Here. True believers may be likened to those mites in the cheese which eat their way into it, and penetrate into the centre by feeding upon all that lies in their way as they advance. What can be wider than to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God? Is not this the revival of that dreadful scourge that had afflicted the early church (even Smyrna)? In due time it surrendered to Alexander the Great and through him it became a city of Greek culture. [49] G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. This is of importance to apprehend the scope of the passage and the character of the book. It was to her that one day all men would humbly make their submission. Those enemies are described to be such as said they were Jews, but lied in saying so--pretended to be the only and peculiar people of God, but were really the synagogue of Satan. As with the promises given to the other churches in chapters 2 and 3, this one is applicable to all Christians, not just the original recipients of the letter. Christ pleads and offers; but it is all to no avail if a man will not open the door. This we have had already in the Pauline epistles, where the proper sphere of the Christian as a member of Christ's body is treated especially, and indeed only there. (1a) The character of the city of Sardis. This seems to be one reason why it pleased God to give the visions of this book on the Lord's day. I hold one single sentence out of God's word to be of more certainty, and of more power, than all the discoveries of all the learned men of all the ages. Still they become a witnessing body more or less in spirit, apart from that which set up the highest pretension but in profoundly wicked communion with Jezebel, as the Lord judged and stigmatized what man called "our mother, the holy Catholic, church." It was not yet a question of coming out from the public body. He is not under law but under grace. That which had produced the mighty results was no longer active, nor could be. 288, 289. You might as well establish another religion on Mother Goose rhymes or something, or Aesops Fables. Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Spurgeon Collection" by: Tony Capoccia Bible Bulletin Board Box 314 Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022 Websites: and Email: Online since 1986. One cannot make good sense out of Revelation 3:10 otherwise. If they are what they should be, they will not think so much of our little praises as to be unduly exalted thereby; but they will be sometimes so encouraged as to be nerved to higher and nobler things. ." God's word was there to deal with human conscience. REV 3:10 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. The white robes may stand for the reward of those who have won the victory. There was no guard and once again Sardis fell because it was not upon the watch. It was theirs, they heard it and had no wish to hear anything else. When he came back to Antioch he told how God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles ( Acts 14:27). We are not now speaking of anything conventional. It was not as once. Revelation 3:10. The answer is given by the last clause when "and" is taken away: the visions that he was going to behold and record in this book whatsoever things he saw. Jesus himself tells of the wicked servant, who took advantage of his master's absence to conduct himself evilly and to whom the master made a sudden return that brought judgment. They have never embraced it, and to them no blessing can came through it. If this is the meaning, this phrase describes the life of untroubled goodness which is lived when, after the battles of earth, we reach the presence of God. Behind this there is an Old Testament picture. Explore high-quality books by self-published authors. There was failure in this respect. Be students of God's word and adherents of it. "And he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.". Laodicea, The Wealth That Is Poverty ( Revelation 3:14-22 Continued). Philadelphia, Those Who Keep Are Kept ( Revelation 3:7-13 Continued). This is exactly as we would have it. This term refers to earth-dwellers as contrasted with heaven-dwellers, the unsaved as contrasted with Christians. (4) The Spirit of Might: A lifeless dying church or individual needs new strength to enter into its lifeless body. . "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life." A Jew in God's sense of the term was not one who could claim racial descent from Abraham but one of any nation who had made the same venture of faith as he had ( Romans 9:6-9). Particular care is taken here to show it to us. Beale believed that this "hour" probably refers to the end of the churchs present experience of tribulation, just before Christs second coming. Holy separateness and savour were gone. 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. No, all Christians will experience transformation at the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). His coming is their joy, and for this they watch more than watchman for the dawn. So, Jesus is here laying claim to that prophecy of the Messiah in Isaiah 22:22 . There is a general theory abroad that it is quite right and proper to point out to a brother all his imperfections, for it will be a salutary medicine to him, and prevent his being too happy in this vale of tears. