April 24, 2025 • 26 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
If Jesus were critiquing your church, what would he say? Great?
Job needs improvement, mixed reviews. Today, on Turning Point, doctor
David Jeremiah introduces us to a rare church, rare because
Jesus had only good things to say about it. Are
any of its qualities in your church? From the series
(00:26):
Escape the Coming Night, here's David to introduce today's message,
the Faithful Church Philadelphia.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
You know, I believe if I study history correctly, and
then these churches represent epics of history. I believe that
we have lived through at least a portion of the
Philadelphia Age, an age of missionary outreach, of church, growth
of evangelism. I am not sure we're still in that age.
If we are, it seems as if it's waning. But
(00:55):
please watch carefully as we study Revelation chapter three and
discussed the letter that was written to the Faithful Church
of Philadelphia. You will look long and hard for any
negative words from the Lord, for there aren't any. This
is one of the great churches in this list, and
we'll get started in just a moment. Hey friends, We're
going to Alaska, as many of you know, we go
(01:18):
every year in July the twelfth through the nineteenth of
this year's dates, and we will be visiting Juno, Glacier
Bay and Sitica and Ketchikan and Victoria, and we'll have
some wonderful guests with us, Uriel Vega, Michael Sanchez and
I'll be preaching, and we'll have some great things going
(01:39):
on on this particular event. You can come with us,
and I hope you will. We're already gaining a great
crowd of people and we're going to have a full cruise,
so don't wait till the last minute. Once again, the
dates are July twelfth through the nineteenth, and we'll give
you more information as we get closer. But whatever you do,
go to our website, which is David Jeremiah dot org
(02:00):
or get all the information and plan to be with
us when we go to Alaska in July. This is
part one The Faithful Church of Philadelphia from Revelation chapter three,
verses seven through thirteen.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
If I could have chosen to be present when any
of the letters of Revelation two and three were read
for the first time, I would have chosen to be
at Philadelphia when they opened this letter from the Postman
of Patmos and read for the first time his letter
(02:38):
to them.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
I don't think.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I'd want to be in Lea to see it when
they read their letter. I would had mixed emotions about
being in ephesis when that letter was read. I wouldn't
want to even identify with some of the other churches,
But to have been in Philadelphia and have heard the
encouraging words that John wrote to them would have been
an exciting operation tunity. Along with the church in Smyrna,
(03:04):
Philadelphia is a church which hears from the Lord in
a positive way. The Lord commends them and encourages them.
The message to the church in Philadelphia is in some
respects one of the most interesting of all the messages.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
To the churches.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Here is a church which was faithful to Christ and
faithful to the Word of God. The city of Philadelphia
itself is known in modern times by the name Aliser,
and it is located in Lydia, some twenty eight miles
southeast of Sardis. It was named after a king of Pergamus,
(03:42):
Atilas Philadelphus, who built the city. The word Philadelphia, as
most of you know, means brotherly love, and in the
city in the United States which is called Philadelphia, it
has as its byline the city of brotherly Love. If
you have ever been to a sporting event in Philadelphia,
you know they have long since forgotten the meaning of
(04:05):
their name. The word Philadelphia means brotherly love, and it
is found six other times in the New Testament. I
wish we had time to look at it, but here
we find only the seventh use of the word Philadelphia
in the New Testament, and it is the final time
that it is used. It is used here of the
city that bears its name. Now, the city of Philadelphia,
(04:28):
as I've mentioned, was twenty eight miles south of Sardes.
From the beginning of the nineteenth century to the rapture,
we have what is referred to as the revived Church.
And if you study the letters to the Churches and
you look at them chronologically, each of the churches representing
a period.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Of church history.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
The period of church history that is represented by the
letter to Philadelphia is the period following the Reformation. It
is the great missionary outreach period of the Church, when
the worldwide missionary movement was started, when the great Revivals
took place, when education rose to its zenith power, and
(05:09):
when God was doing a great work in the church.
The Philadelphian Church will still be present in some form,
I believe when Christ returns. Though it is true that
the Church of Ladesa characterizes the age before the return
of Christ, there will be many who will be characterized
by the spirit of the Church in Philadelphia when Christ
(05:31):
comes back for his own. Philadelphia lived longer as a
city than any of the Seven Churches, but it was
often shaken by earthquakes. In fact, the history of the
city is most interesting, especially if you happen to live
in San Diego.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
It was a city.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Often interrupted in its daily routine by earthquakes. In fact,
one earthquake was so great that many of the people
moved out of the city and never returned. Now, when
the Lord writes to the church in Philadelphia, he designates
himself in a very interesting way. He gives to himself
these characteristics. He that is holy, he that is true,
(06:12):
He that hath the Key of David, He that openeth,
and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
We haven't time in our.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Message to labor all of these characteristics. When the Lord
is referenced here as the one who is holy, he
is simply saying that as the preeminent God. He is
the Holy One, and the one who embodies the characteristic
which God alone possesses.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
He is a holy God.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Such a person is qualified alone to call the Christians
of Philadelphia to a life of faith in him. We
are told in one Peter one point fifteen, for instance,
but as he which has called.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
You is holy, so be ye holy in all manner
of life.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Before someone can require us to live a life of holiness,
he himself must be holy. And so the Lord establishes
the fact of his holiness at the outset of this letter.
