strong opposition, in spite of their relative powerlessness. What a promise that Jesus made to the Philadelphian church! ‘Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world’. In contradistinction to what I wrote yesterday about the church in Sardis, I am very happy to note that there is ‘at the historical site of the Philadelphian church mentioned in the Book of Revelation still exists today in the Middle East, specifically in modern-day Alaşehir, Turkey.’ In v 11 there are three ideas. A promise. a command, and a result of being persistent!’ I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. ‘ These three are good things to remember as they apply until this time! And what a glorious promise Jesus makes in verse 12!
Proverbs 24: 16 – The righteous falls seven times and rises again,
but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
Prayer: Thank You Father for calling me to strong positive character change!