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. I will make him who overcomes a pillar in the temple of my God and he will go out no more; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, of the new Jerusalem, which is coming down from heaven from my God, and my new name. Buy. The first time a man sins he does so with many a qualm. When the children of Israel had hopelessly betrayed the Lord when their departure was complete before His eyes not only in the first rent-off portion, the ten tribes of Israel, but even the remaining two, when there was a stay and a lengthening of the tranquillity, when not only Judah, but even the house of David, the anointed king, the last regular link between God and His people, failed, then we find that God addressed not His people, but an only chosen faithful servant as His witness. It is nothing special. There make your mark, and put your foot down. 149. [46] Walvoord as quoted by Robert H. Mounce, op. The sheep which grazed round Laodicea were famous for their soft, violet-black, glossy wool. Precious souls are there, and our happy service is to help these then, if we can, to a better knowledge of His grace, not, of course, to make light of their being where they are, or of their doing what they do, yet in the fullest love to feel about them as the Lord does. Would that you were cold or hot! By the power of God upon the hearts of his enemies, and by signal discoveries of his peculiar favour to his church: They shall know that I have loved thee. He did originally, as for instance in the ten words, though afterwards in this very particular intervention came in. the Roman Empire (Luke 2:1; Acts 11:28). (3) The Spirit of Counsel: A lifeless dying church or individual needs to heed the counsel of God. Strabo describes the scene. They are waiting for Him expectantly without such an idea as His thief-like surprise. (a) In the ancient world white robes stood for festivity. Now, why should God's word be kept in this way? We call our opponents heterodox, and our zeal for orthodoxy comes to the front; and yet, after all, it may be that we have never exercised a personel faith about those doctrines, so as to think them out for ourselves. And I don't feel that I have this great obligation to share the Gospel to the Jews. There will be indifference to all that is good; and the only kind of zeal, if there be zeal, will be for what is bad. I warrant you if you get faith into your soul, and the word becomes your joy and comfort, you will never let it go. He believed the Lord will come for His saints, meet them in the air, and descend with them to the earth immediately. So now He is warning concerning His coming for the church. The Gospel; so called because it gives an account of the patience of Christ, in the midst of all his outward meanness and humiliation; and because it is a means of implanting and increasing the grace of patience, which God is the efficient cause of, and Christ is the example of; that patience, which bears a resemblance to his, in enduring afflictions, reproaches, persecutions, desertions, and temptations, and in waiting for his kingdom and glory; and because both the preachers and professors of the word have need of patience, and should exercise it in like manner as Christ did. They set up to be more righteous and holy than the rest, whom they denounced as Antinomian because they stood in the true grace of God. Not at all: the Christian ought to remember that he is a heavenly man, not an earthly one. [4.] John sees the Son of man with the qualities of the Ancient of days. When John wrote his letter to Sardis, it was wealthy but degenerate. When Paul was writing to the neighbouring Church of Colossae, he says sternly: "Say to Archippus, See that you fulfil the ministry which you have received in the Lord" ( Colossians 4:17). The Roman Christians are men who have been brought from death to life ( Romans 6:13). "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. See also Showers, pp. Just as Jesus was marked by valuing the word of God, and loving it being the only One that could truly say to Satan as true of Himself, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," so here Philadelphia is distinguished by the same living by faith. It is not merely that He died this is not what He says here, though it is said elsewhere, and very truly. Another instance of favour that Christ promises to this church is persevering grace in the most trying times (Revelation 3:10; Revelation 3:10), and this as the reward of their past fidelity. The Lord "opens the door, "so this message calls us to be faithful, using the opportunities of service which Christ provides. 54. What it guarantees is protection away from the scene of the hour of trial while that hour is in progress. They had but small ability to speak with tongues, or work miracles, or teach the word; but they adhered faithfully to what they had been taught by the apostles of the Lord: they were not brilliant, but they were sound. There is a very lovely thing about the way this is put. ( Matthew 24:48-51). God means to use you. 176-91.]. It is, and always must be, the effect of the clerical principle to substitute the authority of man, more or less, for that of the Lord, and to weaken and hinder the immediate action of the Spirit by the word of God on the conscience. Trench points out that a witness must satisfy three essential conditions. I am inclined to think that the hour of trial embraces the whole Apocalyptic period; that is, not merely the awful time when Satan in a rage is expelled from on high, and when the beast, energised by him, rises to his full head of power, but the previous period of trouble, seduction, and judgment. The Katakekaumene was a great volcanic plain bearing the marks of the lava and the ashes of volcanoes then extinct. This phrase says to every one of us: "All these things are meant for you.". Paul warns the Thessalonians of the terrible fate which awaits the disobedient and the unbelieving when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven and shall take swift and final vengeance on his enemies ( 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). The reason for the word is that this famous tephra Phrygia, Phrygian powder, was exported all over the world in solidified tablet form in the shape of little rolls. ( Revelation 3:1-6 Continued). Sardis, The Imperatives Of The Risen Lord ( Revelation 3:1-6 Continued). In A.D. 61 it was devastated by an earthquake; but so rich and independent were its citizens that they refused any help from the Roman government and out of their own resources rebuilt their city. (ii) He is he who is true. Would God not keep them from the hour of testing? I open and no man can shut. If you have kept God's word you may be wielding an influence far beyond what you imagine. Isaiah 45:14; Isaiah 49:23; Ezekiel 36:23; Ezekiel 37:28; Zechariah 8:20-23). Philadelphia, Promise And Warning ( Revelation 3:7-13 Continued). And as this is the heart's outpouring of its own delight in Jesus, so the next verse gives a warning testimony suitable to the book, lest there should be any weakening of what Jesus will be to those who stand in no such nearness to Him. to be of no esteem in the world? Constant reference is made to the law, Psalms, and prophets, but it is never a mere repetition, as the literalists suppose, of what was found there. There is positive evidence of the most convincing and satisfactory kind for the insertions, omissions, or changes, which may be mentioned from time to time. "Therefore," he says, "watch!" 