But he adds to that the characteristic as the one
who is true. Here he is not talking about truth
(07:23):
as opposed to that which is a lie, but rather
he is talking about truth as that which is genuine.
There are two words for truth used often in the
New Testament, and the word used here is a word
which has to do with the genuineness and the reality
of a thing or a person. So Jesus is saying,
(07:44):
I am not only the Holy One, but I am
the genuine true, as opposed to that which is false.
And this aspect of the person of Jesus Christ, linked
with his holiness, brings out the great truth that right
doctrine and right living go together. When you understand who
Jesus is, and when you understand his character, you can
(08:07):
understand how he is both holy and genuine, and he
calls us to such a combination. He wants us to
be holy, and he wants our conduct to flow out
of holiness into genuine godliness. But I suppose the characteristic
of the Lord Jesus that is most interesting to us
(08:27):
as we read it, because it thrust us back into
the Old Testament again. Is this phrase in the first
verse of the letter that responds to the Lord Jesus
as the one who has the key of David, and
that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no
man openeth. This description of Christ as he is introduced
(08:48):
in this letter is not exactly the same as the
phrase that is used about him in the first chapter.
You remember, as we've studied the letters, we have noticed
that whenever we have the designation Christ in the letter,
usually it refers back to the picture of Christ in
chapter one. If you go back in your bibles to
the first chapter, you will see something that is similar
(09:10):
in chapter one and verse eighteen. In chapter one in
verse eighteen, we read, I am he that liveth and
was dead, and am alive forevermore. Amen, and have the
keys of hell and of death. But here in the
letter to the Church at Philadelphia, he calls himself the
one who has the keys of David. In Isaiah chapter
(09:34):
twenty two, verse twenty two, where speaking of eliah Kim,
the son of Hilkiah, it is recorded that the key
of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder,
so he shall open and none shall shut. And he
shall shut and none shall open. Eliahkim had the key
(09:55):
to all of the treasures of the King. And when
he opened the door, it was open, and when he
closed the door, it was closed. Here in this letter
Jesus Christ is pictured in the same way. He is
the great anti type of Eliah Kim. He has the
key to truth and holiness, as well as the key
to opportunity, and the key to service, and the key
(10:16):
to testimony. And to the church in Philadelphia surrounded by
heathen and wickedness, Jesus Christ gives assurance that he has
the power to open the door according to his sovereign will.
He is the one who opens the door. Now that
is very interesting in light of the first characteristic of
(10:38):
the church which Jesus commands, beginning in the eighth verse.
Notice as you look in your bibles. When Jesus begins
to command the church in Philadelphia, he says, I know
thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door,
and no man can shut it. The Lord Jesus presents
(10:59):
him as the one who is responsible for opening doors,
and then he says to the church in Philadelphia, you
are a church with a great opportunity and a great
open door. When he says to the church that they
have an open door, he could mean a number of things.
Some folks have said, well, that means they have the
(11:22):
joy of the Lord. Others have said it means they
have the key to the knowledge of the Scripture. And
still another one has said that this is the open
door to witnessing and the proclamation of the Word of God.
It is most interesting when you go back to the
Scripture to try to find out what a term means. Usually,
if you look far enough, you'll find out what it means.
(11:43):
What does the Bible mean when it talks about an
open door. Hold your place in Revelation chapter three and
go back with me for a moment to First Corinthians,
chapter sixteen, and there you will find a passage where
that very phrase is used, and it is explained very carefully,
so that we cannot miss what is meant. First Corinthians
(12:06):
sixteen eight and nine. Paul is writing to the Corinthians,
and he says in verse eight, but I will tarry
at Ephesus until Pentecost, for a great door and effectual
is opened unto me. And there are many adversaries. What
is he talking about? Here is an opportunity for him
(12:27):
to serve? And he says, the door is wide open,
and it's an exciting door, and there are many enemies,
but the door is open. Nonetheless, keep turning in your
bibles back toward the book of Revelation, and come to
Second Corinthians, chapter two and verse twelve. Here, writing to
the Corinthians again, he says furthermore, when I came to
(12:48):
Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was open
unto me of the Lord, and I had no rest
in my spirit because I found not Titus, my brother.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
What is he talking about? He said?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
When I got there, I found out that there was
a tremendous opportunity for me to do what God had
called me to do. Here is another illustration from the
Book of Colossians. Keep turning back toward the book of
Revelation and come to Colossians, chapter four and verse three.
