Knowing The Church Series Part 21
Philadelphia The Church Holy and True is Encouraged, not Reproved
It can be discouraging to read about all that is wrong with the Churches as disclosed by Jesus Christ to the messenger angels. Smyrna and Philadelphia are the two churches that are not admonished to repent. However, amid Jesus' encouraging words, they are told to hold fast so no one will take their crown, and he who overcomes will be made a pillar in the temple of Christ's God.
Jesus had the Back of Philadelphia, a Church Holy, and True
As the letter begins, we are told that Jesus Christ is holy, that He is true, and that He has the key to David. The key of David signifies the opening of a door that no one can shut or open. The king possesses the power and sits upon a Davidic throne when God will once again use Israel. The Church of Brotherly Love has kept Christ's word; they have not denied His name. His name is Lord and Master, and they have obeyed Him as such.
The Church Holy and True Is Contrasted with a False Religion
Enter the synagogue of Satan, who says that they are Jews and are not, but lie. Paul, the Apostle, when writing to the Church at Colosse, said, "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision." and to the Galatians, "...those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer." Again, "...Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." And again, "...Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse."
When Jesus spoke of Philadelphia, he contrasted them with those of whom he said, "I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and [make them] know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of My perseverance..." There are Jews who are only of the flesh; they do not walk in the Spirit. However, the Philadelphians worshipped in the Spirit of God, and gloried in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh." Philippians 3:3.
A Warning to Those of Anti-Semitic Sentiments
I must give a warning to another group of people who say they are Jews and are not. In Ephesians, Paul clarifies that Jews and Gentiles have been made one in Christ. However, he does not eliminate the continuing existence of Jews and Gentiles because in Romans 11:20, 21, he warns Gentiles. "Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. And in 24, "For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural [branches] be grafted into their own olive tree?" He concludes by saying in 25 and 26, "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-- so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-- that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved."
It is pride that turns Gentiles into Jews in the minds of Reformed theologians, of which I am one, but not to the flagrant point of believing the Church is the new Israel. Paul revealed the union of Jew and Gentile in the Church but not to eliminate the prophetic fulfillment of God's promises to the original seed of Abraham. God is faithful, and no believer should believe any doctrinal teaching that says otherwise. There will be a literal millennial kingdom because all the promises God has given to Israel for the Father's sake have not been fulfilled. They cannot be fulfilled by the Church but are reserved for an ethnic people of the seed of Abraham. For this reason, if you are of that sect that believes the Church is the new Israel, you put yourself in the precarious position of calling yourself a Jew but are not. Be careful! There are faithful Jews who have the faith of Abraham, and there are born-again Gentiles who possess the faith of Abraham. However, a Jew is a Jew, and a Gentile is a Gentile by God's design.
The Church Holy and True will be Kept through Great Testing
Furthermore, it is not wise to turn the seven churches into ages. All church types could exist throughout the church age. At the same time, Jesus tells Philadelphia, "Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that [hour] which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." Some have taken the word keep to mean remove, but in Greek, "tēréō means to maintain (preserve), spiritually guard, and keep intact.
The final admonition is, "Hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown." How can someone take your crown? A loss of humility by taking for granted assurance of salvation. "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of [it] yet; but one thing [I do]: forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13, 14) The crown statement is followed by, "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God." There is no temple in the New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven, which is part of the New Heaven and Earth. The temple of which Jesus speaks is during the millennial kingdom. What follows the comma is a thousand years, the final short war, and the rebellion of the unsaved at the end of Christ's earthly kingdom. There is no need for a temple in the New Jerusalem, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Philadelphia a Church Holy and True, was a Church also humble and focused on the prize.
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