101.] We agree with Beasley-Murray that it is certainly possible that, "an identical period of trial is referred to in both Revelation 2:10 and Revelation 3:1. God's threat passed on by Nahum to the disobedient people was: "I will let nations look on your nakedness, and on your kingdoms shame" ( Nahum 3:5). You may never become more numerous, or more influential; but do let it be true of you, that you have kept God's word. Sardis was a city of degeneration. You shall be offensive to them, or they to you, and you shall soon part company." Jesus Christ gave no rebuke to this church, as was true of the church in Smyrna. We have now come to the sixth letter, sent to one of the Asian churches, where observe. And I will kill her children with death." 10 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. Thus have I explained what the Philadelphians did. She receives no word of blame. "The things which are" present the prolonged condition set forth in the addresses to the seven churches. For instance, the standard for the Christian is not in anywise the law (which was so for the Jew); for us it is Christ Himself, and cannot without loss be anything else. for thou hast a little strength ( Revelation 3:8 ). "Because this period of tribulation will immediately precede the coming of the Lord to earth in power and great glory (cf. This very thing condemned the state of Protestantism that resulted; because, while it was freely read, there was scarce any thought of forming all upon the Bible, and regulating all by it. (b) He must be absolutely honest, so that he repeats with accuracy that which he has heard and seen. They did it under great disadvantages, but that only helped to increase the weight of praise measured out to them. "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam." Gird up your loins and enter it. In the Christian life there must be a decisive moment, when a man decides to be done with the old way and to begin on the new. In the ancient world a king kept a register of his citizens. 11 [ b]Behold,I am coming quickly!Hold fast what you have, that no one may takeyour crown. In this church we feel very little of the temptation which tries all the world: very seldom are any of our friends unsettled in their minds, or tormented with these hornets of heresy. (b) It denotes the Spirit in his sevenfold operation. None the less is it "the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ," even if it consists not of that which ministers directly to the edification of the Christian in his own position, but indirectly as announcing the doom of such as despise God and do their own will in the face of His revelation. At the same time, if we do not start with the Old Testament revelations of Babylon or Jerusalem, or the instruction derived from the prophets generally, we are not prepared for appreciating or even understanding the Apocalypse as a whole. The New Testament frequently likens sin to death. One says to me, "Are you not perplexed about the prevalence of modern thought the new phase of divinity that has come up of late, and the general progress that is being made towards a new theology? Let us first take the word rebuke. Revelation 2:9). Isaiah 43:2-4; John 10:27-28; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 6:18-19). "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." It is His position both ministerial and ecclesiastical His relationship to the angels, or those that morally represented the assemblies to His eye, as well as to the churches themselves. Let men call you bigot, but never mind, hold you on with all your might, and your Lord will smile upon you. Now, I shall speak for myself and for you, and I know that we can bear witness that this promise is true. (1.) One can understand their passing through the scene of his power, but to be dwelling there is significant. The gospel of Christ is the word of his patience. We shall never grow stronger by leaving the eternal word. Oh, that they would cease to display their own thought, their own cleverness, and individuality. In the temptation you will fall, for indeed you are fallen already. Go ahead! "For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. [Note: See Newell, pp. Therefore, as it is a holy thing, a heavenly thing, a priceless thing, keep you God's word. When a bushel is full of wheat the good corn keeps the chaff out of the measure. He puts His voucher on the book from the beginning. He that chastiseth his son shall have profit of him and shall glory of him among his acquaintances" (Ecc 30:1). Is not this exactly what Romanism does? if Christ be the rule of life for the Christian, and the law be the rule of death for a Jew, it is evident that for a Christian to abandon that for this tends to apostacy. The wealth of Sardis was legendary. (i) The faithful Christian will be a pillar in the Temple of God. Revelation 3:1. iii. "Hereafter" gives vagueness: "after these" makes it precise, and is the plain literal meaning. That in itself would have been enough to make Laodicea one of the great commercial and strategic centres of the ancient world. Revelation 3:9 Commentaries: Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie-- I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. True grace, though weak, has the divine approbation; but, though Christ accepts a little strength, yet believers should not rest satisfied in a little, but should strive to grow in grace, to be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy ( Revelation 3:4 ). In A.D. 17 there came a great earthquake which destroyed Sardis and ten other cities. Warriors guard kings, and crowns, and thrones; but the living truth of the living God is infinitely more worthy of our watch. He opens. It would rather seem from this that the affliction was some form of persecution as adapted to test the fidelity of those who were affected by it. 