Now Paul is using this phrase in a prayer, and
(13:20):
he asks the Colossians to pray for him. He says,
continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving,
with all praying for us, that God would open unto
us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ,
for which I also.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Am in bonds. What is he saying?
Speaker 3 (13:39):
He asked the Colossians to pray for him, that there
would be an opportunity for him to witness to the
people to whom God had sent him. He recognized that God,
that Lord Jesus Christ, was the great door opener. Now
to understand this truth, you have to understand the geograph
(14:00):
of Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Let me tell you a little bit about the city.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Philadelphia was located where three great countries came together, Mycia
and Lydia and Phrygia.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
They all bordered together at Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
And because of this fact, the city was founded in
one forty BC. By the king of Pergamus, whose other
name was Philadelphus, and he founded the city at this
very strategic location so that it could be an outreach
city to spread the Greek language and the Greek culture,
and the Greek literature, and the Greek manners and the
(14:34):
Greek way of life to the interior of Phgia. He
strategically put Philadelphia at the very corner of those three countries,
and he planted it there so that it could be
used to spread the Greek culture and literally to Hellenize
all of the surrounding area. Sir William Ramsay explains the
reference to the door as arising from the geographical situation,
(14:57):
and this is what he says.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Of the city.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Fully explains this, saying, Philadelphia lay at the upper extremity
of a long valley which opens back from the sea.
After passing Philadelphia, the road along this valley ascends to
the Phrygian land and the Great Central Plateau and the
main mass of Asia Minor. This road was the one
which led from the harbor of Smyrna to the northeastern
(15:24):
parts of Asia Minor and the East in general, and
the one rival to the great route connecting Ephesus with
the East and the great Asian trade route of medieval times.
Philadelphia therefore was the keeper of the gateway to the plateau.
And so when Jesus wrote by way of John to
that church, and he said there is a wide open
(15:45):
door to you, they would first of all have thought
about the strategic location of their city and realized that
they had been placed geographically in a situation where they
could influence thousands of people. And now the Lord is
saying to them that door is open to you. For
other reasons as well. I could not help but notice
(16:06):
the warning that was written by John Stott, who seems
very capable of warning, and this is what he said.
Christ has the keys, and he opens the doors. Then
let us not bulge our way unceremoniously through doors which
are still closed. We must wait for Him to make
(16:28):
openings for us. Damage is continually being done to the
cause of Christ by rude or blatant testimony. It is
indeed right to seek the wind for Christ our friends
and relatives at home and at work, but we are
sometimes in a greater hurry than God is. Be patient,
pray hard, love much, and wait expectantly for the opportunity
(16:49):
of witness. The same applies to our future. More mistakes
are probably made by speed than by sloth, by impatience
than by dilatoriousness. God's purpose is often ripened slowly. And
if the door is shut, don't put your shoulder to it.
Wait until Christ takes out the key and opens it up.
(17:10):
That's pretty good advice. He's the God of the open door,
and we need not to be trying to bang the
door down if he hasn't opened it up yet. So
the church is commended because it is a church that
was divinely ordained by God and assured by His power
and sovereignty, and that they were going to have an
(17:32):
open door of witness. And that's why that church is
such a wonderful picture of the period of time in
church history when so much was happening, when the missionary
ventures were starting, and the Gospel was being spread and
evangelism was just running rampant. Then they are commended secondly
for a very strange thing. If you read your Bibles carefully,
you will see in the Book of Revelation that the
(17:53):
second characteristic for which they are commended is this one.
They are commended because they have a little strength. That
sounds like a backward compliment, doesn't it. You know, you
don't usually feel complimented if somebody says you have a
little strength.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
But that's what the Lord says.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
In the eighth verse, he says, I want to compliments
you that not only do you have an open door
and no man can shut it, but thou hast a
little strength. And that term in the original language actually
carries the thought of but little strength. In other words,
it is not that the church still has a little
strength and then thus can function to some degree. Rather,
(18:32):
what the Lord is saying is that it has but
little strength in itself, so that the source of its
power must ultimately depend upon the Lord. My strength is
made perfect in weakness two Corinthians twelve nine. Neither wealth,
nor influence, nor promotional schemes, nor the eloquence of the pulpit,
(18:52):
nor the harmonies of the musicians can give an effective ministry.
The Lord alone opens the door, and the Lord alone
gives the increase. And if you have a little strength
and it's his, you're okay. It's when you have big
strength and it's yours that you're in trouble. It's when
you're depending on your buildings and your budgets and your staff,
(19:14):
and all of your ideas and your organizational plan and
your outreach and all of the rest. And the strength
is not in the Lord, but it's in you. They
had a little strength, They were not much if you
looked at him from the outside, but they were mighty
in the hands of God. And then he commends them. Thirdly,
(19:37):
because they had kept the word. Notice, as you read
the eighth verse, he says, you have kept my word.
