“The Letter to the church of Philadelphia” Author and Writer Ronald Nelson

BIBLE MEDITATION: 

Revelation 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 one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  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.  Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. 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 out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

ENCOURAGING WORD:

I’ve just recently heard a pastor of a local church try to teach on the letter to Philadelphia and to put it mildly, he misinterpretted it terribly. It is no wonder people are so confused about the book of Revelation and end time events when even our denominational church pastors don’t know the truth. First of all, let me say this, there is no way one can understand the book of Revelation unless they are truly Born-Again. And therein lies another issue. Most denominational churches do not teach that you must be Born-Again to enter the Kingdom of God, which also includes understanding the scripture as they were meant to be understood.

Let me share again, this all too important message that is very seldom, if ever taught in the mainline denominations. John 3:3; Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Why don’t our Pastors and Priests teach this verse? Even if they try, they will most likes misinterpret it or they will just ignore it.

Every denomination believes that they are the church of Philadelphia. The reason, because they don’t know how to properly interpret the Bible correctly. There were seven letters written to seven churches of that day, which were all in Asia Minor, or more commonly known as Turkey today.  And when you read them carefully and understand all seven letters you will see that they lay out the history of the church age. The last two thousand years to be exact.

A little side note; Peter said; 2 Peter 3:8; “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” If we take the bible literally and believe it says what it means and means what it says, then, using Gods calendar, we are just finishing up the sixth day of creation. What comes after the sixth day? The seventh day, the day of rest. The seventh day is on the very near horizon, but not all will be present during this age. Only those that are born again and have received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. This will be the one thousand year millennial kingdom that Jesus will set up right after the seven year tribulation.

Now, before I get into the letter to the church of Philadelphia,, let me read the first three verses in chapter one. Revelation 1:1-3; “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him (Jesus) to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

The first thing we read is who gave the letters to whom.  It was God the Father who gave the letter to Jesus Christ to show His servants, things that must shortly take place. Keep in mind, the word shortly has a whole different meaning to God than it does to us. What did Peter say about this? 

Again, what did Peter say, 2 Peter 3:8: “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

When God says shortly, to Him, it could mean a couple days or more. To us, shortly could mean thousands of years, which happens to be the case in the text in which this is written. To God, all these things that He wrote about to God have already happened. He is telling us history in advance. The church age which began at Pentecost had fully come, and that was the beginning of the church age. We read this in the following Bible verse;

Acts 2; Coming of the Holy Spirit; “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

The letters to the seven churches lay out the History of the church age which began in the book of Acts as we just read. The church age will end at the Rapture of the church, which is another study in and of itself, which will be included in the message.

Then we read in Revelation 1:3; and it goes on to tell us “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

Every church that omits teaching from the book of Revelation is doing a huge injustice to their congregation, which happens to be every denominational church. God had the Apostle John write The Book of Revelation for all of us to learn, so we would be prepared for all that is coming in the near future. But, is that the case, no, not at all. The world is very ignorant of what is coming soon. Why would God tell us that there is a special blessing to those who read and understand the book of Revelation, if it wasn’t important.  Every word in the Bible should be understood as it is written. After all, it is the blue print of how we are to live life. We either follow Gods plan for our lives or we go it alone. The choice that we make will have consequence as to where we spend eternity. Here is a good time to mention two very popular men that did it their way.  Elvis Presly and Frank Sinatra. How did it work for them? They are not the only ones, as a matter of fact, the majority of the world’s population have done it their own way. If we do it Gods way, we will be much more happy in this life, if we do it our own way, we may feel that we did good, but know this, no matter how good we may have it now, the eternal consequence may not be so pleasant.

I’m going to share a teaching that I’m sure has not been taught in any of the denominational churches. All the disciples of Jesus died a martyrs death except for John. They tried to kill John by putting him into a pot of some boiling hot substance. John would no die. They couldn’t kill John. Now, let’s ask this question. Why would God keep John from certain death to write the book of Revelation if it weren’t important? John was exiled to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. Sometimes a little common sense can go a long way. 

Then we read in Revelation 1: 9-17; “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation (Not the great Tribulation) and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.  I (John) was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,  saying,  “I (Jesus) am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. ”Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,  and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, (The Word of God) and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.”

Although God had a separate message to each church, there is a strong message to everybody who lives throughout the church age. Notice what He says at the end of each letter, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Plural) Although the first three churches have lesson for us to live by, I believe we are now living in the age of the last four churches. The letter to Thyatira definitely lines up with one of the mainline denomination of today. Of course, if you belong to this particular denomination, you are blinded to the truth as the Bible declares you would be. The letter to Sardis, lines up perfectly with another denominational church. And once again, if you follow the teaching this church, you will also be blinded from the truth. I’m not going to expand on these two denominations, because those that are blind will never be able to understand. It would be like explaining a rainbow to a blind man.

The letter to Laodicea is where we are as a nation. This letter is described as the lukewarm church. There are thousands of people that believe that if they go to church and believe in God, they will go to heaven. This is not found in the scriptures of the Bible and is a huge deception that will take place in the end days, which we are truly living in.  Let me jump back to Revelation 1:19 so we get the scope of what the Book of Revelation is all about, “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.”