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." At the same time another way of looking at the book is by taking "the things that are" as already past and gone. The meaning then is that John testified the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. The combination of the verb and the preposition in Greek in this verse clearly means that He would keep them out of it (the pretribulation position). The ropes hang down in our belfry, but the glorious chime is aloft. Christ is to be acknowledged as the author of all the liberty and opportunity his churches enjoy. Accordingly the division of the next chapter (Revelation 3:1-22) seems to be happy at this point. This gives us, as is obvious and familiar to almost every reader, the threefold division of the book of Revelation. A day will come when all questions of this age will be answered. He didn't want to become one with the Gentile. Revelation 1:1; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 2:16; Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:12; Revelation 22:20; 2 Peter 3:8). This would mean even more in the ancient world than now. The godly remnant of Jews, having to do with a special and most fierce but circumscribed tribulation, have only to flee to the mountains in order to escape till Jesus appears in glory, to the confusion of their foes. Furthermore, the promise of Luke 21:17 is explanatory of what is meant here. When we are called upon to show endurance, the endurance of Jesus Christ supplies us with three things. Not a bit. I have set it open, and kept it open, though there be many adversaries. 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. But the point of interest here is, that succession and ordinances became defined as a system about this very time. Its purpose is to demonstrate the quality of those who "dwell upon the earth." Sardis, The Threefold Promise ( Revelation 3:1-6 Continued). (b) In the ancient world white robes stood for victory. And the same spirit of unbelief which let in the mischief keeps it in, decrying the true application of the two-edged sword now as then. Jesus dictates letters to the remaining three of the Seven Churches of Asia. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou were cold or hot. Again, we can understand an angel employed a real angelic being as the means of communication between the Lord and His servant John; but it would be harsh to suppose that His servant John writes a letter from Christ to a literal angelic being. There will be that day that will come that the Jews will recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. Revelation (Life Application Bible Commentary) by Bruce B Barton at AbeBooks.co.uk - ISBN 10: 0842328742 - ISBN 13: 9780842328746 - Tyndale House Publishers - 2000 - Softcover We eat our way into the word of God, we live upon what we learn, tunnelling through the truth with receptive minds. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: (1) he who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars, says this: I know your deeds, that you have a (2) name that you are alive, but you are dead. He is seen upon His glorious throne with the Father in the Eternal Kingdom - the New Jerusalem. That is what the Risen Christ means when he speaks of the open door that is set before Philadelphia. We will enter into the third section, the things which will be after these things of the church. Both Puritan Dispensationalists and Partial Rapturists agree that in order to be raptured, one must be faithful. Laodicea was so conscious of its medical skill in the care of the eyes that it never realized that it was spiritually blind. The more you stand in the forefront of the battle, with the responsible testimony of God, the more you have the grace and truth of God brought out before and by you, if the heart and conscience be not governed and animated by the power of the Spirit of God, through that truth and grace that is in Christ, sooner or later, there will be, beyond a question, a lapse back into a position of neutrality, if not of active enmity. The Christian must live well and live in love because the judge is standing at the doors ( James 5:9). "I have set before thee an open door, and none can shut it: for thou hast a little strength." The heavenly hope of being with Christ is promised as well as part in the kingdom. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Sardis stood in the midst of the plain of the valley of the River Hermus. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the church ( Revelation 3:13 ). People are always ready to part with that for which they have no esteem, and for this very reason many are quite willing to give up the Bible to critics and philosophers, those footpads and burglars of faith. Had they not left their first love? Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, hold fast, repent. (c) It is just possible that we have an Old Testament picture. The activity was in the clergy, who brought in the basest compromise with the world, and sold the honour of Christ for silver and gold, for ease and dignity. (b) It is just possible that there is a reference to the custom of branding a slave with the initials of his owner to show that he belongs to him. Glory of him and shall glory of him among his acquaintances '' ( 30:1! The remaining three of the Lord disciplines him whom he loves and chastises every son whom he loves and every. 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