In the midst of the denial of the scriptures. This
church to believed the Bible to be authoritative, and they
kept the word of God. And the fourth compliment that
he gives to them is that they have not denied
(19:57):
the Lord notice at the end of the verse, and
has not denied my name. Having to do with the
great controversy that was going on in that period of
time concerning the deity of Jesus Christ, the Christians in
Philadelphia had stood up strong and said, we believe Jesus
Christ is the Lord God, and we have not denied
(20:18):
his name. By the way, more than a few church
growth experts have said that the four characteristics of this
church are usually found in churches that are having a
vibrant testimony for Jesus Christ, a door of opportunity opened
by God, a sense of their own powerlessness apart from Christ,
a commitment to the Word of God, and absolute integrity
(20:40):
as it relates to doctrine.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
When those things are.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
There, oftentimes you see a church that is on the
move for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as the Lord
addresses this church, he makes some promises to them. And
as you read on after the eighth verse, you see
the promises. He says, behold, I will make of them
of the Synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews
(21:04):
and are not.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
But do lie.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Behold, I will make them to come and worship before
thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Now this is an interesting statement, because once again we
meet these trouble making Jews who are a part of
the Church and keep popping their head out, and we
keep finding them again. If you go back to chapter
two and verse nine, you remember that when the Lord
(21:28):
wrote to the church in Smyrna, he said, I know
thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich,
and I know the blaspheme of them, which say they
are Jews and are not but are of the Synagogue
of Satan. Now Here in the church in Philadelphia, he
mentions them again, but no longer is he talking about
tolerating them or not worrying about them. Now the Lord
(21:50):
promises to this church that he will humiliate their enemies,
and he says in verse nine, I will make them
come and worship before thy feet, and know that I
have loved thee. The Lord Jesus says that I'm not
going to put up with that anymore. In this church.
We're going to take care of that problem. And before
you're finished, they're going to become people who look to
(22:13):
you for direction and for guidance. Someone has pointed out
that the apostle Paul and his situation is a good
illustration of this truth. He started out to persecute the church,
didn't he He was out trying to kill him put
them in prison. In fact, he was on his way
on a persecution mission, on his way to Damascus, when
the Lord arrested him and wouldn't let him arrest the Christians.
(22:38):
And the next thing we know, this persecutor has become
a worshiper and the champion for the cause of Jesus Christ.
The Lord promises this church that he will humiliate their enemies. Then,
in the next verse he makes a promise which has
great prophetic ramifications. In fact, he says, because thou has
(23:00):
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. Now,
please note as you read this verse that even though
this is a letter addressed to an individual church, it
is not a promise that has to do with regional persecution.
(23:24):
This is a promise to the Church of Philadelphia and
to the church which is represented by this church in history,
that the Lord God has a special plan that will
keep them from ever experiencing the world wide tribulation, which
we're going to study beginning in the fourth chapter through
the nineteenth chapter of this book.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
This verse that we've just referenced is one of the
great profitting verses of the Bible. Make sure you don't
forget where it is. We'll come back to it later
as we move through this book together. We're going to
take some time off for the weekend. I hate it
when we have to interrupt a message and take two
days away because I know it'll take a little while
to get you caught back up on Monday, but we'll
(24:08):
do that, and on Monday we'll continue our discussion of
the church in Philadelphia. Friends who are running out of
time in the month of April, just a few days left,
and I don't want you to miss the opportunity to
get a copy of the book that sort of started
all this revelation stuff in my life. Escape the Coming
Night was written some years ago and it has been
(24:30):
updated now, a two hundred and ninety page contemporary commentary
on the Book of Revelation. It's yours for the asking.
When you send a gift of any size to Turning
Point during the month of April, do your best, send
your best gift, but ask, and this book will be
on its way. Have a great weekend, folks. We'll see
you next time right here on this good station.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Our message today came to you from Shadow Mountain Community
Church and senior past doctor David Jeremiah. Turning Point is
also on radio and TV this weekend. To learn where
to find it, visit our website David Jeremiah dot org.
Slash Radio. That's Davidjeremiah dot Org, Slash Radio, or call
eight hundred nine four seven nineteen ninety three ask for
(25:18):
your copy of David's best selling, in depth book on revelation,
Escape the Coming Night. It's yours for a gift of
any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible
in the English Standard, New International, and New King James version,
complete with notes and articles from doctor Jeremiah's decades of study.
What is God doing in your life as a result
(25:38):
of this ministry? Write to tell us at Turning Point
PO Box thirty eight thirty eight, San Diego, California, nine
two one sixty three. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join
us Monday as we continue the series Escape the Coming
Night on Turning Point with Doctor David Jeremiah
If Jesus were critiquing your church, what would he say? Great?