The things which John had seen was the throne room of God. ”Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,  and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.”

Before I go on, I want to point out something that is very interesting to me. How many of us love to sit next to a stream and listen to the sound of the rushing water. To me, it is very therapeutic. Notice what is said in the verse that I just read. “and His (Gods) voice as the sound of many waters” Is there a connection, I believe there could be. Like I said, it is very interesting.

Now let’s move on to the next part where John is told to write the things which are. The letter written to the seven churches which is the church age or, also known as the Age of Grace are the things which are. We are still living in the things that are. These are the things written in Revelation 2:1; through Revelation 3:22. (The Church Age) which I might add, is coming to an end very soon.

Then we get to the most controversial topic of the end days.  And that is “the things which will take place after this.” After what? After the church age, which happens to be the seven year tribulation period known as the seventieth week of Daniel or more commonly known as the Great Tribulation. This period of time is on the very near horizon, whether you are being taught this or not. Hear what Jesus had to say about this time that is coming soon. Matthew 24:21; “For 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.” Does this sound like a time that anybody would want to be a pert of, I would hope not, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Hear what the scriptures have to say about this;

Matthew 7:13-20; “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Do you know for certain that you will be one of the few? Also be aware of false prophets, who come in sheep’s clothing. Most of these false prophets are behind the pulpits of today. You won’t know who they are because most likely you have never read the Bible for yourself. You are putting your trust in another human being instead of the Word of God. If you don’t read the Bible and study it for yourself, you are playing Russian Roulette with your eternity. The Bible refers to these people as fools.

Now, let’s break down the letter to Philadelphia. First of all, this is not written to Philadelphia Pennsylvania. It is written to the church of Philadelphia in the book of Revelation, which is located in Asia Minor, or once again, better known to us today as modern day Turkey.

Revelation 3: 7-8; “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 one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” This is clearing describing Jesus Christ. “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

This letter is clearing describing the Born-Again believers of today. God has opened the door for those that chose to enter. Once they have given their lives over to Jesus Christ, the door for you to escape is closed. This is what we call eternal security. If you have received Jesus Christ as your personal; Lord and Savior and have become Born-again into the Holy Spirit, then you are sealed in the hands of God and you cannot lose your salvation. Also note; Those that have received Jesus Christ have very little strength on their own. You may notice this when you look out into the world and see how many true Christian have been martyred for their faith. They are vulnerable to the worlds evil. Yes, God truly looks out for His own, but unknown to us, bad things do happen to good people, especially in this world. But know this. We may look at all these deaths as a horrible thing, but every one that is martyred for their faith will go immediately to be with Jesus. Of course, none of us what to be killed for our faith, but once we are put to death and find ourselves in the Kingdom of God, I’m sure that we will wish we got there sooner. Remember, this is not our home. We are just passing through. We are in enemy territory. I liken it to all the soldiers that were dropped in the jungles of Viet Nam. They were dropped into a very hostile environment. They were put there to survive, which was not an easy task when you see all the young men that didn’t come home. I didn’t go to Viet Nam, but I know a lot of young men that did. Many of them won’t discuss what took place while they were there. But those that survived, were sent home. On a spiritual level we are in very hostile environment that is in a sense, every bit as brutal as war. The Viet Nam war could take your life, the Spiritual war that we are in now can steel your soul. Let me share this next verse that states exactly what I just said.

Ephesians 6:12; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

We are in a battle for our souls and our only defense is God. God has placed His warriors, (His Angels) over His church to protect them from the principalities, the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Now, let’s move on; Revelation 3:9; “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.   This could have a couple meanings, I’m not sure which one it applies to, maybe both. There is a religious sect that believe in a doctrine called replacement theory which claims that God has forsaken the Jews and now all the promises God made to the Jews, now fall on the church. This is a very dangerous doctrine and a lie from the pit of hell. When God says "who say they are Jews and are not," could be those that believe in replacement theology. Or, there are a lot of people throughout the world that claim to be Jews, but really are not. They are not of any lineage of any one of the tribes of Israel. Only God knows who they are. Since this is a letter to the Born-again believers, I lean very heavily on the first option.

Genesis 17:7; “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.”  These are the Words from God. If you accept replacement theology, you are calling God a covenant breaker and a liar. Be careful whose name you slander. You will stand before the King of the Jews (Jesus) at the White Throne Judgment and your not going to like the outcome. Its your choice, believe in man or believe in the Bible. Just so you are aware, God did make a few covenants with the Jews that were conditional, and they failed miserably. But the verse above trumps ever other covenant, whether it was conditional or unconditional. Study your Bible and learn for yourself which ones were conditional or unconditional. Don’t ever assume that your Pastor or Priest is telling you the truth.