Job needs improvement, mixed reviews. Today, on Turning Point, doctor
David Jeremiah introduces us to a rare church, rare because
Jesus had only good things to say about it. Are
any of its qualities in your church? From the series
(00:26):
Escape the Coming Night, here's David to introduce today's message,
the Faithful Church Philadelphia.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
You know, I believe if I study history correctly, and
then these churches represent epics of history. I believe that
we have lived through at least a portion of the
Philadelphia Age, an age of missionary outreach, of church, growth
of evangelism. I am not sure we're still in that age.
If we are, it seems as if it's waning. But
(00:55):
please watch carefully as we study Revelation chapter three and
discussed the letter that was written to the Faithful Church
of Philadelphia. You will look long and hard for any
negative words from the Lord, for there aren't any. This
is one of the great churches in this list, and
we'll get started in just a moment. Hey friends, We're
going to Alaska, as many of you know, we go
(01:18):
every year in July the twelfth through the nineteenth of
this year's dates, and we will be visiting Juno, Glacier
Bay and Sitica and Ketchikan and Victoria, and we'll have
some wonderful guests with us, Uriel Vega, Michael Sanchez and
I'll be preaching, and we'll have some great things going
(01:39):
on on this particular event. You can come with us,
and I hope you will. We're already gaining a great
crowd of people and we're going to have a full cruise,
so don't wait till the last minute. Once again, the
dates are July twelfth through the nineteenth, and we'll give
you more information as we get closer. But whatever you do,
go to our website, which is David Jeremiah dot org
(02:00):
or get all the information and plan to be with
us when we go to Alaska in July. This is
part one The Faithful Church of Philadelphia from Revelation chapter three,
verses seven through thirteen.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
If I could have chosen to be present when any
of the letters of Revelation two and three were read
for the first time, I would have chosen to be
at Philadelphia when they opened this letter from the Postman
of Patmos and read for the first time his letter
(02:38):
to them.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
I don't think.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I'd want to be in Lea to see it when
they read their letter. I would had mixed emotions about
being in ephesis when that letter was read. I wouldn't
want to even identify with some of the other churches,
But to have been in Philadelphia and have heard the
encouraging words that John wrote to them would have been
an exciting operation tunity. Along with the church in Smyrna,
(03:04):
Philadelphia is a church which hears from the Lord in
a positive way. The Lord commends them and encourages them.
The message to the church in Philadelphia is in some
respects one of the most interesting of all the messages.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
To the churches.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Here is a church which was faithful to Christ and
faithful to the Word of God. The city of Philadelphia
itself is known in modern times by the name Aliser,
and it is located in Lydia, some twenty eight miles
southeast of Sardis. It was named after a king of Pergamus,
(03:42):
Atilas Philadelphus, who built the city. The word Philadelphia, as
most of you know, means brotherly love, and in the
city in the United States which is called Philadelphia, it
has as its byline the city of brotherly Love. If
you have ever been to a sporting event in Philadelphia,
you know they have long since forgotten the meaning of
(04:05):
their name. The word Philadelphia means brotherly love, and it
is found six other times in the New Testament. I
wish we had time to look at it, but here
we find only the seventh use of the word Philadelphia
in the New Testament, and it is the final time
that it is used. It is used here of the
city that bears its name. Now, the city of Philadelphia,
(04:28):
as I've mentioned, was twenty eight miles south of Sardes.
From the beginning of the nineteenth century to the rapture,
we have what is referred to as the revived Church.
And if you study the letters to the Churches and
you look at them chronologically, each of the churches representing
a period.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Of church history.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
The period of church history that is represented by the
letter to Philadelphia is the period following the Reformation. It
is the great missionary outreach period of the Church, when
the worldwide missionary movement was started, when the great Revivals
took place, when education rose to its zenith power, and
(05:09):
when God was doing a great work in the church.
The Philadelphian Church will still be present in some form,
I believe when Christ returns. Though it is true that
the Church of Ladesa characterizes the age before the return
of Christ, there will be many who will be characterized
by the spirit of the Church in Philadelphia when Christ
(05:31):
comes back for his own. Philadelphia lived longer as a
city than any of the Seven Churches, but it was
often shaken by earthquakes. In fact, the history of the
city is most interesting, especially if you happen to live
in San Diego.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
It was a city.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Often interrupted in its daily routine by earthquakes. In fact,
one earthquake was so great that many of the people
moved out of the city and never returned. Now, when
the Lord writes to the church in Philadelphia, he designates
himself in a very interesting way. He gives to himself
these characteristics. He that is holy, he that is true,
(06:12):
He that hath the Key of David, He that openeth,
and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
We haven't time in our.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Message to labor all of these characteristics. When the Lord
is referenced here as the one who is holy, he
is simply saying that as the preeminent God. He is
the Holy One, and the one who embodies the characteristic
which God alone possesses.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
He is a holy God.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Such a person is qualified alone to call the Christians
of Philadelphia to a life of faith in him. We
are told in one Peter one point fifteen, for instance,
but as he which has called.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
You is holy, so be ye holy in all manner
of life.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Before someone can require us to live a life of holiness,
he himself must be holy. And so the Lord establishes
the fact of his holiness at the outset of this letter.