Revelation 3:10; “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. These couple of verses are badly misinterpreted because those that teach the church will go through the tribulation take the word “keep” and replace it with "preserve you though”, because once again, if you are of the belief of replacement theology and believe that to be true, then yes, you will go through the tribulation. See, a remnant of the Jews will be preserved through the tribulation. It is very clear that God will keep the true church from the trial (The Tribulation) which shall come upon the whole world. The tribulation is for two major reasons. One; To bring the Jews to repentance and two, to bring judgement to an unbelieving world. Not for The True Church! But if you become a follower of Jesus Christ during the seven year tribulation, you will be killed for your faith. God has made that perfectly clear. No member of the true church will be preserved through the tribulation, they will be removed prior to the seven year tribulation. Those that become followers of Jesus during the tribulation will be put to death whether you are a Jew or Gentile.

Read the following Bible verses. Revelation 20:4-6; “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. These are those that have come to Jesus Christ during the tribulation. Not those that have believed before the tribulation. The scriptures are very clear on this topic, once you do an in depth study of the whole counsel of God, which no denominational church does.

And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is another verse that is grossly misinterpreted or completely left out of denominational churches curriculum. If they can’t explain it away, they won’t teach it. This verse is clear evidence of the one thousand year millennial Kingdom that Jesus will set up right after the seven year tribulation period is over.

But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Revelation 3:11; “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. 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 out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

In verse 11, Jesus promises to "come soon," which in this Greek context means something that will happen "quickly or suddenly," not necessarily "a short time from now." In the meantime, He urges the believers at Philadelphia to keep a firm grip on the truth and on their loyalty to Him. By doing so they would prohibit an enemy from grabbing their crown.The Philadelphian believers would have been familiar with marathon races. To complete a marathon successfully, a runner had to adhere to strict discipline and abide by the rules governing the race. If he won the race, he would receive a crown as his reward. The apostle Paul understood that the Christian life is not a 100-yard dash but a marathon. Paul ran the race patiently, adhered to a strict disciplined and kept the rules.

He ran to win and expected to receive an imperishable crown; 1 Corinthians 9:24–26; Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.”

At the end of His life, Paul testified that he had finished the race and anticipated the crown of righteousness as a reward from the Lord, the righteous judge;

2 Timothy 4:7–8; “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

We, too, are running a marathon that requires discipline, diligence, and patient endurance. We must keep our eyes on Jesus and not be distracted. Upon completing the race successfully, we will receive the crown of righteousness.

I also need to explain another false interpretation of the following Bible verse. “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” When it speaks of a crown, that has nothing to do with your salvation. The Bible contains multiple references to crowns, which can symbolize eternal rewards for believers. Some interpretations of these passages suggest that believers will receive five crowns after the Last Judgment, known as the Five Heavenly Crowns or Five Crowns:

• The Crown of Life: Revelation 2:10; says, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life"

• The Crown of Glory: 1 Peter 5:4; says, "And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away"

• The Crown of Righteousness: 2 Timothy 4:8; says, "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day"

• The Incorruptible Crown

• The Crown of Exultation: 1 Thess. 2:19; says, "For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation?" 

The verse above is widely mistaken because to mean that one can lose his salvation. It doesn’t say that, it says you can lose a crown. We read in the following verse where it cleary supports what I just said. 1 Corinthians 3:15-17; “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

Those that have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will stand before Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat of Jesus Christ. This judgment will include all believers that died prior to the Rapture and those that will have been raptured. Those that have died with out Jesus Christ will be cast into Hades where they will be until the White Throne Judgement which will take place at the end of the millennial kingdom.

Once we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are then sealed with an everlasting promise. As we walk through life we will be under constant attack of the evil one. Satan has but one goal, to destroy as many people as he can and on the top of that list are the Jews and Christians. The way he will accomplish that is by deception and tempting us into doing something that we know is wrong. Satan’s number one tool is obviously…Sex! How many good Christinas have fallen into the arms of lust. Those that give into these temptation will not lose their salvation, but will possible lose a crown.  1 Corinthians 3:15-17; “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” This means that all those that fall into temptation, Which is referred to as work in the previous verse may lose a crown.

The reason that I say sex is the most dangerous is because people are unaware that they are sinning because they have never heard the truth. Any sex outside of marriage between and man and women falls into this category. Here what the Bible says about this sin,

 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you.”

Fornication means any sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Adulterers speaks for themselves. Notice it also mentioned Homosexuals. Don’t shoot the messenger. Sodomy is referred to as anal or oral copulation with another person, especially anal or oral copulation with a member of the same sex. Pretty clear if you ask me. If you say you area Christian and believe in Jesus Christ and then you live one of these lifestyle, your commitment to Christ is only lip serve. This is a strong message that will upset a lot of people, but theses are the words of God.

Let’s end with this, the incorruptible crown is a heavenly reward that believers can receive in the Bible for demonstrating self-denial and perseverance. The Apostle Paul uses the term in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, as we just read, contrasting it with the corruptible crowns that the world values and people strive for. The denominational churches do not teach that there are two judgments. That is why they have to allegorize all the scriptures, so they fall in place with their false teaching.

Now that you should have a good understanding of the church to Philadelphia, share it with others so they know the truth. To sum it all up, the letter to the church of Philadelphia is written to the Saints which are the Born-Again believers. The letters to the seven churches lay out the church age and it is winding down. Luke 21:28; “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Keep looking up for your redemption is drawing near.

 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

May God continue to bless all the you do and take care!