But he adds to that the characteristic as the one
who is true. Here he is not talking about truth
(07:23):
as opposed to that which is a lie, but rather
he is talking about truth as that which is genuine.
There are two words for truth used often in the
New Testament, and the word used here is a word
which has to do with the genuineness and the reality
of a thing or a person. So Jesus is saying,
(07:44):
I am not only the Holy One, but I am
the genuine true, as opposed to that which is false.
And this aspect of the person of Jesus Christ, linked
with his holiness, brings out the great truth that right
doctrine and right living go together. When you understand who
Jesus is, and when you understand his character, you can
(08:07):
understand how he is both holy and genuine, and he
calls us to such a combination. He wants us to
be holy, and he wants our conduct to flow out
of holiness into genuine godliness. But I suppose the characteristic
of the Lord Jesus that is most interesting to us
(08:27):
as we read it, because it thrust us back into
the Old Testament again. Is this phrase in the first
verse of the letter that responds to the Lord Jesus
as the one who has the key of David, and
that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no
man openeth. This description of Christ as he is introduced
(08:48):
in this letter is not exactly the same as the
phrase that is used about him in the first chapter.
You remember, as we've studied the letters, we have noticed
that whenever we have the designation Christ in the letter,
usually it refers back to the picture of Christ in
chapter one. If you go back in your bibles to
the first chapter, you will see something that is similar
(09:10):
in chapter one and verse eighteen. In chapter one in
verse eighteen, we read, I am he that liveth and
was dead, and am alive forevermore. Amen, and have the
keys of hell and of death. But here in the
letter to the Church at Philadelphia, he calls himself the
one who has the keys of David. In Isaiah chapter
(09:34):
twenty two, verse twenty two, where speaking of eliah Kim,
the son of Hilkiah, it is recorded that the key
of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder,
so he shall open and none shall shut. And he
shall shut and none shall open. Eliahkim had the key
(09:55):
to all of the treasures of the King. And when
he opened the door, it was open, and when he
closed the door, it was closed. Here in this letter
Jesus Christ is pictured in the same way. He is
the great anti type of Eliah Kim. He has the
key to truth and holiness, as well as the key
to opportunity, and the key to service, and the key
(10:16):
to testimony. And to the church in Philadelphia surrounded by
heathen and wickedness, Jesus Christ gives assurance that he has
the power to open the door according to his sovereign will.
He is the one who opens the door. Now that
is very interesting in light of the first characteristic of
(10:38):
the church which Jesus commands, beginning in the eighth verse.
Notice as you look in your bibles. When Jesus begins
to command the church in Philadelphia, he says, I know
thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door,
and no man can shut it. The Lord Jesus presents
(10:59):
him as the one who is responsible for opening doors,
and then he says to the church in Philadelphia, you
are a church with a great opportunity and a great
open door. When he says to the church that they
have an open door, he could mean a number of things.
Some folks have said, well, that means they have the
(11:22):
joy of the Lord. Others have said it means they
have the key to the knowledge of the Scripture. And
still another one has said that this is the open
door to witnessing and the proclamation of the Word of God.
It is most interesting when you go back to the
Scripture to try to find out what a term means. Usually,
if you look far enough, you'll find out what it means.
(11:43):
What does the Bible mean when it talks about an
open door. Hold your place in Revelation chapter three and
go back with me for a moment to First Corinthians,
chapter sixteen, and there you will find a passage where
that very phrase is used, and it is explained very carefully,
so that we cannot miss what is meant. First Corinthians
(12:06):
sixteen eight and nine. Paul is writing to the Corinthians,
and he says in verse eight, but I will tarry
at Ephesus until Pentecost, for a great door and effectual
is opened unto me. And there are many adversaries. What
is he talking about? Here is an opportunity for him
(12:27):
to serve? And he says, the door is wide open,
and it's an exciting door, and there are many enemies,
but the door is open. Nonetheless, keep turning in your
bibles back toward the book of Revelation, and come to
Second Corinthians, chapter two and verse twelve. Here, writing to
the Corinthians again, he says furthermore, when I came to
(12:48):
Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was open
unto me of the Lord, and I had no rest
in my spirit because I found not Titus, my brother.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
What is he talking about? He said?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
When I got there, I found out that there was
a tremendous opportunity for me to do what God had
called me to do. Here is another illustration from the
Book of Colossians. Keep turning back toward the book of
Revelation and come to Colossians, chapter four and verse three.
Now Paul is using this phrase in a prayer, and
(13:20):
he asks the Colossians to pray for him. He says,
continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving,
with all praying for us, that God would open unto
us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ,
for which I also.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Am in bonds. What is he saying?
Speaker 3 (13:39):
He asked the Colossians to pray for him, that there
would be an opportunity for him to witness to the
people to whom God had sent him. He recognized that God,
that Lord Jesus Christ, was the great door opener. Now
to understand this truth, you have to understand the geograph
(14:00):
of Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Let me tell you a little bit about the city.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Philadelphia was located where three great countries came together, Mycia
and Lydia and Phrygia.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
They all bordered together at Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
And because of this fact, the city was founded in
one forty BC. By the king of Pergamus, whose other
name was Philadelphus, and he founded the city at this
very strategic location so that it could be an outreach
city to spread the Greek language and the Greek culture,
and the Greek literature, and the Greek manners and the
(14:34):
Greek way of life to the interior of Phgia. He
strategically put Philadelphia at the very corner of those three countries,
and he planted it there so that it could be
used to spread the Greek culture and literally to Hellenize
all of the surrounding area. Sir William Ramsay explains the
reference to the door as arising from the geographical situation,
(14:57):
and this is what he says.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Of the city.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Fully explains this, saying, Philadelphia lay at the upper extremity
of a long valley which opens back from the sea.
After passing Philadelphia, the road along this valley ascends to
the Phrygian land and the Great Central Plateau and the
main mass of Asia Minor. This road was the one
which led from the harbor of Smyrna to the northeastern
(15:24):
parts of Asia Minor and the East in general, and
the one rival to the great route connecting Ephesus with
the East and the great Asian trade route of medieval times.
Philadelphia therefore was the keeper of the gateway to the plateau.
And so when Jesus wrote by way of John to
that church, and he said there is a wide open
(15:45):
door to you, they would first of all have thought
about the strategic location of their city and realized that
they had been placed geographically in a situation where they
could influence thousands of people. And now the Lord is
saying to them that door is open to you. For
other reasons as well. I could not help but notice
(16:06):
the warning that was written by John Stott, who seems
very capable of warning, and this is what he said.
Christ has the keys, and he opens the doors. Then
let us not bulge our way unceremoniously through doors which
are still closed. We must wait for Him to make
(16:28):
openings for us. Damage is continually being done to the
cause of Christ by rude or blatant testimony. It is
indeed right to seek the wind for Christ our friends
and relatives at home and at work, but we are
sometimes in a greater hurry than God is. Be patient,
pray hard, love much, and wait expectantly for the opportunity
(16:49):
of witness. The same applies to our future. More mistakes
are probably made by speed than by sloth, by impatience
than by dilatoriousness. God's purpose is often ripened slowly. And
if the door is shut, don't put your shoulder to it.
Wait until Christ takes out the key and opens it up.
(17:10):
That's pretty good advice. He's the God of the open door,
and we need not to be trying to bang the
door down if he hasn't opened it up yet. So
the church is commended because it is a church that
was divinely ordained by God and assured by His power
and sovereignty, and that they were going to have an
(17:32):
open door of witness. And that's why that church is
such a wonderful picture of the period of time in
church history when so much was happening, when the missionary
ventures were starting, and the Gospel was being spread and
evangelism was just running rampant. Then they are commended secondly
for a very strange thing. If you read your Bibles carefully,
you will see in the Book of Revelation that the
(17:53):
second characteristic for which they are commended is this one.
They are commended because they have a little strength. That
sounds like a backward compliment, doesn't it. You know, you
don't usually feel complimented if somebody says you have a
little strength.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
But that's what the Lord says.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
In the eighth verse, he says, I want to compliments
you that not only do you have an open door
and no man can shut it, but thou hast a
little strength. And that term in the original language actually
carries the thought of but little strength. In other words,
it is not that the church still has a little
strength and then thus can function to some degree. Rather,
(18:32):
what the Lord is saying is that it has but
little strength in itself, so that the source of its
power must ultimately depend upon the Lord. My strength is
made perfect in weakness two Corinthians twelve nine. Neither wealth,
nor influence, nor promotional schemes, nor the eloquence of the pulpit,
(18:52):
nor the harmonies of the musicians can give an effective ministry.
The Lord alone opens the door, and the Lord alone
gives the increase. And if you have a little strength
and it's his, you're okay. It's when you have big
strength and it's yours that you're in trouble. It's when
you're depending on your buildings and your budgets and your staff,
(19:14):
and all of your ideas and your organizational plan and
your outreach and all of the rest. And the strength
is not in the Lord, but it's in you. They
had a little strength, They were not much if you
looked at him from the outside, but they were mighty
in the hands of God. And then he commends them. Thirdly,
(19:37):
because they had kept the word. Notice, as you read
the eighth verse, he says, you have kept my word.
In the midst of the denial of the scriptures. This
church to believed the Bible to be authoritative, and they
kept the word of God. And the fourth compliment that
he gives to them is that they have not denied
(19:57):
the Lord notice at the end of the verse, and
has not denied my name. Having to do with the
great controversy that was going on in that period of
time concerning the deity of Jesus Christ, the Christians in
Philadelphia had stood up strong and said, we believe Jesus
Christ is the Lord God, and we have not denied
(20:18):
his name. By the way, more than a few church
growth experts have said that the four characteristics of this
church are usually found in churches that are having a
vibrant testimony for Jesus Christ, a door of opportunity opened
by God, a sense of their own powerlessness apart from Christ,
a commitment to the Word of God, and absolute integrity
(20:40):
as it relates to doctrine.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
When those things are.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
There, oftentimes you see a church that is on the
move for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as the Lord
addresses this church, he makes some promises to them. And
as you read on after the eighth verse, you see
the promises. He says, behold, I will make of them
of the Synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews
(21:04):
and are not.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
But do lie.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Behold, I will make them to come and worship before
thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Now this is an interesting statement, because once again we
meet these trouble making Jews who are a part of
the Church and keep popping their head out, and we
keep finding them again. If you go back to chapter
two and verse nine, you remember that when the Lord
(21:28):
wrote to the church in Smyrna, he said, I know
thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich,
and I know the blaspheme of them, which say they
are Jews and are not but are of the Synagogue
of Satan. Now Here in the church in Philadelphia, he
mentions them again, but no longer is he talking about
tolerating them or not worrying about them. Now the Lord
(21:50):
promises to this church that he will humiliate their enemies,
and he says in verse nine, I will make them
come and worship before thy feet, and know that I
have loved thee. The Lord Jesus says that I'm not
going to put up with that anymore. In this church.
We're going to take care of that problem. And before
you're finished, they're going to become people who look to
(22:13):
you for direction and for guidance. Someone has pointed out
that the apostle Paul and his situation is a good
illustration of this truth. He started out to persecute the church,
didn't he He was out trying to kill him put
them in prison. In fact, he was on his way
on a persecution mission, on his way to Damascus, when
the Lord arrested him and wouldn't let him arrest the Christians.
(22:38):
And the next thing we know, this persecutor has become
a worshiper and the champion for the cause of Jesus Christ.
The Lord promises this church that he will humiliate their enemies. Then,
in the next verse he makes a promise which has
great prophetic ramifications. In fact, he says, because thou has
(23:00):
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. Now,
please note as you read this verse that even though
this is a letter addressed to an individual church, it
is not a promise that has to do with regional persecution.
(23:24):
This is a promise to the Church of Philadelphia and
to the church which is represented by this church in history,
that the Lord God has a special plan that will
keep them from ever experiencing the world wide tribulation, which
we're going to study beginning in the fourth chapter through
the nineteenth chapter of this book.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
This verse that we've just referenced is one of the
great profitting verses of the Bible. Make sure you don't
forget where it is. We'll come back to it later
as we move through this book together. We're going to
take some time off for the weekend. I hate it
when we have to interrupt a message and take two
days away because I know it'll take a little while
to get you caught back up on Monday, but we'll
(24:08):
do that, and on Monday we'll continue our discussion of
the church in Philadelphia. Friends who are running out of
time in the month of April, just a few days left,
and I don't want you to miss the opportunity to
get a copy of the book that sort of started
all this revelation stuff in my life. Escape the Coming
Night was written some years ago and it has been
(24:30):
updated now, a two hundred and ninety page contemporary commentary
on the Book of Revelation. It's yours for the asking.
When you send a gift of any size to Turning
Point during the month of April, do your best, send
your best gift, but ask, and this book will be
on its way. Have a great weekend, folks. We'll see
you next time right here on this good station.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Our message today came to you from Shadow Mountain Community
Church and senior past doctor David Jeremiah. Turning Point is
also on radio and TV this weekend. To learn where
to find it, visit our website David Jeremiah dot org.
Slash Radio. That's Davidjeremiah dot Org, Slash Radio, or call
eight hundred nine four seven nineteen ninety three ask for
(25:18):
your copy of David's best selling, in depth book on revelation,
Escape the Coming Night. It's yours for a gift of
any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible
in the English Standard, New International, and New King James version,
complete with notes and articles from doctor Jeremiah's decades of study.
What is God doing in your life as a result
(25:38):
of this ministry? Write to tell us at Turning Point
PO Box thirty eight thirty eight, San Diego, California, nine
two one sixty three. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join
us Monday as we continue the series Escape the Coming
Night on Turning Point with Doctor David Jeremiah
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